Printing future uncertain for Student Publications

Administrators are considering eliminating the printed edition of the student newspaper this year. 

The cut may be made to keep up with industry standards, administrators said.

The Campus newspaper has published at OCU since 1907. Over the past year, 7% of college newspapers have switched to online only according to a College Media Association benchmarking survey.

Dr. Amy Cataldi, dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences and acting assistant provost, said the possibility of cutting the newspaper comes from looking at other universities and comparing programs.

“It’s a question of, is this practical to be doing the newspaper as well as online,” she said. “Should we harness our resources and just look at the online?”

The decision would be made after discussion with administrators, Student Publications staff and local experts, Cataldi said.

“I intend to continue some form of the OCU media,” she said. “I’m not sure if it’s print and online or just online.”

No official decision has been made, Cataldi said. She did not confirm when this decision will be made.

Chris Evans, president of the College Media Association, a national college media advocacy organization that reaches thousands of people each year, said while some college newspapers have reduced publications, the majority still produce print versions once or twice a week.

“If you are seeking to teach students how to be good journalists, you should also have a print product,” he said.

Working on a newspaper teaches students different skills than online—skills that are important for a career in the journalism industry, including graphic design, layout and using softwares that are staples to the industry, Evans said.

“You’re always going to be better off the more forms of media you can possibly have,” he said.

Evans said print and online have different readerships in a university.

“One thing that a print product does is it creates a sense of community on campus that doesn’t exist otherwise,” he said. “It would be closing down one avenue of communication.”

Print newspapers give students the story in the palm of their hands, said Nicole Waltman, former editor-in-chief of Student Publications.

“Newspapers allow people to have something tangible to grasp onto,” Waltman said. “It gives the Student Publications staff the opportunity to work together as a team to build and distribute something that they can be proud of.” 

Cataldi’s statement comes after the resignations of two mass communications faculty. Dr. Kenna Griffin, former director of Student Publications, assistant professor of mass comm and university alumna, resigned May 8 after she said Cataldi told her in a meeting that the Student Publications budget was being eliminated. Cataldi told Griffin at the time that the newspaper’s online version, MediaOCU.com, would be kept, but that student salaries also would be eliminated, meaning Student Publications’ previously fully-paid staff would be expected to work for free, Griffin told Student Publications.

Cataldi told Student Publications June 10 that salaries would remain the same.

Griffin is a frequent presenter at national student media conventions and currently serves as the president-elect of the national College Media Association. She says she wasn’t consulted about the changes and would have advised against them. 

“Kenna was a staple in the department and of course, Student Publications,” said Trae Trousdale, mass communications junior and Student Government Association president. “I’m extremely interested to see how they go about remedying that and who they’re going to bring in to work with Stu Pub and to work with that whole track.”

Matt Hamilton, professor and former mass communications chairman, resigned May 31. He also was in the meeting where the cuts were announced. Hamilton, a university alumnus, taught in the department for 22 years.

Ben Felder, news director for The Oklahoman, was hired to replace Griffin as the Student Publications advisor. Beth Adele, director of marketing at Lyric Theatre, was hired as the director of mass communications. 

Students could still get real world job experience without a newspaper, Cataldi said.

“We have internship programs, and I am currently working with lots of alums and networking with alums to get them real world experience in addition to what they might be able to do on campus,” she said.

The possibility of the newspaper being cut does not stem from a lack of funding, Cataldi said.

“We don’t know what the budget is, so we don’t know about any budget deficit,” she said. “There’s no budget cuts to the newspaper. There’s no budget cuts to the faculty of arts and sciences.”

An April 22 email sent to the Petree College of Arts and Sciences faculty by Dr. Mohamed Daadaoui, political science chairman, read that David McConnell, interim chief financial officer, said OCU has a $6 million budget deficit during the current fiscal year.

“Nevertheless, the university will have to make adjustments to the budget because, in his view, there are a number of issues facing OCU,” Daadaoui wrote.

The budget deficit is a result of an error, McConnell said in an interview with Student Publications—an error that donors are helping to fix through gifts to the university.

The university could see some program changes due to the deficit, McConnell said. He said he does not make decisions with any budget cuts to Student Publications.

“I don’t see that having a negative impact on the student experience,” he said.

McConnell, who has worked in higher education for over 50 years, said universities are constantly evaluating their programs and where they spend their budget. 

“In most of my institutions in the past, some programs go away because they’re just not relevant anymore. You’re not graduating many students,” he said. “They’re constantly evaluating ways to improve and make sure their curriculum providing is relevant to today’s needs.”

McConnell said university officials were finishing the new fiscal year budget June 13 and it will be reviewed by the board.

“Do we have challenges? Yes, we do have challenges. That’s the nature of higher ed right now,” McConnell said. “But OCU has got a great future.”

Trousdale said through SGA, he has been working to further communication between officials and students and ensuring students have a voice in university changes.