Student’s Blog Post About Her 11,000-Song Free Music Collection Spurs Controversy, 900+ Comments

An American University senior and National Public Radio intern recently “touched off a small firestorm in the music industry,” leaping into the ongoing economic, existential, and generational debate over online music consumption.

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In a post for NPR’s music blog “All Songs Considered,” Emily White, general manager of American University’s student radio station WVAU, confessed that even while loving music she has hardly spent a cent to acquire her massive song and album collection.

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“I am an avid music listener, concertgoer, and college radio DJ,” she wrote.  “My world is music-centric. I’ve only bought 15 CDs in my lifetime. Yet, my entire iTunes library exceeds 11,000 songs. I’ve never supported physical music as a consumer. As monumental a role as musicians and albums have played in my life, I’ve never invested money in them aside from concert tickets and T-shirts.”

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White explained that digital natives recognize “the gravity of what file-sharing means to the musicians,” but they are simply too enamored with the ease through which they can acquire free music, instantly.

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In her words, “I honestly don’t think my peers and I will ever pay for albums. I do think we will pay for convenience. . . . All I require is the ability to listen to what I want, when I want, and how I want it. Is that too much to ask?”

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The post has gotten more than 900 comments so far, impassioned retorts on separate blogs, and outside media coverage including a New York Times recap.

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Some are applauding White for her candor, agreeing that whether everyone likes it or not free music file-sharing and downloading is happening en masse among many music fans today. Others are expressing optimism that her dream of a more convenient pay-music service will soon be realized.

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A majority of respondents though are branding her a criminal or musical Judas– professing to be a true music aficionado but refusing to support the artists who create it. As one commenter noted, “I am shocked by this blog post. Emily, you are stealing. Stealing is dishonest. And it is a crime. As a musician, a singer, and an actor who works hard for the money, reading this makes me sick. I am finding that your Gen Y culture simply thinks that entitlement, getting what you want, when you want it, is the norm.”

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To read the rest of this post, click here or on the screenshot below.

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Oklahoma Daily *Will* Appear in Print All Summer– Against Editor’s Wishes

Oklahoma Daily readers are apparently still passionate about print.  Their recent complaints about an upcoming online-only experiment have prompted Oklahoma University administrators to front the paper an extra $4,000, dependent on its decision to appear in print throughout July.

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As I previously posted, the OU student newspaper had planned to drop its print editions for a portion of the summer.  It was billed as the first step in a yearlong process aimed at determining what the Daily 2.0 should look like, how it should operate, and where print fits in.  It was also aimed at saving some money, since the typical summer ad drop apparently makes printing each week a money-losing pursuit.

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But this online-only step has now been shelved.  As OU Daily editor-in-chief Chris Lusk tweeted me yesterday, “Whoops.  Never mind the earlier decision.”

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It seems “a significant number of people” kicked up a fuss upon hearing the Daily would briefly stop appearing on newsstands.  Administrators responded with an influx of cash.  And the paper has agreed to remain in print all summer long.

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Lusk isn’t happy about the reversal.  In a Daily piece outlining the change-back, he said the supposedly “significant” complaints about the digital experiment never made their way to him or other staffers.

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As he explained, “You know, the department’s financial concerns were only one small reason why the idea to cancel the summer paper gained traction– at least with me, anyway.  It just seems like we’re being paid off to change our minds just because a few people didn’t like the idea. . . . I think there’s great value in the print product, but I thought this was a perfect time to really go away from that and test what we’re doing– not just inside the newsroom and how we approach our coverage but the entire department.  I think that’s what’s being missed in this sudden move to reverse our decision.”

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My Take: I side with Lusk.  There was more to this planned experiment than financial considerations.  Online-only and digital-first shifts are happening, fast.  Preparation, practice, and a true day-to-day understanding of what it will mean for student newsrooms is needed.  The quiet summer months are the perfect time to seek this understanding.  Who was truly complaining?  And are they the people the paper is most ardently aiming to serve?

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Viral Video Alert: Rochester Mascot Stars in Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’

Months after the University of Rochester went viral with a music video featuring students rapping about the awesomeness of all things UR, the New York school has struck again.  This time, admissions staffers teamed with current and prospective students to deliver a frame-by-frame send-up of the video for Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”

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The twist: In the Rochester version, Carly Rae is a male incoming freshman in drag, while the love interest is Rocky the Yellowjacket, the school’s mascot.

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Grant Dever, the gender-swapped Carly Rae character, told me via email: “The purpose of this video was to make the mascot, Rocky, more approachable, as well as to continue producing popular media to spark interest in and at the University.”

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Along with regular YouTube placement, the Rocky rendition was placed next to the original “Call Me Maybe” vid on the mashup site YouTube Doubler.  In the screenshot above, the videos are featured side-by-side, each showing almost the same frame. First impression: The dude on the right has more muscle tone, but Rocky is definitely sporting more school spirit.

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Related

Harvard Baseball Team Goes Viral with ‘Call Me Maybe’ Lip Dub

Student Photo of Bear Falling from Tree Crashes CU Independent Site

College Viral Video: The Zorro Lecture Prank

University of Rochester Admissions Hip-Hop Video Goes Viral

The Shocking True Story of How a New Hampshire Student Became a Meme

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13 Must-Watch Tech Tutorials: ‘A Guide to Using Technology in Journalism’

Journalism students worldwide, please meet . . . “The Voice.” 

