Most college journalists would agree that camping out at a bagel shop with co-workers and friends rather than spending long hours reporting, writing and editing stories within the confines of the newsroom is a decent tradeoff.
University of Oregon daily student newspaper on strike
Most college journalists would agree that camping out at a bagel shop with co-workers and friends rather than spending long hours reporting, writing and editing stories within the confines of the newsroom is a decent tradeoff.
However, for Oregon Daily Emerald news editor Robert D’Andrea, the time away from the newsroom has “not been easy.” And unfortunately for D’Andrea it is unknown when things will get easier.
D’Andrea and the some of his Oregon Daily Emerald cohorts spent the day at a bagel shop called Milky Way on the outskirts of the University of Oregon campus Wednesday, following an announcement earlier in the day that the student newspaper’s entire editorial staff was going on strike.
In a statement that appeared in the newspaper’s print edition and on its Web site, the editorial staff states that it will not resume publication until the Emerald‘s Board of Directors, a body that oversees the Emerald organization, meets the staff’s demands.
The decision came after Emerald editor-in-chief Ashley Chase addressed the board at a meeting on the evening of March 3, presenting the board with a signed statement detailing the editorial staff’s concerns.
The Emerald editorial staff is in disagreement with the board’s decision at a Feb. 24 meeting to offer the newly instituted position of publisher to Steven A. Smith, a University of Oregon graduate and former editor-in-chief of The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Wash.
Smith—who soon after accepted the position to serve as the interim publisher from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010—was recruited by the Emerald in November to perform consulting and draft a strategic plan for the newspaper, which is almost entirely self-funded and had begun operate in the red.
According the Emerald‘s March 4 statement, when Smith presented his strategic plan it called for a publisher to replace the newspaper’s general manager position.
The statement also says that Smith wrote a “loose job description for the position” and “the publisher would have supervisory control over the student editor, which the general manager does not have.”
Within the statement, there is an excerpt from an e-mail sent from Smith to former board chair Mark Watson that states Smith recommended his pay be set at $80,000 for the 12-month period.
“This poses an obvious threat to student control and editorial independence that is key to the service we provide,” read the statement, written by Chase and managing editor Allie Grasgreen. “We believe that if the editor is reporting directly to a publisher, an inherent conflict of interest exists that would pressure the student editor into making decisions aligned with the publisher’s wishes.”
Smith sent an e-mail to the Emerald‘s Board of Directors Wednesday stating that he wished to withdraw his offer to work for the newspaper and expressing how painful it was to be caught in the middle of the dispute.
“So, it is clearly in the best interests of all involved that I withdraw my offer to work with the paper in the coming year,” Smith wrote in the e-mail. “Perhaps with the field clear, the board and the staff can focus on the one issue that matters, the paper’s survivability.”
D’Andrea said that there is fear that considering the tough economic times the Emerald may exhaust its reserves, which is why Smith was initially brought in as a consultant to the newspaper.
“The Emerald is in a very bad financial situation,” D’Andrea added. “It’s not about Steve Smith. We’ve met Steve Smith and he obviously knows a lot and has contributed a lot over the years. But the process in how he was hired was shady.”
D’Andrea said one of the staff’s major concerns is that the board offered Smith the publisher position without conducting a nationwide search.
According to the Emerald‘s published statement, Smith said he was not inclined to partake in a search, and a few days later proposed that he would serve as the interim publisher for a year while a search was conducted. The statement also said that Smith was interested in working for the Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.
“We believe it is a conflict of interest to have a publisher that is employed by the school of journalism,” D’Andrea said. “The editor-in-chief would be answering to that publisher. That’s something that needs to change because it takes the control away from the students.”
In addition to releasing a statement expressing the Associated of Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) Executive’s full support of the Emerald‘s decision to strike, ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz emphasized the importance of maintaining the authenticity of student voice on campus.
Dotters-Katz met with interim general manager Michele Ross and new board chair Jeanne Long Wednesday to discuss the situation. He was concerned because at the meeting he discovered that the Emerald editorial staffers had been locked out of the newsroom.
Questioning who authorized the staff being locked out of the newsroom, Dotter-Katz said he learned was told the board had the jurisdiction to make that decision but had not voted on the matter.
Ross was unwilling to provide comment on the situation, and the Vanguard attempted to reach Long but was unable to connect with her before press time.
Board member Melody Leslie said the Emerald Board of Directors had a meeting to discuss the situation scheduled for Wednesday evening.
“Personally, I think it is important to be as deliberative and careful as possible because everyone has a lot at stake,” Leslie said. “Every person involved wishes the best for the Emerald.”
Dotters-Katz expressed hope that the striking staff and board could come to a resolution as soon as possible. And D’Andrea echoed his sentiment but said the staff will remain steadfast with their demands.
“We will continue to wait this out,” D’Andrea said. “We would like to have a conversation with the board. Hopefully that can happen within the next couple days.”
FOR MORE ON THE STRIKE AND RELATED ARTICLES ELSEWHERE:
Comments have been blocked on the Emerald‘s page. However, Emerald editors are still able to receive comments and are posting them here.
Eugene Weekly‘s blog coverage of the strike
“UO student newspaper staff goes on strike”
“Student newspaper staff goes on strike at U of Oregon”
“Oregon Daily Emerald Newsroom Goes on Strike”
