Welcome to your free, editorially independent student newspaper. Every production night, and whenever breaking news happens, all of our content is produced for the students of The University of Alabama by students of The University of Alabama.
Given all the pressure in the world of journalism right now, consider how lucky we all are to say that.
You may have read about the University of Georgia’s student newspaper recently. Last week, the Red and Black’s top editors walked out of their building and away from their jobs en masse in protest of new expectations handed down by their Board of Directors. It was a bold move – and one that I supported, once all the facts came to light – that got attention from national media outlets like the New York Times.
Within an hour, the editors had created a Twitter account that they used to send out updates on their situation, @redanddead815. As the tweets started coming, their new followers started to see just why exactly a large number of Red and Black staffers walked out.
Editor-in-Chief Polina Marinova and several other members of the staff felt the Red and Black Board of Directors had decided to change the direction of their newspaper. For example, the Board hired an editorial director to have prior review of the newspaper and ten other professional staffers, and in a draft memo, called for more “good” stories than “bad” stories.
“Bad” stories, a member of the Board wrote in the memo, included “content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is ‘journalism.’ If in question, have more GOOD than BAD.”
One of the examples of “bad” journalism? A hypothetical story that points out “that the freshman class lacks some minority demographics.”
We’ve written almost exactly that story in The Crimson White before. Was it “bad” content? That depends on whether you believe that stories that start dialogue in our community are “bad” for our community – that story started dialogue.
Regardless, we’re thankful for the opportunity to print those stories. Our editorial independence allows us to do that. Due to the support we feel we have around campus, we don’t have to spend our energy fighting for the right to publish what we feel you, and our larger community, need. And as long as we have this opportunity to be a news organization for students, by students, we won’t let you down.
The ordeal at the Red and Black put our jobs into perspective. Our staff doesn’t intend to make The Crimson White a passive newspaper this year. We intend to start dialogue and stay active in the community around us. For that, we’ll need your help. Engage with us, on the internet and in person. Write letters to the editor. Make news. Take part in MyCW and CW Projects, both of which are coming soon. Help us serve you as best as we can.
