Posted on 09/30/2012 10:15:42 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
ITHACA — Journalists covering dictatorial regimes overseas often have ‘minders’ assigned ensuring the state controls access. In a move more familiar to China than a college campus, Ithaca College officials announced Friday future press contact with administrators must be cleared by the college. The change in policy was quickly denounced by IC faculty as a “potential public relations disaster.”
Starting Oct. 1, members of Ithaca College student newspapers, radio and television must first clear any administrative contact with the college’s media relations department. The new policy affects student media “who are reporting on topics of college policies and developments must go through the office of media relations,” the Ithacan reported Friday.
The new policy will allow the school to “best facilitate being able to answer questions and find the best person to represent the institution,” media relations associate director Dave Maley explained. Maley bristled at the view his office would become a gatekeeper between the media and college officials. However, Maley told the student newspaper while he wouldn’t prevent reporters from directly contacting officials, only he could set up conversations with school officials.
Along with conversations, the school will require initial e-mail contacts between officials and reporters be filtered through the media office.
It is unclear how the new policy will be enforced. Although administrators who do not redirect a media contact won’t be penalized, “the policy is not optional,” according to the Ithacan.
“If it’s anything that is timely, going through a bureaucracy to get info or not being allowed to get the information really cuts down the publication process for media at the college,” Wenmouth Williams, chair of the college’s journalism department, told the newspaper. Williams questioned how he will be able to recruit journalism students with such restrictions on direct media access in place. He described the plan as a “potential public relations disaster.”
Jeff Cohen, director of the college’s Park Center for Independent Media and founder of the Fairness & Accuracy in Media Reporting (FAIR) media watchdog organization, lambasted the new policy.
“The policy seems more a communications policy for a corporation or a government agency than a college campus,” he said.
In a possible sign of things to come, a request to Maley to “facilitate” gaining contact with Rochon failed, according to the Ithacan. The new policy covers 84 college staff, faculty and administrators.
Ithaca College has yet to respond to the Independent’s request for comment on this story.
Actually, most college campuses are a lot like China. They're all run by communists.
Just another example of left wing censorship in Ithaca, the City of Evil.
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(Discussion of health, education, welfare, drugs, abortion, environment, housing, unions, employment, social security, religion, arts, humanity, sports, and other cultural and societal issues.)
Guess what Hitler would do if he were running the Ithaca operation.
“OK, fine with us, we’ll just print whatever your enemies say....”
Scary thing is that most colleges and universities already practice this form of censorship.
North Korea bump
Proclaim victory?
Stupid as stupid does. Another brick in the wall.
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