A Texas college administrator who last year wanted reporters at a San Antonio College’s student newspaper to pay him in exchange for interviews is no longer is employed.
The relationship between former student life director Jorge Posadas and The Ranger has long been rocky. In October 2011, Posadas told student reporters that if they wanted to get information from him, they could set up a “professional consulting contract” and “negotiate an appropriate fee” for his assistance. This was after he insisted on email-only interviews. National publications picked up on Posadas’ request, which school President Robert Zeigler later said was a mistake.
There have been other incidents between Posadas and the newspaper: According to reports in The Ranger, Posadas changed the name of the school’s athletic teams from The Rangers to The Reds so they wouldn’t share the newspaper’s name. He threatened to file harassment charges against a reporter working on the story about the name change if he was contacted again. And in May of this year, Posadas led an attempt to create a second student newspaper at the college, because he didn’t think The Ranger appealed to students.
Faith Duarte, web editor and the author of The Ranger’s article on Posadas’ departure, said the paper doesn’t know what led to his recent departure or the circumstances behind it, but is trying to get information about it.
Vanessa Torres, San Antonio College’s public relations director, said that it was the school’s policy to not release any information about personnel issues. Robert Vela, the college’s vice president and Posadas’ former supervisor, would not comment on the matter.