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On spec, photojournalist extraordinaire Mark Johnson is as unassuming as they come. Medium height.  Medium build.  Brown hair.  Glasses.  Conservative dress. Passionate, but not Tom-Cruise-couch-jump intense.  OK, yes, he is an admitted “pseudo-visionary” and “back-roads wanderer.”  And in that vein he’s maybe just a tad quirky (see photo below) in a fantastic way.

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Yet, University of Georgia journalism students know the truth about this seemingly mostly ordinary individual.  He’s not just a UGA journalism lecturer.  He’s a star.  As he recounted at a recent Poynter Institute workshop, a pair of j-students were once walking near him on campus while he was speaking to someone else.  Their ears immediately perked up and one apparently said to the other, “That’s The Voice!“

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Johnson is The Voice . . . the voice behind a large chunk of many UGA j-students’ basic digital journalism training.  He has created a series of screencast tutorials on everything from HTML coding, CMS, and social media to audio, photo, and video capture and editing.  They are quick-hit, uber-practical, and easy-to-follow.  Johnson does the narration.  In sum, they represent a truly helpful “guide to using technology in journalism.”

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A screenshot from Johnson’s “Editing Photos” tutorial.

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A screenshot from his “Shooting Video” tutorial.

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Johnson has been kind enough to feature the tutorials online for everyone’s viewing and learning pleasure, linked from the Resources section of his website Visual Journalism. He is also apparently working on a few new ones he will upload soon.

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Related

25 Essential Skills for Student Journalists in 2012

Top 10 Essential Twitter Tips for Student Journalists

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Top 10 Essential Twitter Tips for Student Journalists

There are four fantastic reasons to be active on Twitter, according to noted “tech evangelist and skeptic” Sree Sreenivasan: to find new ideas, trends, and sources; to connect with an audience in new ways; to bring attention to your work; and to enhance your personal and professional brand.

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In one of the concluding sessions yesterday at The Poynter Institute’s Teachapalooza workshop, Sreenivasan, a Columbia University j-school dean and j-prof, offered a simple recipe for twitterific, tweettastic Twitter success.  An early hint of its effectiveness and ability to motivate: As he unveiled it, many j-profs in attendance were already testing parts of it out and rabidly tweeting his every word.

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Sree (the journalistic genius) holds court on all-things social media inside Poynter, while outside Debby (the tropical storm) attempts to drown St. Pete, Fla.

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Below is an outline of the ingredients he includes within the recipe and a bonus website containing all-things Sree.

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10 Top Twitter Tips for Student Journalists

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1) Make your Twitter bio blue.  Specifically, ensure it features as many live links and affiliated Twitter handles as possible.  It shows you’re plugged in and gives followers or potential followers easy access to other parts of the web featuring your awesomeness.  For example, Sreenivasan pointed out the bio of Poynter guru Al Tompkins.  It includes clickable promos for his book and a hyperlinked shout-out of sorts to his employer.  Notice all the blue?

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2) Constantly update your Twitter bio.  Don’t think of it as a one-off, sedentary, all-encompassing, general blurb.  It should reflect the latest, greatest version of you, hyping new affiliations, sites, projects, and life stages.

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Two big reasons: It keeps followers in the know about your goings-on in a much more permanent way than your scattered tweet promos– you know, the ones that are almost immediately lost within the Twitter scroll-down wilderness.  And it’s a clear sign of your Twitter activeness, confirming to followers that you value keeping your twit-presence relevant and up-to-date.

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3) For your Twitter identity, KISS (keep it simple stupid).  Sreenivasan: “The shortest, most memorable Twitter handle is the one you should get.“

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It makes it simpler for potential followers to find (and then follow) you.  It provides you with an opportunity to stand out ever-so-slightly from the Twitter hordes with unmemorable names.  And it allows for easier real-world plugging– since more and more our Twitter handles are placed on PowerPoint presentations, printed on conference nametags, and included in introductory conversations with strangers.

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4) Stick to one Twitter handle.  Resist the temptation to unveil a Twitter account for every new story series, blog, class project or anything else that may be defining you and your work for awhile.  (For professionals and educators, this includes your books.) In Sreenivasan’s words, “Create the brand around you, not on things that might disappear later.“

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Having multiple accounts rolling simultaneously– or having one go temporarily defunct while a new one springs up– will do nothing but split your followers and confuse people about where your truly worthwhile Twitter action is happening.  For major projects, create and promote the heck out of a related hashtag instead.

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5) Follow more people.  Even if you are already following a bunch of people, you can always follow more.  It broadens your online conversation, contacts list, and knowledge base.  It also opens you up to more potential followers yourself.

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6) Create what Sreenivasan calls an “A1 List.”  To occasionally cut out the clutter, organize a list of only those tweeters you hold up as your favorite, most helpful or most influential.  The list can help ensure you have an instant handle on the essential chatter of the moment, laid out by the biggies in your field or coverage area.

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7) Employ and promote #hashtags.  They can be used to organize and keep track of all tweets focused on a single event, issue, class, or individual– including you.

