Recent events of the last year now have proved that the School of Communication not only has forgotten the educational purpose of The Lantern, but also that they no longer value the staff or the students who work there. They gave us a shiny new multimedia lab with outdated equipment to show off to alumni that they were investing in the school paper. However, they had no intention of upholding the paper or investing in our journalism education.
Since the new renovations, the School of Communication has repeatedly proved that The Lantern is not a priority. Most recently, Alex Kotran, a staff photographer, was arrested for photographing a breaking news story in a public space. To save face, the administration tried to distance themselves from The Lantern and the student photographer who has contributed so much to the paper. Cowardly, the administration refused to stand up for student journalists. They would not provide assistance with legal representation, period. Further, when the Publications Committee approved a commendation for Kotran, the director of the school had it revoked.
In the process, administrators stripped the editor-in-chief of the right to vote on Lantern policy, as a way to prevent the commendation from passing. Then, the school attempted to charge the paper with fraud because editors signed the press passes instead of the faculty adviser, taking away the editors’ authority.
The Lantern is the best way to learn journalism at Ohio State. It is not just a laboratory for the students who comprise our editorial and photography staff, it is a learning experience for the editors as well. However, it is discouraging to be put down at every turn, to receive no support from our administrators while still being expected to make them look competent. These administrators don’t come into the newsroom, they don’t see the work the students put in, and they don’t bother to get involved. Lantern editors receive more encouraging e-mails from the university president than from their own director of communication.
The outright disregard for the quality of the paper and the lack of pride and acknowledgement of the hardworking students is an insult to many. It insults the faculty who have worked to fight for student journalists and improve the paper. It insults the alumni who once worked to give The Lantern its reputation. It insults 130 years of history. Most of all, it insults every student who went to The Lantern to learn something. The School of Communication administrators need to refocus their values and remember that they are first and foremost educators. The Lantern doesn’t serve to make themselves look good, it serves to give students a place to become great journalists.
