Poynter Online
Go


Top Story

Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
Most Recent Articles
1.Poynter announces publication of a new collection of newspaper pages
9:00 AM Nov. 21, 2009
2.Poynter's Times Publishing Co. sells Governing
5:15 PM Nov. 20, 2009
3.Recommendation for Fewer PAP Screens Sure to Set Off Controversy
10:32 AM Nov. 20, 2009
4.Gene Patterson to Jack Nelson: Save Us a Desk Up There in That Celestial Newsroom
7:03 AM Nov. 20, 2009
5.Public TV, Radio Stations to Increase Local Investigative Coverage
6:19 AM Nov. 20, 2009
Most E-mailed
Recent Comments
Recent Tags
Community Activity

Poynter Training
Poynter Seminars
Small, in-person training experiences.
1.
A New Curriculum for a New Journalism - Jan. 6-8, 2010
Apply by November 23
2.
Multimedia Journalism for College Educators - February 1-5, 2010
Apply by December 14
3.
NewsU: Write Your Heart Out: The Craft of the Personal Essay - January 25-February 19, 2010
Apply by January 4
News University
Today's most popular courses on NewsU, Poynter's e-learning site for journalists.
Webinars
Our online classroom is just a click away. Learn more.
All Webinars

Poynter Forums

View Forum Post

Topic: Miscellaneous items
Date/Time: 2/20/2008 1:12:36 PM
Title: Medill students and alums draft statement for dean
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
Fellow Medill students and alumni:

As most of you know, Dean John Lavine's use of anonymous sources made headlines last week and coverage continues. To date, the dean has not issued a statement to the student body about this situation described by sixteen members of the Medill faculty as "a crisis for the school."

We feel an explanation from the dean is the least the student body deserves.

If you agree with the statement below (think of it as a petition), we ask that you type your name and year in the body of an email to this address: savejournalismatmedill@gmail.com. Your reply will sign your name to the statement, which will be distributed in the same manner as the faculty statement. The statement will be sent later this week to Dean Lavine and the administration. We encourage you to reply by Thursday to have your name included.

Please forward this to anyone in the Medill community you know, especially if they are underclassmen.

If you have additional comments on this topic you'd like to have heard, we encourage you to comment on the blog www.journalistsspeak.blogspot.com. (No anonymous or libelous comments please, for obvious reasons.)

Good night and good luck,

Aaron Gannon '08, Emmet Sullivan '08, Margaret Matray '08, Tricia Bobeda '09

==============================================================

Statement from Concerned Students in the Medill School of Journalism
February 20, 2008

Since beginning at Northwestern, we have been taught certain sacred rules in journalism. Failure to abide by these rules can and has resulted in punishment, from a failing grade to expulsion from the program.

The controversy surrounding Dean John Lavine has made this week a troubling one. We do not know if he fabricated the quotes in his letter to alumni or simply failed to properly attribute them, but we expect more from Dean Lavine, the head of our school.

We are disappointed with the lack of attention paid to students. Dean Lavine has so far failed to address his student body on this issue (as of Feb. 20, 2008, when this petition was written).

We fully support the faculty statement and are looking forward to hearing from the Undergraduate Medill Student Advisory Council. We, the undersigned students and alumni, still wish to identify our concerns. We hope that more students will join our petition in the coming days.

· Dean Lavine has said that because his column in Medill magazine is a "personal letter," he does not need to follow the same reporting style as a news story. We agree with the faculty statement that the magazine is "subject to the same standards as other publication venues."

· Dean Lavine, as a role model for our community, is responsible for upholding the elements of the Medill Integrity Code in all his published work.

· We echo the faculty statement calling for Dean Lavine to provide notes or sources for his piece.

We hope the dean will address his students on the matter at hand. We feel we have been ignored.

In signing this letter, we believe the dean, the faculty, the alumni, the students and ALL members of the Medill community should come together, come to terms with the issue and use this unfortunate situation as a teachable moment in our journalism education. In our eyes, this has yet to happen.

Sincerely,

Aaron Gannon '08, Emmet Sullivan '08, Margaret Matray '08, Tricia Bobeda '09

View Complete Forum Topic

Username
Password
New User? Signup Now
Poynter Careers
See All Jobs
Add Your Resume
Post Your Job
Become a Member
More media jobs