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For example, in respect to the latter, Sreenivasan always pimps #sreetips to digitally corral anyone tweeting about his lectures or web advice.  It’s one way he can keep up with what’s being said related to him.  As he shared, “Tweeting about someone, with a hashtag, is a way to talk about them behind their back, to their face.” :)

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8) Follow certain social media buzzwords when it comes to content.  Specifically, while tweeting– or posting to Facebook– Sreenivasan recommends attempting to achieve one or more of the following adjectives: helpful, useful, informative, relevant, practical, actionable, timely, generous, credible, brief, entertaining, fun, and occasionally funny.

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9) Turn to Storify for curation.  As Sreenivasan confirmed, the dirty secret behind Facebookland, Tumblrworld, and the Twitterverse: “Almost everyone will miss almost everything you do on social media.“

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It’s simply the nature of the beast– lots of competing platforms, a mind-altering amount of updates, and only pockets of moments when audiences check in each day. But there are ways to ensure your tweets don’t simply flatline and join the not-even-searchable discard pile: Curate them in Storify.  As Sreenivasan noted, “It’s the only way I know to keep these things alive.”

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10) Treat social media seriously.  Whether on Twitter, Facebook or any other platform, constantly take stock of what you present to the world (wide web).  As Sreenivasan mentioned, it’s basically the only part of his work that, if screwed up, might quickly lead to him either being fired or divorced. :)

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As an example of Twitter’s immediate, lasting impact, he shared a PowerPoint slide displaying a screenshot of the infamous Anthony Weiner “crotch reveal” tweet.  To be clear, he did not click on the embedded yfrog link.

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Bonus website: @Sree’s Social Media Guide

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Related

25 Essential Skills for Student Journalists in 2012

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Amid President’s Ouster at Virginia, Cavalier Daily Steps Up, Provides Outstanding Coverage

The Cavalier Daily has unleashed its summerific newsy A-game to cover the ever-unraveling fallout and furor at the University of Virginia triggered by the sudden, mostly unexplained ouster of popular president Teresa Sullivan.

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A small crew of CD staff has been reporting and editorializing the heck out of this story, including grabbing some scoops and sharing some significant info through FOIA requests.

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Serving as the voice of UVA students, the paper has stated in separate editorials: “The Board of Visitors owes the university community a more thorough explanation for President Sullivan’s departure. . . . Members of the Board of Visitors should resign to rectify the damage they have done to our university.”

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As The Virginian-Pilot confirms, “Working around the clock on smart phones, cameras, laptops and adrenalin, six students interviewed sources and ultimately unearthed and disseminated documents that exposed the plans of Rector Helen Dragas and Vice Rector Mark Kington to oust Sullivan.”  The Cavalier Daily is mentioned in the Pilot write-up for its work along with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.  Good company.

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And even more impressive: Remember, it’s summer.  Within collegemediatopia, that’s the time of publishing breaks, skeleton staffs, position changeovers, and first-priority internships.  More impressive still: The paper, which is independent from UVA, operates on a volunteer basis, without the mentoring of an official faculty adviser, and without the instruction provided by a related journalism program.

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Cavalier Daily editor-in-chief Matt Cameron: “We’re all just interested in getting information out to the university and the public.  We didn’t have a plan.”

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25 Essential Skills for Student Journalists in 2012

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Top 10 Essential Twitter Tips for Student Journalists

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I am blogging this morning from The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., site of Teachapalooza 2012.  The three-day workshop is a journalistic call-to-arms for professionals and j-profs interested in brushing up on their skills, mastering new platforms, and reenergizing their work, teaching, and curricula.

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In the opening session, Poynter gurus Al Tompkins and Vicki Krueger laid out a bevy of skills that student journalists MUST know upon graduation– beyond simply learning the latest program or what Tompkins called “the next shiny new thing.”

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The list below is a grab bag of skills– and mindsets– that Tompkins and Krueger described as essential, along with those suggested by the roughly 60 Teachapalooza attendees, those shared by j-professionals in surveys presented to us via PowerPoint, and a few left out that I feel are worthy of inclusion.

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25 Essential Skills for Today’s J-Student

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News judgment

Reporting basics

News writing

Storytelling

Critical thinking

Knowledge of world affairs & current events curiosity

Journalism ethics

Media law

Entrepreneurial journalism

Data journalism

Photojournalism & slideshows

Video

Audio

Mapping & geotagging

Real-time reporting

Documents & records utilization

Social media engagement

Blogging & web writing

Mobile & backpack journalism

Software & techie equipment

Web coding & design

SEO & audience building

Collaboration & crowdsourcing

Flexibility, learning how to learn & learning to fail

Passion for journalism

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Please let me know, politely: What skills should be added to this list???  Depending on their merits, I will add them immediately.

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Related

Top 10 Essential Twitter Tips for Student Journalists

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Yes, Student Reporters Can Grab Big Scoops, Even From (Alleged) Tree Poisoners

A student reporter for The Auburn Plainsman at Auburn University vaulted to B-list media celebrity status yesterday for grabbing an eye-opening confession from alleged tree poisoner Harvey Updyke.

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As a trusted source explained to me, “Basically, this Alabama fan, Updyke, is accused of using industrial herbicide to poison iconic oak tress on Auburn’s campus after Auburn beat Bama in the Iron Bowl, which is one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports.”

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Updyke is currently on trial for his herbicidal tendencies.  Plainsman reporter Andrew Yawn approached him yesterday during a break in the proceedings and at one point Updyke uttered an instantly-famous set of five words to him: “Did I do it? Yes.“

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It was an admittance of guilt worthy of the big, bold front-page headline you see above.  It was also jarring, given that Yawn grabbed the scoop away from the many local, regional, and national newshounds covering the case.

