A study conducted through the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project sounds the alarm on the perfect storm of factors coalescing to restrict student journalist independence on college campuses. 

The article, “Sounding the alarm: Legal implications of evolving college media independence,” was published in the latest issue of Communication Law & Policy, outlining the vulnerability of student newspapers to censorship and control. 

The study was led by Jessica Sparks when she was a doctoral student in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. She now serves as an assistant professor at Auburn University.

“Our hope is that this legal analysis, in conjunction with the previous tools we created with the Student Press Law Center, will help student media outlets better understand how they are vulnerable to challenges to their independence,” Sparks said. “The findings really place context around issues facing college media at the moment. These outlets play a more and more important role in our news landscape, and their sustainability is integral for the future of journalism in the United States.”  

The study points out that the declining media economic model also has affected university media, making them more reliant on university funding for survival. That makes student media less independent in the eyes of the courts, according to the article’s analysis of case law. 

 Ultimately, the paper argues, strong statutes need to be enacted in all of the states to protect student journalists from censorship, such as the “New Voices” legislation now in place in 18 states. The laws, promoted by the Student Press Law Center, establish protections against university censorship. 

 Co-authors of the study included Jonathan Anderson, a doctoral student from the University of Minnesota, and Ashley Alarcon, a law student at the University of Florida who conducted research for the Brechner FOI Project as an undergraduate student. The study was funded by a Lumina Foundation grant, acquired by former Brechner FOi Project Director Frank LoMonte, which culminated in a February report about campus media independence.  

Posted: November 6, 2024
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: College Campuses, Secrecy Tracker, Student Press Law Center