Spring Break
Gannett eyes Collegian takeover
Erik Myers
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
Donna Rouner, technical journalism professor, said she believed a partnership would have a negative impact on the Collegian, resulting in the loss of competing voices as well as a loss of local and university coverage, something she said she has seen with other Gannett-owned papers.
"The more voices we can have in the marketplace of ideas, the better," Rouner said. "We certainly need a student voice in this community."
Moore said he and Chin discussed partnership and expansion opportunities for the past two years, eventually setting their sights on the Collegian.
"You're talking about a city of 140,000 people, and more than 30,000 of them have direct ties to the university," Moore said. "Its an important audience for us. It's a part of our community that we've wanted to serve for a long time."
Chin discussed the idea with Penley late last year, and soon after, set a formal appointment, Moore said.
While Moore said it is too early to predict what a "strategic partnership" would look like, he said he is interested in bringing his own journalistic philosophy to the paper, creating an environment that fosters and encourages civic engagement among its readers.
"I really believe that good journalism brings that to the lives of the community," Moore said. "I would hope a good student newspaper would become more civically engaged… knowing what was going on with their community. That's the only reason I'm interested in any of this."
When asked if he thought current Collegian staff had failed to address such a philosophy, Moore said he had not read the paper enough to pass such judgment.
News Editor Erik Myers can be reached at news@collegian.com
Senior Reporter Cece Wildeman contributed to this report.
"The more voices we can have in the marketplace of ideas, the better," Rouner said. "We certainly need a student voice in this community."
Moore said he and Chin discussed partnership and expansion opportunities for the past two years, eventually setting their sights on the Collegian.
"You're talking about a city of 140,000 people, and more than 30,000 of them have direct ties to the university," Moore said. "Its an important audience for us. It's a part of our community that we've wanted to serve for a long time."
Chin discussed the idea with Penley late last year, and soon after, set a formal appointment, Moore said.
While Moore said it is too early to predict what a "strategic partnership" would look like, he said he is interested in bringing his own journalistic philosophy to the paper, creating an environment that fosters and encourages civic engagement among its readers.
"I really believe that good journalism brings that to the lives of the community," Moore said. "I would hope a good student newspaper would become more civically engaged… knowing what was going on with their community. That's the only reason I'm interested in any of this."
When asked if he thought current Collegian staff had failed to address such a philosophy, Moore said he had not read the paper enough to pass such judgment.
News Editor Erik Myers can be reached at news@collegian.com
Senior Reporter Cece Wildeman contributed to this report.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 30
M. Morris
posted 1/23/08 @ 2:13 AM MST
"'I really believe that good journalism brings that to the lives of the community,'" Moore said. "'I would hope a good student newspaper would become more civically engaged. (Continued…)
Bdygard
Craig Hawley
posted 1/23/08 @ 5:26 AM MST
Since the beginning McSWane and his colleagues have said this was about personal freedom of speech. That is not what the paper is about. It is supposed to be about the subscribers right to have a paper that reports the news allows them to form their opinions and doesn't curse and act in an unprofessional manner. (Continued…)
Tom
posted 1/23/08 @ 8:59 AM MST
The Collegian is printed on the Coloradoan presses. But seeing how the Coloradoan doesn't report on Fort Collins news, but instead focuses on Windsor and Loveland, I think that if the Collegian does get published by the Coloradoan, it won't report CSU news, but instead news about CU-Boulder and UW. (Continued…)
Doug
posted 1/23/08 @ 9:32 AM MST
It seems to me that this is a cautionary tale to student newspapers everywhere that unprofessional behavior has consequences. Just as poorly-run cafeterias have been outsourced on many campuses to fast-food chains, might not the quality of the paper actually improve with journalist leaders who know how to operate an orderly forum of ideas?
Jared
posted 1/23/08 @ 9:58 AM MST
Tom, how stupid are you?! For one, the Coloradoan frequently has Fort Collins news in it. Then there are a couple reasons why they have windsor and loveland news. (Continued…)
Jared
posted 1/23/08 @ 10:06 AM MST
Sorry Tom, didn't see the rest of your message.. So i'm sorry to throw you under the bus.
Main point, having Gannett take over the Collegian would be a great thing. (Continued…)
Kathy Lawrence
posted 1/23/08 @ 10:41 AM MST
The newspaper at Colorado State belongs to the students of Colorado State. It serves as the eyes, ears and voice of the students collectively. The two newspapers in Florida that were sold to Gannett were private, for-profit entities that didn't fit the traditional model of student newspapers. (Continued…)
Mat Cantore
posted 1/23/08 @ 10:56 AM MST
Putting control of a student newspaper into the hands of a for-profit corporation drastically reduces the effectiveness of the newspaper as an extracurricular academic experience. (Continued…)
Registered Independent
posted 1/23/08 @ 12:32 PM MST
Didn't the Collegian lose considerable advertising revenue due to the "Taser this" fiasco?
If so, then the Collegian editorial board are themselves responsible for this recent turn of events. (Continued…)
LINDA S. PUNTNEY
posted 1/23/08 @ 2:31 PM MST
Colorado State Collegian, like all college media, is a publication for the students by the students. Students make the news decisions, sell the ads, do the pre-press production, express opinion and tell the stories of the people and activities of Colorado State University. (Continued…)
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