Editorial: Real independent student journalism

[Editor’s Note: In the penultimate paragraph of this editorial, the Druids, a secret society on Pitt’s campus, are mentioned. Then-Assistant Opinions Editor Nick Stamatakis penned this editorial on behalf of The Pitt News editorial board. Several months later, it came to The Pitt News’ attention that Mr. Stamatakis was involved with a secret society, the Druids. It is considered a conflict of interest for Mr. Stamatakis to involve organizations in his writing at The Pitt News without disclosing it. He did not disclose to The Pitt News that he was a member of the secrety society, a violation of the newspaper’s Code of Ethics.]

The Pitt News is an independent, student-run newspaper. While this might at first sound like a meaningless tagline, it actually represents something significant: students have the only word on deciding what news and opinions to print. University officials have no financial stick to prod us in any direction.

At the University of Georgia, a student newspaper almost lost its independent status and personal, autonomous editorial control earlier this month. The Board of Directors of the Red & Black — a newspaper consistently ranked as one of the nation’s best — issued guidelines to student editors and writers on how to cover school events.

Among other suggestions, the Board advised the newspaper to maintain a balance of “good” and “bad” stories. The Board defined “bad” as “Content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is ‘journalism.’” The student staff was given further instructions from the Board, leaving student editors with the impression they had to “assign stories they didn’t agree with, take ‘grip and grin’ photos and compromise the design of the paper,” in the words of Red & Black editor-in-chief Polina Marinova.

The student staff members issued a strong response: they walked out on the paper’s production night, leaving the community without a student newspaper for a day and resigning from the paper in a display of unity against the oversight. While sacrificing a paper might have been questionable, we stand in solidarity with their actions. Not only were they effective — the board issued formal statements clarifying the paper’s independent status shortly after the resignations — but they highlighted the importance of true editorial independence.

We get enough spin from official University news releases and publications. Having absolute final authority over publication is the best way for us to counterbalance other voices at the University with real, authentic student viewpoints. While this is obviously important when reporting on scandals, even small day-to-day stories demand independence.

Look at our Sports section today. We did not find misallocated funds. We are not reporting on money laundering. But we do have pieces critical of Todd Graham and some honest assessments regarding the direction of some Pitt sports teams. For a few weeks in August at the University of Georgia, these pieces might not have made the cut.

Would students instantly become ignorant and clueless without stories about Todd Graham and men’s soccer? Probably not. But run a paper long enough, with enough small cuts, and eventually you would have a publication without any real meaning. We would be nothing more than a bland, pro-Pitt sounding block.

When the Red & Black editors walked out of their office earlier this month, it was not just to defend their right to report on the next great college scandal, it was to defend their right to honestly cover mundane campus life. They were defending their right to be a newspaper, not just a newsletter.

So as the school year progresses, remember that when you pick up a copy of The Pitt News, read an article online or follow the newspaper’s Twitter feed, you are not looking at the Chancellor’s personal blog. You are not looking at a picture of Pitt as seen by the Student Government Board. We are not toting the Greek line or secret messages from the Druids.

Instead, you are reading the thoughts and reportings of independent students. You will only be seeing what we think students should be seeing in order to understand the full picture of what is happening at the University of Pittsburgh. And we stand more resolute than ever with this mission now, thanks to the actions of a few student editors in Georgia.