A recent decision by Marquette University to fire Tom Mueller, a faculty adviser for the school’s student newspaper, has resulted in involvement of the Society for Professional Journalists and accusations of unfair “censorship.”
“We were surprised that they actually fired him, but the University keeps a careful eye on the paper,” Jen Hamberkon editor-in-chief for the Marquette Tribune said. “They are very concerned about what we write about and how it makes the university look.”
Students who work for the newspaper were confused and upset by the dismissal of Mueller, according to staff writer Tim Horneman.
“Personally, I am going to miss him,” Horneman said. “It’s not a 100 percent clear why he [was fired],”
The Marquette Tribune is published directly by the university and, although officials do not review it in advance, they have control over the paper.
According to James Scotton, Marquette’s chairman of the department of journalism, the Marquette Tribune is heavily integrated with the university and some faculty members have suggested it go independent.
“I do not think we will go this way. We have had this structure for a long time, although it’s not the easiest structure,” Scotton said.
The Society of Professional Journalists is reviewing the Mueller case. Dave Aeikens is chair of the task force reviewing Mueller’s case.
“The SJP task force is simply collecting information and keeping an open mind about what led to the decision,” Aeikens said. “[We are not attempting] to renew the contract of … Mueller.”
Bill Elliot, the dean of the college of communications at Marquette, explained that the decision not to renew Mueller’s contract was solely his.
“I have never been asked [by the administration] to remove any staff members from student media and that includes Tom Mueller,” Elliot said.
Many at Marquette are not concerned about the repercussions of the situation.
“I’ve been here for a long time and to be perfectly honest these things blow in and out,” Scotton said. “A week or two from now they will ask what that controversy was about.”
Despite the recent controversy, some professors at Marquette are supportive of giving students journalistic freedom.
“Students here have a right to publish anything they want in a news story or in a column,” Scotton said. “The hope is that it will be balance and professionally done.”
However, some University of Wisconsin students and teachers are concerned about journalistic freedom.
“The only clear case I can see for censorship is when lives are at stake,” said journalism professor and former director of the UW School of Journalism James Hoyt.
Hoyt added that when he received calls complaining about something written in the student papers at UW he replies with, “a mini-lecture about the First Amendment.”
“I can’t do anything about it — even if I could, I wouldn’t,” he said.
UW sophomore Matt Gardener said he appreciates the independence of the student papers on the Madison campus.
“I would not read a newspaper if I knew it was censored by the university,” said Gardener.