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Updyke’s lawyer denies the five words were ever said, falling back on the ‘he’s-just-a-kid’ defense: “There were other reporters around from ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, al.com, AP, major, major media outlets, and all of you were swarming in the courtroom, the lawyers were around the courtroom, and we think it’s kind of odd that a student reporter from Auburn University was able to get this story when all these major media outlets have been here the entire time.  No one saw this reporter getting this information from Updyke.”

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The Plainsman is standing by Yawn’s reporting.

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My Take: The lawyer is just doing his job, but the implication that a student journalist would not be able to wrangle a newsworthy scoop when the pros are around is factually inaccurate and naive.  Yes, student reporters can grab big scoops, even from (alleged) tree poisoners— through fearless or painstakingly thorough reporting, sheer luck, their youthfully angelic appearance, their increased campus access or their innate knowledge of events, issues or generational trends.  And, sometimes, all they have to do is approach a source and ask some questions.

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As one former Plainsman staffer commented on JimRomenesko.com, “When I was a reporter for the Plainsman, I got an interview with a sitting governor when he was refusing to give media interviews. He spoke more openly than he should have, maybe thinking I was just a kid.  It’s not rare for student reporters to get scoops if they are good reporters, and put themselves in the right place.  Sounds like Yawn did exactly that.”

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University Press Goes Glossy!: ‘Welcome to the New UP’

The introduction to the editor’s note posted yesterday stated simply: “Welcome to the new UP.”  Ryan Cortes, editor-in-chief of The University Press at Florida Atlantic University, subsequently announced a big, bold, glossy change to previous UPs.  The student newspaper has reincarnated as a full-color newsmagazine– in editorial and aesthetic style and page type.

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The first issue of UP 2.0 sports a series of interesting reports, including the cover story on the school’s retired football coach who is now raising money and still leg pressing 200 pounds and a profile of an FAU grad student enjoying life and beating the odds 24 years after being born “four and a half months premature and covered in embryonic fluid and doubt.”

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University Press adviser Dan Sweeney explained more about the issue and the larger switch yesterday on a popular college media advisers’ list-serv: “The staff filled this issue with long-form, narrative journalism pieces.  News briefs and other content will now be going online, with the magazine reserved for high-quality art, long-form pieces, and magazine-style summaries of the week’s events.  It’s a new way of looking at things, should offer the students great clips and a wider variety of forms in which to practice their craft.  Couldn’t be happier with how hard they’ve been working to turn this issue out, and I’m looking forward with a mix of pride and trepidation to returning to weekly issues in the fall.”

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The Minaret, the student newspaper I advise at the University of  Tampa, first rolled out a now-monthly glossy magazine edition in spring 2011, so I can confirm this type of reincarnation can be editorially, artistically, and financially successful.  Cortes, Sweeney, and all other UPers, good luck!

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Related

University Press Special Investigation: Florida Atlantic Trustees are Financially Skeevy, Scarily Powerful

Florida Atlantic Student Journalists Create Newspaper Without Computers: ‘OMG WTF?’

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Best Student Newspaper Special Issues of 2011-2012: 9/11, RGIII, Paterno, Sex, WWII, Dance Marathon

Even in the increasingly digital age, hard copy special issues still boast a regular, influential presence within collegemediatopia.  Over the past academic year, student news teams put together a number of editions– in advance and spur-of-the-moment on deadline– geared toward remembering or highlighting major anniversaries, athletic achievements, campus icons, big events, and even s-e-x.

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Below is a sampling of the most high-profile, editorially impressive, and aesthetically innovative 2011-2012 student press special issues.

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9/11 10th Anniversary Issues

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Near the start of fall semester, on the 10^th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks, many student newspapers published special editions or sections.  The papers used the milestone as motivation for a look at how the country and their campuses have changed.  They also provided glimpses into the lives of current students, who comprise what is being called the 9/11 Generation.

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The Iowa State Daily, Football Edition

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In November, the Iowa State University Cyclones staged a double-overtime, come-from-behind win against the then-undefeated, second-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.  The historic victory included a narrowly-missed field goal, a batted-intercepted OT pass, a calm-cool-collected redshirt freshman QB, fans storming the field and singing “Sweet Caroline”– and a special digital edition of The Iowa State Daily, ISU’s student newspaper.

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As the paper’s editorial adviser’s Mark Witherspoon recounted in a post-game message on a popular college media advisers’ list-serv, roughly 20 staffers gathered to create the seven-page PDF “football edition.”  As he wrote, “The game was over about 11:30, they filled the newsroom by midnight, and worked until at least 5 or 6 a.m. . . . to get the special edition out.  It’s filled with wonderful photos, wonderful stories, an editorial eating crow on the sports guys’ wrong predictions, photo blogs, and digital highlights of the game.”

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The Daily O’Collegian, Honor the Four Issue

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Late last November, The Daily O’Collegian at Oklahoma State University responded to a sudden campus calamity with a touching 10-page special issue.  Articles, a poem, and a photo tribute focused on various details and reactions to a plane crash that killed the head and assistant coach of the women’s basketball team– along with an OSU alumnus and his wife.

