Organizational Influences on Student Newspapers: A Survey of Newspapers of ACEJMC Programs

Abstract

Surveys of student editors, faculty advisers and academic affairs administrators of journalism and mass communication programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism in Mass Communication suggest that influences at the organizational level do have an impact on the content of student newspapers. The findings show that student editors were more likely to self-censor content when they did not have primary control of the newspapers. Significant differences were found to exist between the perceptions of student editors, faculty advisers, and academic affairs administrators in relation to influences on content and their relationship to censorship issues. Student editors were the only group who reported perceiving censorship as a problem. However, the survey results also showed that most public institutions had official governing rules and were not experiencing censorship issues.

How COVID-19 has affected college newspapers: A mixed-methods study

“…Despite the continual rejection of such practices in the courts, university administrators still attempt to control student press messages by cutting funding to news outlets, hiring advisors who are motivated to align with administrative perspectives, and leveraging advisory committees for heavy-handed organizational oversight (Kasior & Darrah, 1996). Administrative hostility promotes self-censorship (Bickham & Shin, 2013). Student newsroom leaders sometimes make editorial decisions based on fear of adverse action (Farquhar & Carey, 2019) or the discomfort of faculty advisers (Filak, 2012).…”

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“…It does not delve into questions of censoring practices or lived experiences. Overall, college newspaper editors perceive themselves as having more control over the content of their newspapers than institutional faculty or administration, and faculty advisers and administrators agree that control is generally in students' hands (Bickham & Shin, 2013;Enloe, 2011;Bodle, 1997). For example, in a survey of daily student newspaper advisers and business managers, 81.4% reported that their institutions did not have influence over the newspaper's content (Bodle, 1997).…”

“…These studies suggest that involved actorsincluding editors, advisers, and administratorsperceive student editors to have the main thrust of editorial control over campus newspapers. However, one study that asked participants whether they view censorship as a problem at their newspapers found that editors tend to agree that censorship is a problem for their publications, but advisers (61%) and administrators (81%) overwhelmingly do not report that censorship is a problem at their institutions' student newspapers (Bickham & Shin, 2013). This indicates that there is dissonance between whom editors perceive to have control over student publications and whether they perceive censorship to be a problem at their publications.…”

“…Perception of censorship may have real effects on the way student journalists manage their publications. Student editors who feel they lack content control may be more likely to self-censor (Bickham & Shin, 2013;Filak, 2012;Dickson, 1994). When student editors believe primary content control belongs to their faculty adviser or administrators, they also tend to abstain from attempting to publish controversial news (Bickham & Shin, 2013).…”

“…Student editors who feel they lack content control may be more likely to self-censor (Bickham & Shin, 2013;Filak, 2012;Dickson, 1994). When student editors believe primary content control belongs to their faculty adviser or administrators, they also tend to abstain from attempting to publish controversial news (Bickham & Shin, 2013). Similarly, student editors who believe their advisers are uncomfortable with controversial topics are more likely to be willing to self-censor (Filak, 2012).…”