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UW schools deny ads
Oshkosh, Stevens Point refuse to run anti-abortion insert
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Also by Whitney Trotta:
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- UW schools deny ads (September 24, 2009)
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- House of Representatives passes student aid act (September 18, 2009)
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Two University of Wisconsin System school newspapers are under fire for rejecting an advertisement offer from Pro-Life Wisconsin on the basis of avoiding controversy.
Both the Advance-Titan of UW-Oshkosh and The Pointer of UW-Stevens Point decided not to run a 12-page insert created by the Human Life Alliance because both papers believed the insert would cause an unnecessary controversy while not providing a direct service.
“(The decision) actually had nothing to do with the content that was in there; I sat down with my advisor and advertising manager and we discussed it,” said Andrew Munger, editor in chief of the Advance-Titan. “They don’t provide a service of any sort, just an ideology.”
According to Munger, to call this decision censorship is ludicrous since the newspaper makes public their right to print and advertise as they see fit.
The Pointer also chose not to run the advertisement. Editor in Chief Jacob Mathias likewise said they did not run the advertisement because the content did not provide a service, yet the decision was also made to avoid controversy, he added.
Peggy Hamill, director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said she believes by not placing the advertisement, the two schools are showing a bias.
“They obviously have that right to do so; however, if they consider themselves a non-biased newspaper of integrity, then common sense would tell them they should be accepting an advertising piece of such researched information,” Hamill said.
The insert contains information regarding topics such as abortion’s and its relation to breast cancer, types of abortions and how to cope with an unwanted pregnancy.
“The main service we provide to the students and general public is information on the sanctity of human life, healthy choices for people, health risks and scientific facts surrounding humanity of the preborn,” Hamill said.
Hamill added the newspaper at UW-Stout has refused these inserts in the past and in March 2008 Marquette University debated whether to run the advertisement, only running it once pressure was applied by the university, students and alumni.
The current editor in chief at the Marquette Tribune, Jim McLaughlin, said he believes the advertisement was originally not run due to graphic images in the pamphlet, not content or topic.
“We call decisions like this one ‘red flag’ topics,” said Lauren Frey, advertising director for the Marquette Tribune. “Anything in this area is reviewed by myself, account executives … then goes through the business manager and the student media board.”
This year, Frey said they made the decision to run the advertisement without debate, as there were no graphic images to be seen.
Correction: The original version of this article said Peggy Hamill is the director of Wisconsin Right to Life, but she is actually the director of Pro-Life Wisconsin. We regret the error.
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THIS is a top news story? Wow…must be a slow day…
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In response to the statements by Mr. Munger and Mr. Mathias regarding their decisions not to run based on no service being provided: I would like to point them to page 3 where seven options for direct pregnancy and post abortion recovery services are listed along with contact information. Those in need would certainly consider this a service.
Jo Tolck, Executive Director Human Life Allilance
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“According to Munger, to call this decision censorship is ludicrous since the newspaper makes public their right to print and advertise as they see fit.”
Can you read? They can print what they want. If they don’t want to run your ad, they don’t have to. Everyone has a bias; it’s unavoidable.
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I’m surprised that students at a public university would be afraid of being exposed to information regarding their health choices. Don’t you attend college so as to learn and become informed? AAHH!!! DON’T SCARE ME WITH THE FACTS!
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Nothing like a free press, bitch.
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“I would like to point them to page 3 where seven options for direct pregnancy and post abortion recovery services “
Just keep it off the front page, no banners or photos, nope, can’t do it. Journalism lives!!
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Newspapers have an obligation to print facts. They should not run ads promoting “post-abortion syndrome,” the existence of which has been disproved. It goes against journalistic integrity.
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I was pro-choice until I had kids. I can’t imagine an abortion now. At the same time, an advertisement would not have changed my mind. Seems like a waste of engergy and money from both sides.
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You’re still pro-choice, but you choose ‘no’. I think to qualify yourself as ‘pro-life,’ you have to demand strict adherence to a pre-determined course.