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In the issue, the paper also reported on the incident through the prism of a similar tragedy that affected OSU a bit more than a decade ago: a plane crash that killed 10 members of the Cowboys community.  The memorial rallying cry for that event: Remember the Ten.  The current commemorative declaration: Honor the Four.

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The Daily Orange, A Fine Mess Edition

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Over this past Thanksgiving break, Daily Orange staff at Syracuse University quickly pulled together a special edition focused on the Sandusky-sized sex abuse scandal involving its men’s basketball second-in-command.  The eight-page issue details the allegations, the circumstances surrounding his sudden firing, student, player, and alumni reactions, and the inevitable comparisons to the situation at Penn State.

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A front-page editor’s note shared, “The Daily Orange publication calendar did not include a paper for the Monday after Fall Break, but because of the developing story about Bernie Fine, former associate head coach for men’s basketball and the allegations of sexual abuse against him, the editors at The D.O. felt it was important to have one. No advertisements appear in the paper to focus on content.”

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The Baylor Lariat, Heisman Issue

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In December, The Baylor Lariat, the student newspaper at Baylor University, produced a special four-page “Heisman Issue” to commemorate the selection of Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III as the winner of college football’s highest honor.

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The four-page edition included highlights from RGIII’s historic season, reactions from Baylor students and alumni, and a glimpse at the Heisman voting results broken down by geographic region.  As one of the three standout quotes featured prominently on the front page related, “This is a forever kind of moment.”

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The Crimson White, Championship Issue

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In January, The Crimson White published a special 20-page edition to commemorate the University of Alabama’s historic 14th national college football championship. The standout write-up in the issue: “Zero Hesitation,” a rundown of how little outsiders had believed in the Tide a few months before the title run and how big the team played when the moment mattered.

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As it began, “Zero.  This word now has a special meaning for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many believed the Tide had zero chance to make the BCS National Championship game after its loss to LSU on Nov. 5.  Those same people pointed to the number of touchdowns scored between the two teams in their last meeting. However, when the clock struck zero, the only zero that mattered for the Tide was the one beside LSU on the scoreboard as the Tide shut out the Tigers 21-0.”

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The Daily Collegian, Paterno Edition

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Near the start of spring semester, in the wake of Joe Paterno’s death, The Daily Collegian published a special commemorative edition honoring the longtime Penn State head football coach.  Related pieces touched on Paterno’s upbringing and early coaching career, his devotion to family and charities, the reactions of his former players, and the scandal that overwhelmed his final days.

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A number of the pieces were topped by quotes from Paterno.  Among them: “If you don’t want to be the best, then obviously you shouldn’t be associated with Penn State football. . . . To live the good life, we have to make sure that others have at least a decent life. . . . With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”  (The Collegian recently released another special issue, this one focused on the Sandusky mess, timed for the start of his criminal trial.)

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The Pitt News, Sex Issue

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Timed for release on Valentine’s Day, the fourth-annual sex issue by The Pitt News dove with gusto into body issues, birth control, porn, celibacy, first dates, and, as one staffer excitedly proclaimed, “lady boobs!”  The overall perspective, embodied by a line in a featured column: “Human sexuality is as diverse as human beings.”

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In a letter to readers, editor-in-chief Michael Macagnone wrote, “The horizontal tango, making love, doing the deed: There’s no doubt our society has many means of talking about– and around– intercourse.  And for most of the year, that is what society focuses on: the act itself, leaving the vast majority of its effects and implications unstated.  Today though, with the naked intent of Valentine’s Day in promoting Hallmark sales, last-minute flower purchases and romantic gestures all around, we’re going to talk about sex.”

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North by Northwestern, Dance Marathon Special Site

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The lone digital outlet on the list: North by Northwestern.  In honor of Northwestern University’s uber-popular Dance Marathon, a 30-hour philanthropy party, the online newsmagazine created a special site.  Updated in real-time throughout the event, it featured photos, videos, blog posts, tweets, crowdsourced responses from the student dancers, and even haiku poetry and a tracking of one student’s heart rate while dancing and another student’s calorie intake.

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NBN top editor Nolan Feeny: “DM provides us with an opportunity to do what we do best.  We are able to be there the whole weekend and find ways to tell stories that we couldn’t necessarily do with a traditional news format.  It also allows us to show off our personality and our voice.  The Daily Northwestern is a great paper, but I don’t think they would be asking Dance Marathon students whether they would rather have sex or a shower four times that day.”

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The Daily Cardinal, Anniversary Issue

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In April, The Daily Cardinal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison celebrated its 120th birthday with a resplendent special issue reflecting on its past and predicting its future.  As the paper confirmed, “Since the 1890s, the Daily Cardinal has been a lens through which Wisconsin students have seen their world. . . . For the past 120 years, students have produced the Daily Cardinal through wars, protests and tragedies.”

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Among the issue’s highlights: a Q&A with an alum who edited the paper in the early 1940s (following an all-staff strike in the late 1930s over the firing of the executive editor for being Jewish); a full-page, two-story tribute to former staffer Anthony Shadid, who died earlier this year in Syria while reporting for The New York Times; and a piece from current executive editor Kayla Johnson headlined “The Next 120 Years.”

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The Crimson White, Tornado Reflection

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In late April, a year after “one of the deadliest, costliest, and most widespread tornado outbreaks ever to hit the United States” struck Tuscaloosa, The Crimson White at the University of Alabama put together a comprehensive multi-platform news package reflecting on the storm’s impact and the challenges CW staffers faced covering it.

