The CU Independent, formerly The Campus Press, has made some drastic yet positive changes in the past year. Many of these changes were long in the making; however, an opinion column published last spring expedited some of the changes. The CU Independent staff is addressing the issues of racial tension that exist on this campus every day. We are working with members of the community to address these issues and shape our coverage of the one-year anniversary of this painful and yet transformative period of our history.
1. The most obvious change that occurred this past year is our name and independence. We are no longer The Campus Press, and we are no longer tied to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication curriculum. This separation was in planning for years, however, the realization that it was an indefensible situation of a student-run news media that was part of the curriculum and yet not under faculty control for content made the separation occur sooner. Now, the CU Independent is run without a class time or grades. While it has been a challenging commitment with the only reward being the experience and clips, it has been beneficial as a learning process and experience as a whole. The staff and writers have developed a strong, independent work ethic.
2. Before the publication of the controversial opinion piece, The Campus Press staff had never had any professional development training that is standard for all newsrooms. This training addresses diversity, privilege, sexual harassment and discrimination. Beginning last fall and continuing this spring, these trainings are ongoing. We have had various professionals assist in these trainings including Gil Asakawa, Erin Yoshimura, Patricia Raybon and Sheila Solomon.
3. A Student Diversity Advisory Board has been developed by CU Independent editorial staff and other individuals across campus. This board was independently implemented and is composed of approximately a dozen students of ethnically diverse backgrounds including various members of the CU Independent editorial staff. The board meets once a week to discuss issues such as content, staffing, our representation on campus, training and diversity and privilege. Three CU Independent members are required to attend – the editor-in chief, managing editor and opinions editor. The opinions editor is required to attend because the opinions and editorials section is the most likely to take risks and garner the most criticism in a student publication.
Also, one member of the Student Diversity Board who does not sit on the editorial staff has been invited to attend the CU Independent weekly planning meetings every week where content is discussed and story assignments are given.
This board has been a very successful entity, and the members and the CU Independent editorial staff have developed outstanding communication pathways. This board allows students to work with one another to help make important decisions regarding content that, in turn, is entirely student driven and without any censorship from outside influences or interests.
4. Through the Student Diversity Advisory board, members of the CU Independent staff have worked with the Diversity Commission last fall to approach student groups around campus in order to build, or in some instances, rebuild, relationships.
5. The CU Independent is currently working on a “Community Journalism” print edition to be published this spring. The staff is gathering content from students around campus for the print edition in hopes to provide a medium for students from all communities to express themselves.
6. The CU Independent staff, along with the Student Diversity Advisory Board and TDA Advertising, is sponsoring and working on an “Inclusivity Campaign” against intolerance on the CU campus. The goal of this campaign is to create awareness of and incite action against intolerance of all kinds. This will include marketing the resources of all the student centers on campus where students can turn for help or information. The issues covered will include racism, sexism, homophobia and bias regarding religion, age, ability, ethnicity and economic status.
7. CU Independent reporters and editors have staffed tables in the University Memorial Center repeatedly this semester to promote the accessibility of the CU Independent as everyone’s student media. As a result, more than a dozen students from various communities across campus have joined the CU Independent staff in recent weeks. Today, the staff is at the highest level it has ever been, and more importantly, the most ethnically diverse it has ever been, with a total number of 77 editors, reporters and photographers who identify with multiple ethnic groups.
8. The CU Independent opinions policy has been re-written and approved by members of the editorial staff including the opinions editor, managing editor and editor-in chief. Also, the procedure for publishing an opinion piece has been revamped. Now, all opinions in question must be read by all managing editors, not only the editor-in chief, although the editor-in chief will have the last say on any decisions regarding content. Opinion articles may also be discussed with the Student Diversity Advisory board if need be, although, the ultimate decision remains with the editor-in chief. Also, all opinions and editorials are clearly labeled as such and separated from news stories.
9. Along with the re-writing of the opinions policy, the CU Independent mission statement has also been re-written. This new mission statement was written by the CU Independent editorial staff and reflects what we believe are the true intentions of our publication. It reads as follows:
It is the mission of the CU Independent to serve the CU community by providing thorough coverage of news, sports, entertainment and culture relevant to current themes, topics and trends within this community. In addition, CU Independent strives to provide a place for all people to be heard on all ideas, and to do this in as respectful a manner as possible. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of journalism by providing coverage that is accurate, unbiased, and in the interests of the public.
10. The CU Independent adviser, like previous Campus Press advisers before, adheres to the College Media Advisers Code of Ethics. This code states that advisers do not censor, edit or read any student work prior to publication. The entire code of the College Media Advisers can be found here:
http://www.collegemedia.org/Ethics
11. The CU Independent has also revamped its ethics policy to address the inclusion of all communities and also acknowledge the Student Diversity Advisory Board. It reads:
The CU Independent Ethics Policy:
The CU Independent staff will follow the ethics code of the Society of Professional Journalists. These standards can be found at http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp. In addition, the CU Independent will follow these ethical standards:
Anonymous Sources
Anonymous or unnamed sources will not be used unless approved by the campus editor, who in turn will have the approval of the managing editor and editor-in chief. The editor will consider whether the information could be obtained by other means and whether the information is necessary for the public to know. If it is decided to use an anonymous source, the campus editor and managing editors will know the source’s true identity.
