An article entitled “NYU Professor Stifles Blogging, Twittering by Journalism Student” recently caught my eye on PBS.org’s MediaShift section.The article, found here, adrresses a rather sticky situation. NYU student and blogger Alana Taylor wrote an article for MediaShift criticizing her class “Reporting Gen Y”, as well as the entire NYU journalism department, for not offering enough new media courses. She did not seek permission from the professor of her class, and when the professor found out about her article, found here, she banned all further blogging and Twittering about the class. Mark Glaser, the host of MediaShift, contacted Taylor’s professor, who told him she would allow all writing, blogging and Twittering about the class after it was over, but would still require her explicit permission for direct quotes. The director of the NYU journalism school told Glaser they do not have a clear policy on the matter, and leaves it up to the professors’ discretion. Apparently, as a private school, NYU could technically restrict free speech, but any live-blogging about a class does not constitute an invasion of privacy legally.
Comments about Glaser’s views are divided. Some say Taylor violated basic rules of journalism and publicly quoted people without prior consent, while others applauded her efforts. One commenter pointed out that if Taylor had written a glowing review of NYU journalism, there would be no issue at all.
Does anyone have an opinion about this? Was Alana Taylor fully within her rights to blog and write an article about her class without prior permission, or was she violating her professor’s and classmates’ privacy? Do you think her professor’s decision falls under censorship or not? I wonder if Rutgers have a policy about this?
I am so surprised that this professor didn’t see this coming. Although no student — as far as I know — has live blogged about one of my classes, I’ve been expecting it, partly because I’ve been live blogged or Twittered at several conferences, dating back to 2005. Earlier this semester, I spoke at a conferences where there were two screens in the room. One projected the PowerPoint slides the speakers were showing the audience; the other, larger screen, showed the comments of the audience members who were Twittering. If I had turned my head slightly, I would have been able to see reaction to my talk as I spoke. It would be a little unnerving to have something like that happen in class that lasts a lot longer than a 12-minute research presentation and is a lot less scripted. Being “onstage” in front of a group of 20 to 90 students for up to three hours is already extremely tough — a little like performing a different Broadway show 16 to 32 times a semester, without a script. But that’s no reason to ban journalism students from disseminating information.
Susan Keith
Comment by susankeith — December 7, 2008 @ 11:30 pm |
NYU may be a private institution, but the fact that a journalism professor would prevent a student from exercising her voice in a healthy, constructive forum is a testament to the very fact that many journalists can’t hold up to the scrutiny they apply to others. It is quite possible – likely I would even argue – that stories that break the barrier for new and innovative reporting push ethical boundaries. We rely on that sort of journalism to move our profession. When criticizing public officials, do we ask their permission first? President Bush used a profanity in public a few years ago when he thought he was out of ear-shot, as did Barack Obama (guns and religion). Both were criticized. I don’t mean to compare the role of the president to a professor, but both are positions that warrant and benefit from criticism and scrutiny.
If the $50,000 a year tuition fee – the price I’m told it costs to attend NYU, though I haven’t had a chance to completely verify this – didn’t afford her the privilege to speak out against her class, I’m not sure what would.
The professor is not only out of line, but has her priorities in the wrong place. Journalism school’s DON’T have enough courses about new journalism; that makes it our job to equip ourselves with the skills necessary to compete. I find it ironically fitting that the professor was only limiting her student’s exposure to those forms of new media.
Comment by carneage — December 9, 2008 @ 2:23 am |