Policy changes for Norwich Guidon

The administration has decided, with the help of Media Relations Manager Daphne Larkin, to hold journalism students and Guidon staff to the same level of professionalism they do outside media reporters. 

In the past, journalism students have contacted staff, faculty and students on their own to set up interviews regarding various story assignments. This semester, students were surprised to learn the process had changed slightly, creating some confusion about what was expected of them. 

Journalism students were asked by their editors to contact Larkin before writing any story or to inform Larkin about their assignment and ask for suggestions for who to interview.

This system is in place for all outside media researching stories about Norwich.

Students were at first uncomfortable with the change.

"I think it's really inconvenient for journalism students because it puts more of a deadline on us to get stuff done," said Richard Macris, 21, a junior communications major from Richfield, Conn. "I feel like we are going to be limited on who we can and cannot interview."

"By the sound of it before, it seemed like we had to go to her for every single person we wanted to go talk to," said Chance Gieni, 25, a senior communications major from Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada.

The change occurred as a reesponse to several diverse events this fall.

Said Larkin, "We became aware that some students on the Guidon staff had the perception that the student paper was reviewed or censored by the administration, which is not the case."

"And in the midst of this, we had a situation with inconsistent responses from Norwich staff to Guidon reporters regarding the Rook on Rook assault that occurred on campus in the fall of 2009."

She added, "There were a few issues that occurred all around the same time." And according to her, the school had a problem it needed to find a solution for.

To keep professionalism and fairness as the main focus, a decision was agreed upon by the administration to treat all level of reporters, both on and off campus, the same. This procedure falls under the Media Access Policy, and it has been updated this year to include Guidon reporters. 

"This policy asks that anyone on campus that is contacted by reporters, Guidon staff included, get me into the loop," Larkin said.

Sports reporters will be contacting Christian Anderson, sports information director, for assistance on their stories.

Larkin says that she will treat Guidon reporters the same as professional journalists, but expects the Norwich reporters to be professional, too.

"If student reporters want the same level of access as outside reporters, then they have to show a level of professionalism, and they have to earn that," Larkin said.

Reporters are expected to write balanced and well-sourced stories.

Larkin is there to provide assistance, and will not be censoring stories.

"I can't control what any outside reporters do, just like I cannot control what student reporters do," Larkin said. 

According to Larkin, the apprehension students had regarding censoring of the Guidon was and is not true. 

Some students applaud the change.

"It's a good idea that faculty has to notify Daphne if anyone interviews them, just like any other reporter, whether it be from Associated Press (AP) or Times Argus," said Suzanne Whitaker, 20, a sophomore communications major from Chelmsford, