Oh the Fun of Student Media
Well, what excitement on the work front this week in my role as Assistant Director for Student Media at Radford University. Midweek I started hearing that a TV station from Roanoke was contacting RU students in regard to a cartoon, "Christ on Campus," published by Whim, RU's online magazine. The toon, created by RU Student Christian Keesee (yeah, his name is Christian, quite interesting, huh?) portrays Christ as if he were alive today and on a college campus. In some weeks the toon simply takes this scenario to absurd ends while other editions are savvy politically and journalistically in their satirical message. But hey, why should I speak for Christian and his toon? See for yourself.
I think that people should realize that we're talking about STUDENT media here. It is run by students. Students control the content. The editorial decisions of what runs in Whim are controlled by the Whim Executive Director in consultation with his staff.
So anyway, WDBJ7 News out of Roanoke ran a brief piece Thursday evening/Friday morning on Whim and the so-called controversy surrounding "Christ on Campus." (For the record, the Whim staff has been contacted by probably less than five people--on a campus of 9,000 students and probably another 1,000 employees--who have expressed disdain for the toon.) The wheels of RU administrators apparently began turning after the DBJ story as phone calls started coming into my office on Friday from the "higher-ups" (which, considering my paltry status, is just about anybody).
This morning I woke up and read The Roanoke Times, which has the story as its top-of-the-front-page article. Overall it was a good story by Greg Esposito, although I question the line that Christian's depictions of Christ "have sparked anger among many students, both Christians and non-Christians." MANY students? Really? First I've heard about that. Still, it was a solid and balanced article--and informative. I learned for the first time this morning that our VP for Student Affairs issued a statement that said that "the student affairs division of the university ... encourages these students to consider the tastes and sensibilities of others. ... Some of the cartoons published by Whim fall short of these standards." The statement also said that a meeting between student affairs and student media about how to balance First Amendment rights while maintaining good taste will be held sometime next week." Hmmmm. Interesting what one can find out about when reading the newspaper.
So, I'm expecting a busy week next week. What will happen? Who knows?
What do you think about "Christ on Campus?" You can comment on my page, or at Whim's Web site, or at Roanoke.com. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And stay tuned, as this is a story that probably won't go away anytime soon.
I think that people should realize that we're talking about STUDENT media here. It is run by students. Students control the content. The editorial decisions of what runs in Whim are controlled by the Whim Executive Director in consultation with his staff.
So anyway, WDBJ7 News out of Roanoke ran a brief piece Thursday evening/Friday morning on Whim and the so-called controversy surrounding "Christ on Campus." (For the record, the Whim staff has been contacted by probably less than five people--on a campus of 9,000 students and probably another 1,000 employees--who have expressed disdain for the toon.) The wheels of RU administrators apparently began turning after the DBJ story as phone calls started coming into my office on Friday from the "higher-ups" (which, considering my paltry status, is just about anybody).
This morning I woke up and read The Roanoke Times, which has the story as its top-of-the-front-page article. Overall it was a good story by Greg Esposito, although I question the line that Christian's depictions of Christ "have sparked anger among many students, both Christians and non-Christians." MANY students? Really? First I've heard about that. Still, it was a solid and balanced article--and informative. I learned for the first time this morning that our VP for Student Affairs issued a statement that said that "the student affairs division of the university ... encourages these students to consider the tastes and sensibilities of others. ... Some of the cartoons published by Whim fall short of these standards." The statement also said that a meeting between student affairs and student media about how to balance First Amendment rights while maintaining good taste will be held sometime next week." Hmmmm. Interesting what one can find out about when reading the newspaper.
So, I'm expecting a busy week next week. What will happen? Who knows?
What do you think about "Christ on Campus?" You can comment on my page, or at Whim's Web site, or at Roanoke.com. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And stay tuned, as this is a story that probably won't go away anytime soon.
posted by Tim W. Jackson | 11:19 AM
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