Student journalism is worth protecting, cultivating

Seek truth and report it. Minimize harm. Act independently. Be accountable.

The tenets of journalism are consistent at all levels. From student newspapers to professional media organizations, we all follow the same guidelines. We are all equally members of the press.

Student journalists in particular share a special bond. Oftentimes, we are the only independent source of information for the communities we serve and the universities we attend.

At IU, we enjoy editorial freedom — students make the decisions about everything in the Indiana Daily Student.

I was impressed when staffers at the University of Georgia’s Red and Black newspaper — which has similar freedom — walked out of production last Wednesday to protest prior review and possible censorship.

Here are the facts. Much like IU Student Media, the Red and Black operates under the auspice of a larger company, the Red and Black Publishing Company, which is editorially independent and financially self-supporting.

Last week, a Red and Black Publishing Company board member sent a draft of a memo to professional staff, whose job until now has been to counsel and advise but not to dictate content.

They would be on the lookout for “content that catches people or organizations doing bad things.”

“I guess that’s ‘journalism,’” the drafted memo read. “If in question, have more GOOD than BAD.”

In response, the student journalists of the Red and Black stood up during production last week and walked out of the newsroom.

They set up social media and a blog, “Red and Dead.” They continued to cover news that affects students the way they should: uncensored and uninterrupted.

This is not only commendable but impressively encouraging.

I am thankful that the board addressed the concerns of the Red and Dead editors during the weekend. The board member who suggested the changes has submitted his resignation, and top editors have re-applied to the Red and Black.

This is how it should be. Student editors, and only student editors, should dictate content on a student publication.

I understand the concerns of the IU community because I am a member of it, as the editors of the Red and Black are to UGA.

The IDS is a publication that prides itself as the single source for comprehensive, thought-provoking and compelling news for IU. I’m sure the staffers of the Red and Black feel the same way about their campus.

I do not for a moment mean to assume that as students we work without error. Our newsrooms also serve as learning labs. It is one of the most vital functions of a student newspaper. We do make mistakes, but it is through those mistakes that we learn to be stronger journalists.

What is truly inspirational is that the former staff members of the Red and Black didn’t stop working.

They are continuing to report, write, shoot and edit. They are producing content online that matters to the UGA community.

Sports, news, commentary. It’s all for students and by students. It’s a formula we’ve followed at the IDS since 1867 and will continue to in the decades to come.

As journalists, we like to end on a quote. Here’s one from a 1787 letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison.

“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people,” Jefferson said. “They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of liberty.”

To read more about the situation at the Red and Black from student journalists at UGA, go to their Red and Dead blog.To read the letter from a board member suggesting prior review of student-edited and student-produced content, click here.