Gannett eyes Collegian takeover
Erik Myers
Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News
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Bob Moore and Christine Chin, the executive editor and publisher of Gannett-owned newspaper The Coloradoan, attended the meeting in which they proposed a "strategic partnership" with the Collegian.
Gannett currently owns and operates two college newspapers at Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.
Neither Student Media professional nor student staff were privy to the meeting. Katie Gleeson, president of the Associated Students of CSU, said the meeting was planned weeks in advance and, according to a release from Penley, had been proposed late last year.
Collegian staff became aware of the secret meeting an hour prior through an anonymous tip.
J. David McSwane, Collegian editor-in-chief, caught Penley outside his office minutes before to attend the meeting. But McSwane and Collegian reporters were denied access to the meeting.
Several confused ASCSU leaders met up with Collegian staffers outside the meeting, wondering, too, why they had not been informed of such a drastic proposal.
When McSwane questioned university spokesman Brad Bohlander about his exclusion, Bohlander said Gleeson served as an appropriate student representative, and that the meeting had been nothing more than an introductory chat.
"Its entirely preliminary," he said. "There's no news work, no information, no decisions, no recommendations, no thoughts of where they might go. We just wanted to hear what they had to say."
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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