Courts in two recent cases have reaffirmed that university professors and administrators are public figures who face heavy burdens when trying to claim they were harmed by information published or circulated about them.
Tag: Fall 2008
Ark. professor files defamation suit against students
A tenured law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock believes his students caused substantial and irreparable injury to his reputation. So he is taking them to court.
A new year and a new path
When student editors decide to go it alone, the road can be a rocky one. At Quinnipiac University, Jason Braff looks at his online publication's bank account. It's empty. Meanwhile, Aaron Montoya of Colorado State University wrangles with the Internal Revenue Service as Bobby Melok of Montclair State University sits with his lawyer drafting paperwork.
Journalism makes better students
The relentless news of layoffs and falling earnings at media companies may make skeptics question the value of journalism education. Two recent studies make a persuasive case for why scholastic journalism still makes a difference.
Dirty words
Kalyn Feigenbaum was sitting in the DJ's chair at Pennsylvania State University's WKPS radio when it happened. Through the driving bass line and shattering cymbal crashes, she heard it come over the airwaves as though it was a hand slapping her in the face.
SPLC spotlights stories that make a difference
Public-records laws can open up a world of discoveries, rewarding persistent journalists like those in Marcy Burstiner's reporting class at California's Humboldt State University.
Web publishing carries promise and pitfalls
Yearbooks face more scrutiny
At the end of each school year, students pore over their new yearbooks, looking at every picture, picking out their friends and signing messages they hope will retain meaning for years to come. By the time the next year rolls around, that annual is all but forgotten and students are ready to move on to a new year of memory making.
Covering sexuality — carefully
When student journalists write about sex it almost always raises administrative eyebrows, but when the topic turns to homosexuality, the reaction sometimes escalates from concern to alarm.
Student voices find sympathetic ear
Sen. Leland Yee was one of about 3,000 protesters in the 1960s who defended a little park on the urban Berkeley campus. The park was owned by the University of California and administrators intended to replace it with a new dormitory.