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The three-pronged effort: a temporary special homepage featuring content from a year before and the present, including 10 new web-only articles and a few multimedia projects; an ads-free commemorative print edition with more than 20-storm focused features; and a 15-minute documentary video outlining the staffers’ natural disaster reporting experience.  The doc’s title: “Harder Than We Thought.“

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The print edition included individual spotlights on how different communities are coping with the long-term aftermath; reports on how other areas hit by tornadoes in recent years are coping with their recoveries; and a story mentioning that pieces of an art professor’s sculpture caught within the swirl of the tornado have been found as far away as Georgia. —

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The University Press, BOT Special Investigation

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In May, The University Press at Florida Atlantic University unleashed a special issue that oozed investigative awesomeness and revealed some unsavory, ironic truths about those in power at the Palm Beach County public school.

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The issue’s aim: providing the down-low on the FAU Board of Trustees, the 13-member body that holds ultimate sway over the university’s infrastructure, finances, and future. UP staffer Karla Bowsher unraveled “so many bankruptcy filings, foreclosures, liens, and lawsuits in our trustees’ pasts that I needed another researcher [James Shackelford] to get through it all– and an entire issue of the newspaper to cover it all.”

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The Ubyssey, “Return” Yearbook

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Also in May, The Ubyssey at the University of British Columbia published a commemorative yearbook for 76 Japanese-Canadian students who were forced off campus and held as “enemy aliens” during World War II.  It provides a fascinating history about both the school and the affected students.

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Page after page after page features people whose lives were forever altered by a decision made during a moment of “frantic military mobilization.”  Timed to appear at a UBC ceremony presenting the former students– living and deceased– with honorary degrees, it was titled simply, “Return.“

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Please let me know, politely: What other special issues should be on this list???  Depending on their merits, I will add them immediately.  (To be clear upfront, I am not interested in commencement or orientation issues unless they are supremely standout.)

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What Would College Life Be Better Off Without? Part 2: Deadbeat Profs, Bad Grammar & Post-Grad Life Goals

What would college life be better off without?  In separate articles and op-eds appearing in campus newspapers throughout this past semester, students offered a bevy of suggestions on “unnecessary traditions, ideas and institutions” that should be scrapped or significantly changed.

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Taken together, they represent a massive de-cluttering worthy of a similar feature published in The Washington Post.  The Post‘s annual “Spring Cleaning” asks a select group of thinkers to nominate “an idea, a tradition, a habit, a technology . . . that we’d all be better off tossing out” from society at-large.

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In its four-year run, writers have proposed that everything from engagement rings, exit polls, and premium gas to chick flicks, small talk, and the vice presidency be given the boot.

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In the spirit of those real-world recommendations, consider the list below a collegiate spring cleaning of sorts.  It is Part 2 of a sampling of academic, social, residential, and fashion trends and traditions that student columnists contend should be trashed or upended.  (Read Part 1)

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6. Deadbeat Professors

“In all my time at Chico State, I never had a professor that wasn’t excited about teaching.  Until this semester.  Twice every week, I have to suffer through an uncharacteristically bad lecture from a man who constantly bemoans how little he wants to be standing at the front of the class, in between five-minute mini-speeches on information nearly every person in the room already knows.  This professor is constantly condescending, subtly implying that we’d rather be out partying than attending a class we each took great pains and expenses to take.  And as a result, I dread going every day. . . . Sometimes all it takes is the effects of one bad worker to demonstrate why it’s so important to do the job right.”

– Ben Mullin, The Orion, California State University, Chico

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7. Gender-Specific Campus Housing

“Gender-neutral housing means the choice to live with someone whom students know will be supportive of their sexuality or gender identity. It means freedom from discomfort, discrimination, harassment and fear.  It means the choice to live with those who are most comfortable with them, and, in turn, to live in the environment they find most comfortable– a right taken for granted by every other student. . . . [T]his is not just about providing a new housing option for one group of students. This is about ensuring every American has access to the American Dream, to the equality of rights guaranteed by our Constitution. . . . This issue affects us all. Equality isn’t a special interest. Americans have a responsibility to demand the promises of our founding be fulfilled and to fight so their fellow citizens may be recognized as human beings worthy of the same regard, the same respect, the same basic dignity.”

– Editorial Board, The Oklahoma Daily, University of Oklahoma

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8. Smoking Breaks for Student Workers

“Whether you’re a smoker or a nonsmoker, you are likely familiar with the term ‘smoke break.’  As a nonsmoker, my familiarity stems from the admiration that develops as I watch my co-workers indulge in 10 minutes or so of uninterrupted, paid, break time.  Ten minutes to stand or sit outside where they can smoke, check their phone and re-group.  Let’s imagine for a minute a nonsmoker, like myself, walks outside during a shift, sits down and checks his or her text messages.  Such a scenario would most likely be followed by a soliloquy of screaming from a manager.  But wait– my co-worker just did the exact same thing. Oh, I see, they have an excuse because they’re smoking? . . . I simply ask where my nonsmoking break is.  If I cannot have a nonsmoking break in the workplace, then please discontinue the permission of short breaks for smokers.”

