Campus journalism that serves a bilingual audience heads into third year

By Marcy Burstiner
Humboldt State University

When I came up with the idea for El Leñador, a Spanish-English student newspaper, at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, I hadn’t spoken Spanish since high school.

Moreover, I taught on a campus with one of the least diverse student populations in the California State University System, and my idea came at a time when The Lumberjack, the student-run weekly newspaper I advised, was struggling for advertising revenue. And, the university was looking for programs to eliminate to make up for state budget cuts.

But there were reasons to proceed with this new publication. Among them: The university had been named a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a designation that would make it eligible for new funds, and the Latino student population had doubled as a percentage of the overall student population between 2009 and 2013. At 28 percent, it was now about three times the percentage found in the rest of the county. Humboldt State’s enrollment is about 8,485.

I hoped that for a newspaper for and about the Latino student population, the administration would help me find the money I needed. I teamed up with Dr. Rosamel Benavides-Garb, the chair of the World Languages and Cultures Department, who taught Spanish. We tapped into a fund our dean had for faculty-student research projects and secured small stipends for six students from our two majors to research models for bilingual newspapers.

El Lenador, a monthly that averages six pages, is in its third year. Student Juan Carlos Salazar, a member of the initial research team who directed translation for the first two years, said the mission was daunting at first. Continue reading “Tres años y contando: The evolution of a bilingual student newspaper on a rural campus”

Recommendations from CMR’s editor….

Advisers

Few jobs can be more challenging — or more rewarding — than that of the student media adviser. Walking the tightrope between preparing courageous student journalists and satisfying wary school administrators is seldom easy. The guides below can help advisers navigate those challenges.

SPLC tip sheet for student media advisers

A guide to fighting (and surviving) censorship (Published 08/26/14). Read more

Student media advisers and the law

A legal help guide for surviving what is often the toughest job in a college environment. (Published 09/10/02). Read more.

 

UPDATES

More changes in the media advising duties on campus as reported by the Butler Collegian online where the replacement for the displaced adviser is replaced.

The College Media Association is dismayed to learn that Loni McKown, the adviser for The Butler Collegian student newspaper and website, has been removed from her advising duties at Butler University. Read more on CMA website.

From the Student Press Law Center

INDIANA — The Butler Collegian’s faculty adviser has been dismissed from her position and replaced with a university spokesman, prompting concerns among the student editors and college media watchers.

Loni McKown, who had just started her sixth year as the student newspaper’s adviser, said she received a letter dated Sept. 4 that said she was no longer the Collegian’s adviser and could not advise any Collegian staff in any capacity. The letter said that if she failed to abide by that directive, she would face additional discipline up to and including termination. Read More at the SPLC website.

CMA members team to help facilitate continuation of Reimold initiative on Sunday evenings

The weekly #CollegeMedia chats on Twitter that Dan Reimold started to highlight the myriad positives in college media are continuing, thanks to the work of Brett Fera, interim director for Arizona Student Media/The Daily Wildcat, and Candace Baltz, director of Oregon State’s Orange Media Network.

Baltz was the “real catalyst” to continuing the popular chats, according to Fera.

“This is without a doubt ‘by committee.’ Candace and I have each hosted one of the two #CollegeMedia chats since Dan’s passing, and I can pretty much guarantee that it won’t be just the two of us moving forward. There is a core group who have been regular contributors in recent weeks,” Fera said. Continue reading “#CollegeMedia weekly chats on Twitter to continue”

34-year-old scholar provided an internationally recognized voice as an advocate on behalf of college media

As colleges and universities start their new academic years and college media begin new production schedules, College Media Review salutes the late Dan Reimold by recapping some conversations with those who knew him, as well as summarizing a few of the myriad online toasts to the College Media Association member, widely recognized as a gifted educator and expert on college media.

Reimold died August 21. The 34-year-old was an assistant professor of journalism at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and adviser to The Hawk student newspaper.

Reimold was a frequent contributor to College Media Review during its days as a print publication through conversion to a digital first format and thereafter.

“Dan was smart, edgy, engaging and a helluva reporter in his own right. We corresponded and talked frequently over several years that I edited College Media Review, and I always knew if Dan was contributing a story package to the magazine, it would be well anchored,” said Robert Bohler, Texas Christian University, past editor of CMR.

“His first piece for CMR was the Carnal Knowledge cover story in 2007 that depicted how sex columnists had aroused interest and rancor — depending on whether or not you were a student or an administrator— on college campuses. Dan was a doctoral student at Ohio U. at the time.”

Reimold contributed numerous story packages for CMR, including annual reviews of college media and the magazine’s first podcast. (See partial list at the end of this story).

“He was always a reporter who knew how to promote, and his talent revealed itself in his CMR articles.  He always met deadline, always pushed sidebars and visuals. The book on journalistic sexual revolution he fashioned from his research, and his expansion into the general blogging on crises in college journalism.  Wow, what a talent, and what a loss to our profession and to the students from all walks whom he mentored,” Bohler wrote in a message to the CMA discussion group. Continue reading “Colleagues offer tributes to an ambassador for college media — Dan Reimold”