Conflicts of Interest
Staff members must avoid covering beats with which they are directly involved. They must not use stories or photographs to promote people or organizations with which they have a personal relationship. Staff members cannot write or edit stories about groups or events of which they are a part.
Corrections
Any factual errors that come to the staff’s attention must be corrected. If a staff member becomes aware of an error, but fails to report it, the incident will be handled accordingly.
Crime Coverage
The CU Independent will report news about robberies, burglaries, murders, sex assaults or other crimes that are relevant to the University of Colorado. Victims of sexual assault will not be named without the express consent of the victim. Those accused of sexual assault will not be named until they have been charged with the crime. Victims of crimes not of a sexual nature may be named. Crime suspects may be named after they have been charged, or their identity has been obtained from a public document and only with extreme care in order to avoid libel. Individuals who are well-known or hold positions of power (public figures) may be named if they are arrested.
Gifts, Meals, Tickets
The staff will not accept money from sources or organizations. Staff members should also avoid accepting gifts and meals. Books, CDs and similar items may be accepted for reviews or news articles. Items will become the property of The CU Independent, and remain in the newsroom, after review. Because The CU Independent is on a limited budget, tickets may be accepted free for reviews or news articles but will not influence the writer’s perspective on the story or review.
Misrepresentation
Reporters must identify themselves as working for The CU Independent when working on articles to be published.
Obscenity
Because The CU Independent serves a primarily student-based audience, obscene language may be used with care. Obscenity may be used if it is necessary for a story. Necessity will be determined with a campus editor. One should not use obscenity for the sake of obscenity; when at all possible, write around the obscenity. If an obscene word is part of a quote, The CU Independent does not play the hangman game by dropping particular letters of the word. Instead, “(expletive)” should be substituted for the word or phrase in question.
On the Record, Off the Record
It is essential to be clear with your source at all times whether information can be published – and it is essential that they are clear with you. Sources must make it clear that a conversation or a statement is off the record before it begins; otherwise, the information is on the record. If a conversation or statement is made off the record, reporters should tell the source immediately afterward that the conversation is back on the record. The reporter should do all that they can to ensure both source and reporter are clear at all times about the status of a conversation.
Photos
Photos must not be altered unless approved by the editor. Any photo alterations or graphic illustrations must be clearly marked as such. Photos should never be staged.
Political Activity
Staff members of The CU Independent should not sign petitions, support campaigns or take sides on other campus issues while part of the staff. Staff members should be particularly cautious with regard to Facebook and MySpace pages, and should not identify political causes or groups that they support on such pages. Reporters attending student government meetings must not participate.
Prior Review
University administrators or others outside the student news staff will not review stories before they are published. This includes The CU Independent adviser. Reporters may confirm direct quotes or technical information with sources but must not make promises in regard to how the story will appear when published. Sources will also not review stories before they are published; reporters should make clear to the sources that the news staff retains control over the content.
Student Diversity Advisory Board
The advisory board will be given The CU Independent weekly budget to provide feedback on stories. The CU Independent strives to cover issues of diversity sensitively, tastefully and effectively, and the advisory board will provide the staff with potential issues of concern, sources and follow-up stories to the weekly budgets they review. If a story is of particular concern to the board, it can make itself available to review the story as it progresses, but it is not the purpose of the advisory board to mandate a story should not be done because it is potentially offensive. This in no way constitutes prior review, as final editorial judgment rests with The CU Independent staff.
Recording Devices
Reporters will tell sources when they are being tape-recorded or videotaped and will inform sources that the information could be published. More care will be exercised with sources who are not accustomed to working with the media.
Sources
This campus reflects a wide diversity of culture, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual identification and political beliefs. It is our responsibility to represent the views of as wide a spectrum of all citizens as possible. Stories will contain no less than three sources, and they should reflect differences in background and beliefs.
On a campus of 30,000 people, there is no reason staff members should be interviewing friends, roommates, fraternity brothers or sorority sisters, or other outside acquaintances. In a millennial age such as this, it is almost as easy for a reporter to interview friends as it is for an editor to verify whether friends were used as sources. No friends are allowed to be used as sources.
Suicide
Suicides should be treated with sensitivity in regard to the language used by the reporter. The preferred term is to say that a student “committed suicide,” as opposed to more euphemistic terms. Any reports of a suicide must be confirmed with legal authorities. The story will emphasize information that memorializes the person, unless the incident causes a major disruption of campus activities. Those who lose their lives to suicide will be named in stories. Attempted suicide will not be reported except under circumstances approved by the editor and adviser.
Verification
Reporters must check with the editor before using information from the Internet, news broadcasts and other newspapers. Every effort should be made to verify information independently. Efforts also should be made to verify information from press releases.
The CU Independent staff is working every day to give everyone on campus proper representation through fair and balanced reporting, opportunities for community input and campus-wide coverage. While more progress can always be made, the CU Independent is working hard to be a place of learning and opportunity for students as well as making the CU campus a safer and more open environment for everyone.