– Emma DeFilippo, The Lantern, Ohio State University

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9. Bad Grammar

“This column is going to be about . . . a national emergency– the complete deterioration of our ability to write well.  Even at Yale I have experienced disdain for my love of grammar. . . . Grammar governs the way we speak, so we couldn’t communicate without it. . . . But did you know that, according to founder of National Grammar Day Martha Brockenbrough, ‘In one survey of hiring managers, 75 percent said it was worse for an applicant to have a spelling or grammar error on his application than for him to show up late or– get this– swear during an interview.’  Even worse, ‘A utility company in Canada had to pay an extra $2.13 million in 2006 to lease power poles because someone stuck a comma in the wrong spot.’  Grammar matters.”

– Scott Stern, The Yale Daily News, Yale University

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10. Post-Graduation Life Goals

“You have probably stopped counting the number of times you were told to keep focused on your goals.  The truth though, is that if you do, you will never achieve what you want. What a disaster. . . . Why do we have these dreams and seek after these goals? If we look deeply we will realize that it is because we want to experience a certain feeling. It may be security, respect, independence, power, thrill or perhaps happiness. Is it possible however, to experience these feelings before reaching our goals? Yes we can, and it is important that we do. . . . We must put your entire focus on NOW– letting go of the future to take care of itself. It always does. We cannot achieve anything outside of the present, so ‘take one day at a time.’  Nothing else is possible beyond this truth. Go ahead. Make wonderful goals; I have many. Know that ultimately, however, goals do not matter. The only thing that matters is what you do with NOW.”

– Courtney Simons, The Spectrum, North Dakota State University

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Related

Part 1: Essays, Unpaid Internships & Nice Guys Finishing Last

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The Oklahoma Daily’s Digital Experiment: Print Edition to Be Dropped Later This Summer

The Oklahoma Daily is going online-only— for six weeks this summer.  The decision by the University of Oklahoma student newspaper, announced yesterday, is the first step in a yearlong process aimed at determining what the Daily 2.0 should look like, how it should operate, and where print fits in.  Reader and staff surveys, focus groups, and I’m sure lots of unofficial discussions will follow come fall.

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Editor-in-chief Chris Lusk: “If we’re digital-only, we’re forced to pay attention to what the audience says is working online and what’s not.  This is just the first step that will lead us to a new and improved Daily.”

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It is also a financial decision.  The typical summer ad drop for the paper apparently makes printing each week a money-losing pursuit.  But the real bottom line is a need for staff to experience what it means to be fully committed to a digital Daily, even if it’s just for a short time to start.

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Once more, Lusk: “To survive and be sustainable, we need to be a Web-first organization,” Lusk said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean a print product can’t coexist with OUDaily.com, but we need to change how we think about our approach.”

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Related

Oregon Daily Emerald’s Digital Reinvention

Red & Black’s Web-First Push at Georgia

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‘We’re Back!’: New City Collegian Resumes Printing After 4-Year Absence– Thanks in Part to Cupcake Shop

The New City Collegian at Seattle Central Community College announced its return to print after a four-year absence with a simple, exclamatory front-page headline: “We’re Back!”

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The name has slightly changed, but it still appears to be the same “feisty little newspaper.”  Known for roughly four decades as just The City Collegian, the paper was thrust into the spotlight in 2007 and 2008 when SCCC administrators targeted it in a downright nasty squabble that first claimed its adviser, then its newsroom, budget, print presence, and related journalism classes.  Yikes.

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Student Press Law Center consulting attorney Mike Hiestand noted at the time, “What happened at SCCC is deeply troubling and should serve as a wake-up call to student media across the country that the threat to press freedom is real and ongoing.”

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The Collegian’s marvelous print comeback last week was built atop a set of determined student staffers– and the first cupcake bakery in this country to open outside New York City.  (Yes, that is the most fun I’ve had typing a sentence so far this year.)

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Seattle’s Cupcake Royale covered the printing costs for the 12-page tabloid’s entire press run.  Its owner told The Seattle Times: “It’s old school.  Like going back to vinyl.  People miss holding a paper.“

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The Collegian has been online-only since the summer 2008 fallout.  The current print version was planned as a one-time happening, but student editors hope to build off the buzz and gather the financial and editorial wherewithal to begin publishing again regularly.

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The Seattle Times: “For all the promise of a wired world, it turns out that print still resonates for these college students. Although the Collegian’s blog-style website has attracted about 15,000 page views so far this year . . . students still yearned to see their work in print.”

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Daily Collegian at Penn State Publishes Special Issue on Sandusky Sex Abuse Trial

A special issue of The Daily Collegian appeared on newsstands across Penn State University’s campus and State College, Pa., yesterday focused on the criminal trial of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.  Due to the reduced summer publishing schedule, Collegian staffers were not due to put out a print edition until month’s end.

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In a note to readers, the paper’s editor-in-chief Casey McDermott wrote, “Call me old-fashioned, sure– but I stand by the idea that there are certain moments that deserve to be documented beyond narratives told in 140-character bursts or minute-by-minute updates alone.  This is one of those moments. . . . Until now, our coverage of the Jerry Sandusky trial since the end of the spring semester has been online-only.  This has its advantages . . . [b]ut we also wanted to note the start of this trial– an event that’s been preceded by seven of the most pivotal months in university history– in a way that could serve as an all-in-one reference as the trial unfolds.”