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Wow, please learn how to spell or at least use spellcheck…”Allilance” and “engergy.”
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I assume these newspapers are also doing away with the editorial page? That could be considered “controversial” as well.
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Their policies state they can choose not to include an ad for any reason and that they have the right to deny publication of anything for any reason.
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If they can pick and choose what to put in their paper it’s not really a NEWS PAPER anyway and not worthy of reading. Somebody should start another paper in both schools and watch them lose all their readers. Kind of the Fox news lowered the ratings of the parrot msm.
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Is this a joke? Every news source “picks” what they report and what they don’t report. This comment takes naive to a whole new level.
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So, Munger, freedom of the press supercedes freedom of individual speech? Who made you the overseer of what is fit?
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According to Munger, to call this decision censorship is ludicrous since the newspaper makes public their right to print and advertise as they see fit.
So, munger, freedom of the press supersedes freedom of the individual? Anyone who determines what is “FIT,” in their opinion, to print IS censorship.
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Just because you have freedom of speech does not give you the right to broadcast your message whereever you want. Freedom of speech does not allow you to hack Intel’s web site and write Intel sucks everyone should buy AMD.
Not everything is a massive open bulletin board.
And news flash buddy: EVERY news source decides whether they should broadcast something or not. EVERY news source decides what they want to cover and what to fit into their publication/broadcast.
I went to Chili’s for dinner today. OMG CNN won’t cover my story. Censorship!
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And EVERYone has the right to berate the paper for its bias, Evan—hopefully you and yours won’t declare criticism a hate crime or some such silliness.
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It does not serve any purpose? How about sharing information about life? Why have the ads for abortion, but not anti-abortion? I think the editors are pro-choice, and just do not want to put it in the paper.
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If the newspapers receive any state funding they should have to allow both viewpoints.
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O’ I got it, you have the right to kill babies but we can’t run any photos. That would be entirely over the top.
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They do accept tax money at least indirectly. For example, they take students for work study. Taxpayer money comes from prolifers and prochoicers. If they want to be totally autonomous, they should be totally financially independent. Stop using tax monies if you will only promote one side, it is unfair to taxpayers.
“Their policies state they can choose not to include an ad for any reason and that they have the right to deny publication of anything for any reason.”
By the way, good luck to the newspaper, in just a few years the only ones that may exist are these leeching university newspapers who live in their ficticious micro-economies, while papers fail in the real world.
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Speaking for the other 49 states “We don’t want anybody from Wisconsin breading anyway!”. I don’t understand the problem.
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I have to say that people from Wisconsin are extremely attractive… Also, we are extremely intellegent and know how to spell breeding. (not breading) I wouldn’t want to bread anyone either! From any state!! I don’t know what that implies even…
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It is sad to see the lack of journalistic integrity, moral courage, and fairness in the editorial staff of these two papers, as they decline to let a particular group express itself. Whatever happened to providing a balanced forum, especially for such a debated topic of life and death. What are the editors afraid of? Honest presentation of facts and debate?! Or is this another case of myopic, liberal bias? How sad! How gutless!
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Is everybody missing it? This Pro-Life Wisconsin “advertisement” was an “ad” insert, not news.
Since when is advertising a “free speech” issue? It’s not news.
Can you imagine if it was a free speech issue, and all papers had to print or include everything. Businesses would lose the ability to manage a quality product, all the while ignoring the intended customers expectation of the material. Maybe a business wouldn’t want to give the impression that such an ad is endorsed by them. Think past the phony Pro-Life outrage. .
Alert: Newspapers actually don’t print every news item available either. They are selective. Some papers are conservative, some aren’t.
Pro-Life Wisconsin is a fringe group that ignores all other aspects of “life,” while trying to force their “theory” of when life begins onto everyone else.
They’re unaware that in Genesis, God declared Adam alive when he took his first breath. That would put the beginning of life at birth, wouldn’t it!
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Adam wasnt “born” John. I’m not sure weather you’ve ever “read” the “Bible” but he was “created” by God.