2008 Woodie Awards
Faculty Senate votes to allow journalists at all public events
By: Nick Lucchesi
Issue date: 4/7/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The Webster University Faculty Senate passed a resolution March 24 allowing all public events at Webster University to be open to student journalists.
Controversy surrounding the coverage of a Webster professor's open lecture on campus spurred the resolution. Some of the language of the unanimously-passed resolution reads: "A participant at a public event and/or one who agrees to be interviewed by student journalists has no right to review, approve or edit stories before they are published or aired."
The Webster Publications Board, a committee that oversees The Journal, supported the proposal. The press coverage of a lecture on reparations by Tracey McCarthy, assistant professor in the behavioral & social sciences department, was at the center of heated faculty e-mail exchanges about what can and cannot be covered by student journalists. McCarthy wrote in a public e-mail that she had been misquoted and misrepresented in The Journal's story about the lecture.
Junior David Kassel, a broadcast journalism major, also covered the lecture and said McCarthy questioned him as to why he was covering her lecture. Kassel said he told McCarthy he was covering it for a local cable access show the broadcast journalists put together.
"As soon as I walked in there, she was like, 'Oh, I didn't realize it was going to be recorded,'" Kassel said. "She asked me if I wouldn't record it and I kind of looked at her, and then she agreed to let me record it."
Kassel said McCarthy went back and forth between wanting to do an interview, but eventually let Kassel interview her. Kassel said he denied her request to let her see the final product.
McCarthy declined interview requests from The Journal about the faculty resolution.
Kassel's instructor for broadcast journalism, Eileen Solomon, did not want him to run the segment, Kassel said.
"She told me not to do the story," Kassel said. "I don't remember what it was, I think it was more because she didn't want to make it a big issue. I said specifically in my e-mail, 'I'm going to run the story anyway.' I didn't do anything wrong as a journalist, I did nothing wrong as a reporter."
Solomon agreed that the resolution is a good to have written down for students journalists.
"It's nice to have things spelled out," Solomon said. "Now it's clear."
Those who were at the senate meeting said faculty members were in support of passing the resolution.
"There were discussions about the language, some suggesting that we establish a clear line between public and private," said Gary Gottlieb, assistant professor in audio production. "But ultimately the original language passed unanimously."
Joe Schuster, Publications Board chairman and associate professor in the communications and journalism department, said the resolution reinforces openness on campus.
"I think its pretty clear that student journalists, whether broadcast or print, should have as much access as everybody else," Schuster said. "They are allowed to cover it, write about it, broadcast it."
Controversy surrounding the coverage of a Webster professor's open lecture on campus spurred the resolution. Some of the language of the unanimously-passed resolution reads: "A participant at a public event and/or one who agrees to be interviewed by student journalists has no right to review, approve or edit stories before they are published or aired."
The Webster Publications Board, a committee that oversees The Journal, supported the proposal. The press coverage of a lecture on reparations by Tracey McCarthy, assistant professor in the behavioral & social sciences department, was at the center of heated faculty e-mail exchanges about what can and cannot be covered by student journalists. McCarthy wrote in a public e-mail that she had been misquoted and misrepresented in The Journal's story about the lecture.
Junior David Kassel, a broadcast journalism major, also covered the lecture and said McCarthy questioned him as to why he was covering her lecture. Kassel said he told McCarthy he was covering it for a local cable access show the broadcast journalists put together.
"As soon as I walked in there, she was like, 'Oh, I didn't realize it was going to be recorded,'" Kassel said. "She asked me if I wouldn't record it and I kind of looked at her, and then she agreed to let me record it."
Kassel said McCarthy went back and forth between wanting to do an interview, but eventually let Kassel interview her. Kassel said he denied her request to let her see the final product.
McCarthy declined interview requests from The Journal about the faculty resolution.
Kassel's instructor for broadcast journalism, Eileen Solomon, did not want him to run the segment, Kassel said.
"She told me not to do the story," Kassel said. "I don't remember what it was, I think it was more because she didn't want to make it a big issue. I said specifically in my e-mail, 'I'm going to run the story anyway.' I didn't do anything wrong as a journalist, I did nothing wrong as a reporter."
Solomon agreed that the resolution is a good to have written down for students journalists.
"It's nice to have things spelled out," Solomon said. "Now it's clear."
Those who were at the senate meeting said faculty members were in support of passing the resolution.
"There were discussions about the language, some suggesting that we establish a clear line between public and private," said Gary Gottlieb, assistant professor in audio production. "But ultimately the original language passed unanimously."
Joe Schuster, Publications Board chairman and associate professor in the communications and journalism department, said the resolution reinforces openness on campus.
"I think its pretty clear that student journalists, whether broadcast or print, should have as much access as everybody else," Schuster said. "They are allowed to cover it, write about it, broadcast it."