OU Alums Come "Alive!"

Join OU SPJ for our weekly meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Scripps 111!

This week we are videochatting with two Scripps and SPJ alumni who currently work at Columbus Alive!, an alternative weekly newspaper and product of The Columbus Dispatch that focuses on culture and entertainment. We'll talk industry and alternative papers with Chris DeVille and Brittany Kress for the majority of our meeting.

As an added bonus, Columbus Alive! is currently seeking summer 2009 interns - so come prepared to ask questions and make valuable contacts!

Check out Columbus Alive! here

OU Open Records - Moving Forward

We have received quite a bit of national attention this week regarding our present open records issue. The following email was sent as a response tonight to those who had expressed concern.

Enjoy!

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Good evening-

I want to take minute to thank everyone who has responded to the current open
records crisis at Ohio University and the commentary that has circulated for the
past week. It is so inspiring to see such outpouring of support from our fellow
journalists, SPJ members and alumni.

I promised an update to those of you who wrote to me or commented on our blog
(ohiouspj.blogspot.com) and I intend on delivering it.

Moving forward, we must maintain a non-confrontation approach at the outset.
The executive board of our chapter agrees that we must first investigate
instances of noncompliance and disregard for the Ohio Open Records Law, then we
must educate not only our administration on the law but also the community on
their rights.

Three years ago, the OU student chapter garnered the National Chapter of the
Year award for a service project that audited all 4-year public universities in
the state of Ohio. Not surprisingly, Ohio University failed, coming in last
place. Attached is a rather lengthy description and report of the findings of
that study.

Over the coming months, OU SPJ will be revisiting the Ohio University part of
that audit. Our intent is to recreate and improve upon the research done by
those students in 2005-2006 and compare our results. This will actively involve
our membership and engage them in practices associated with open records
requests - in essence, the ultimate learning experience.

We are also beginning to conduct exhaustive research on local media's past
dealings with the Board of Trustees. Without the proper background knowledge,
we cannot execute an effective educational campaign and pinpoint areas that need
covered. It is our sincere hope that the local media will help us in this
endeavor - journalists working for journalists, the integral part of SPJ for the
past 100 years.

Many of you have asked how you can aid us in our efforts and for that we are
eternally grateful. Again, the outpouring of support has been inspirational and
motivational.

Tonight, the Ohio University student chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists is issuing a proverbial call to arms.

Journalists are armed with the strongest of weapons - the pen. And it is with
this device that we request the assistance of those who feel so compelled to
speak out on this issue.

Write. Write about this situation. Write to newspapers in Athens, OH (their
contact information follows) and write to other concerned journalists - spread
the word and help us gather support for the cause. Strength lies in numbers and
we must show the board and the administration that this issue will not be
ignored or shrugged off, especially by our alumni.

I encourage you to contact me with any questions or advice you may have - we are
still just beginning to determine our ultimate course of action and want to hear
from YOU. Professional advice and support will continue to guide our moves
through the next several months as we attempt to educate and reverse the culture
that has developed on our beautiful Athens campus.

Thank you for your time and support again! I look forward to hearing from you.

IMPORTANT INFO:

Letters to the Editor
The Post (OU student paper) - posteditorial@ohiou.edu
Athens NEWS - news@athensnews.com
Athens Messenger - address to Ann Kamody - akamody@athensmessenger.com

OU Board of Trustees
trustees@ohio.edu

Read More at the OU SPJ Blog!
ohiouspj.blogspot.com

Help us "Let the Sunshine In" at Ohio University and in Athens!

Thanks again!

Evan Millward
President, Ohio University Society of Professional Journalists

Yusuf Kalyango on International Reporting

Hey Everyone!

This evening SPJ had the pleasure of hearing from Prof. Yusuf Kalyango, director of OU's Institute for International Journalism.

We also had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Kalyango in a video interview. He shared memories about his international reporting and told us about the challenges and risks of international correspondence. You can view excerpts from our video interview below.

Dr. Kalyango shares a memory that changed the way he views war correspondence.


Dr. Kalyango explains one of the biggest challenges impacting international journalists.


Dr. Kalyango speaks about the impact that ethnocentrism has on international reporting.


Dr. Kalyango talks about the treatment of foreign correspondents in developing countries and gives advice to people who wish to report outside of the United States.


If you're interested in hearing more from Dr. Kalyango, plan on taking his international correspondence course in winter quarter of next year.

Taylor Mirfendereski

Looking Ahead

SPJers -

I want to extend a warm "Thank You" to our friends at UC SPJ for their continued support of our efforts to spread the word about our situation here at Ohio university as we begin an effort to improve the understanding of open records laws in Athens. (Please see the commenatry two posts below)

Over the weekend, we have received numerous inquiries about how fellow journalists and SPJ members across the country can help in these efforts. I am honored and thrilled at the prospect of so much enthusiasm for our efforts to create a better environment for not only journalists, but also for the general public.

We have a large task ahead of us at OU SPJ in the coming months as we begin to tackle this blatant disregard of freedom of information. We are open to any and all suggestions and I encourage everyone to contact national SPJ as well as local papers here in Athens about the issue. Here is the link to the two origianl stories about this issue:

The Post (January 21, 2009)

The Athens NEWS (July 14, 2008)

After our Executive Board meets on Thursday, we will have a better and more developed understanding of how we plan to proceed so stay posted right here as the next few weeks progress.

Thanks again and remember, it is time we "Let the Sunshine In" here at Ohio University.

Evan Millward,
OU SPJ President

Another One Bites the Dust

More doom and gloom for everyone this morning - but fear not! The next blog entry is VERY VERY exciting!

Three daily papers in Troy, Sidney and Piqua are scaling back by stopping circulation of their Tuesday editions. This comes from the Dayton Daily News this morning.

Read more here.

This is a continuing trend in the industry today - cutting a day or more and then promising more content on the Web. We'll see how this plays out for these papers and Brown Publishing.

Helpful Stuff

Sometimes editors and reporters need a little help from their friends. That’s why the Society of Professional Journalists is introducing the Journalists Toolbox. With more than 10,000 listed Web resources and links, this site is a one-stop destination for any reporter or editor working on any story or beat, from crime to the environment to religion.

Now the Society of Professional Journalists is proud to offer this dynamic and incredible resource, free of charge, to any and all. Just visit www.journaliststoolbox.org and see how this resource can work wonders for you! And be sure to bookmark the site and visit often.

Sincerely,
Scott Leadingham
Society of Professional Journalists
sleadingham@spj.org
317-927-8000 ext. 211

Losing trust in our Trustees

“The Ohio University Board of Trustees serves the public trust. The members of the Board are charged with the responsibility to be accountable to the institution’s mission and cultural heritage, the transcendent values and principles that guide and shape higher education and the public interest as well as the legitimate and relevant interests of the institution’s various constituencies.”

Visitors to the official website of the Ohio University Board of Trustees are greeted by this message. The board has a noble mission, yes – protecting the assets of the first university in the Northwest Territory and the oldest in the state while continuing to foster success and growth. But they also serve to enhance and protect the educational experiences of over 20,000 students across 6 campuses. In order to operate efficiently and effectively in this role requires a strong sense of the community that exists on each of these campuses. The board says so themselves, they have a responsibility to be accountable to the interest of OU’s various constituencies – faculty, students, and alumni.

With this responsibility comes the need for transparency and openness. The board holds the purse strings for the university and acts as watchdog over administration. These 14 people wield and great deal of power – and yet are accountable not only to the staff and students of the university, but also to the state as a whole, which provides much of the annual budget funding.

Imagine, then, the shock that comes with the revelation of this kicker from board chairman C. Daniel Delawder in an email in July 2008 after the Athens NEWS picked up on the board’s continued disregard for fulfilling records requests from student-run newspaper The Post:

“This is a very sore subject for me, and perhaps it’s time we started pushing back. And I am quite serious; I am even unsure that we should provide the next document without a fight. It sickens me to think of the waste and unproductive time being spent in the name of open records and freedom of the press.”

It seems as though the pesky reporters out in Athens are getting on Mr. Chairman’s last nerve and he won’t have it anymore. And who could argue with the man, filling those requests for PUBLIC records is a waste of the money handed to the board by the general fund paid by the same students who made the request.

Maybe it is time we remind Mr. Delawder and the rest of the board that despite their high, mighty, and very distant position with this institution, they are a state entity and therefore must act within the letter of the law. Some of us have a name for that law even – the Ohio Open Records Law, a state extension of the Freedom of Information Act.

While it may seem that records requests are a “waste” and “unproductive” to Mr. Delawder, it is a necessary element to our free society and to our jobs as journalists. But journalists aren’t the only people affected by this brash and blatant disregard for transparency and accountability. Providing open access to meetings and availability of related public documents is something we should ALL fight for. It is certainly worth our time and dedication. Thus, I invite all students who believe in the public’s right to open records to speak out and stand up – join SPJ’s efforts to curb this movement within our university community!

To use Mr. Delawder’s own words, this is a very sore subject for me, and perhaps it is time we start pushing back. And I am quite serious. Should this asinine policy be implemented by the OU Board of Trustees, SPJ will certainly push back – just like it has done for the past 100 years in order to protect the nature and rights of people and journalists across the nation. The Board needs to live up to its creed of account ability to its constituencies and hiding public records is quite counterproductive.

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This commentary will appear beginning tomorrow in the newest edition of "inc." - pick it up in Scripps Hall! This will be the final print edition on "inc." before we move to an electronic format, allowing us to change our writing style and content somewhat for better ease of access for you.

We at OU SPJ encourage everyone to take a copy tomorrow and over the next week and pass along this commentary to fellow journalists and involved students, faculty, and staff - this is an issue for ALL of us because it is OUR money at stake. Public records are available to the PUBLIC....not just the media.

Evan Millward
President, OU SPJ