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Along with recounting various aspects of Sandusky’s first day in court, the issue features a rundown of the main prosecution and defense arguments, individual glimpses at all the trial participants, a timeline of events so far, and pieces on the courtroom’s social media ban and the withholding of the identities of some of the alleged Sandusky victims who are testifying.

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Related

Penn State’s Daily Collegian Publishes Special Edition on Joe Paterno

Penn State Daily Collegian Covering Widening Sex Abuse Scandal Nonstop

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What Would College Life Be Better Off Without? Part 1: Essays, Unpaid Internships & Nice Guys Finishing Last

What would college life be better off without?  In separate articles and op-eds appearing in campus newspapers throughout this past semester, students offered a bevy of suggestions on “unnecessary traditions, ideas and institutions” that should be scrapped or significantly changed.

—

Taken together, they represent a massive de-cluttering worthy of a similar feature published in The Washington Post.  The Post’s annual “Spring Cleaning” asks a select group of thinkers to nominate “an idea, a tradition, a habit, a technology . . . that we’d all be better off tossing out” from society at-large.

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—

In its four-year run, writers have proposed that everything from engagement rings, exit polls, and premium gas to chick flicks, small talk, and the vice presidency be given the boot.

—

In the spirit of those real-world recommendations, consider the list below a collegiate spring cleaning of sorts.  Here is a sampling of the academic, social, residential, and fashion trends and traditions that student columnists contend should be trashed or upended.

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1. Essay Writing

“Why on earth are we still writing essays?  Once we graduate, will we ever find ourselves in the situation where our supervisor/manager/mom asks us a difficult question and gives us three months to prepare an answer, write it down, with a word limit, one inch margins and font size 12? I don’t think so. And once the paper is written, the euphoria of having it done makes us think that the whole world will read it, but it’s not, it is read by an audience of one (our lecturer, who knows far more than we attempt to know already), and it’s then lost in the cyberspace of Turnitin. . . . I think that the style of essay writing is nonsense; it achieves nothing but confusion, and the over-use of the synonyms function.”

– Richard Holland, The Leeds Student, University of Leeds

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2. Unpaid Internships Without College Support

“For me and many of my peers, taking an unpaid internship can be a difficult decision with the cost of an education weighing heavily on all our shoulders. The issue of unpaid internships is a contentious topic across the country as legions of desperate students descend upon relatively few positions in the hopes of finding an inroad into their future career. . . . Unpaid internships give an implicit advantage to wealthier students who can afford to go spend a summer doing unpaid work and not worry about tuition bills or living expenses. . . . To overcome the naturally occurring bias that unpaid internships have towards the wealthy, it is important for colleges to provide support for students who desire to take such positions but are held back by financial considerations. . . . Only then will unpaid internships become a viable option for today’s disadvantaged students who currently don’t have the resources to take every opportunity available to them.”

– Dillon Cory, The Chicago Maroon, University of Chicago

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3. Giant-T-Shirt-Non-Pants Fashion Trend

“An epidemic has swept our campus and taken over our ladies. I am talking of course about the Giant-T-Shirt-Non-Pants (GTSNP) virus.  Symptoms of the virus include females wearing giant T-shirts and a form of non-pants and usually include severe cerebral malfunctioning, or stupidity.  The virus seems to be spreading mostly over sorority girls but has been known to transfer to those closest to them. . . . First you will notice the T-shirt.  It will be larger than the female wearing it by at least three sizes and will normally be a bright color, sometimes with anywhere from one to many logos for local businesses, fraternity formals and bars printed on them.  Next, you will notice the lack of pants. Anyone can wear a T-shirt and jeans but the virus calls for a lack of pants. Please be warned: Leggings and athletic shorts are not pants. . . . Other things you may notice are Rainbow brand flip-flops or a Polo Ralph Lauren ball cap. Essentially, the infected will display signs of preparing to go to the gym, without ever going to the gym.”

– Courtney Escher, The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

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4. Punishments for Unexcused Absences

“Syllabi . . . tell us that our absences will not be excused without a note from a doctor. Unless you visit the emergency room, no student is going to have regular, unscheduled access to their family physician.  Even if we do produce a doctor’s note, we are still given a limited amount of ‘sick days.’  If we exceed the given number of days, our grades are penalized. Some professors even require students to be in school for tests, regardless of excuse, because no make-up test will be offered. My opinion is that the practice of penalizing students for being sick is wrong. I realize there are those out there who skip school or feign illness to get out of class work. I offer that these people should not remove the benefit of the doubt from the rest of us. . . . The people who skip class are going to do it regardless of the penalties. All the penalties do is scare sick kids into going to school and making the situation worse. . . . By coming in, we spread our sicknesses, prolong our misery and produce inferior work all in order to avoid absence penalties.”

– Mark McMillan, The Oakland Post, Oakland University

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5. Nice Guys Finishing Last

“So why is it that the majority of the time the careless jerk, we’ll refer to him as Chad McSexy, gets the girl over us, sweet and caring guys? . . . [L]adies, cut the nice guys some slack. We’re truly sorry we reference so many dorky things, play a lot of video games, and don’t have Ryan Reynolds’ abs. But this doesn’t mean we should be cast out and left bitter and alone because of it. Give us a chance to become the men you never thought we could be. Who knows? We may surprise you.”

– Chris McLaughlin, The Criterion, Colorado Mesa University

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To Be Continued…

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