Over the past few months, the Board of Governors of the Emerald has attempted to take of the paper control away from students. Citing financial concerns, it has proposed to create a permanent, non-student “publisher” with control over editorial and news content. To make the situation worse, the board selected an interim publisher who is currently being considered for a faculty position at the University of Oregon itself.
Installing a potential professor as publisher presents a clear and significant conflict of interest: The University of Oregon would, in a sense, have indirect control over the paper’s content. A publisher who is also a staff member — even one with the best intentions — might feel a responsibility to control what is written about the University and the faculty. Even the possibility of this occurring would represent a strong blow to the integrity of a student-run newspaper. Even with potential checks in place, it is hard to believe that a newspaper could objectively examine the University when a University employee controls its content.
Even if the new publisher were not a professor at the University, instating a controlling, non-student publisher would still impose a significant burden on campus discourse at the University of Oregon. The value of a student-run newspaper is that it addresses both the issues in which students are most interested and represents the viewpoint of students. There is intrinsic value in having a paper for students and by students — especially when it comes to editorial content, which often evaluates the merits of University policy. By allowing a non-student to control editorial content, the board of the Emerald is eliminating the potential of the paper to be an independent student voice on campus.
Drawing lessons from our own campus, there is no doubt that campus discourse is enhanced by having uncensored student voices writing freely in a daily paper. The Editorial Board hopes that the Emerald’s board will reverse its decision and continue to allow the paper to operate as an independent student newspaper.
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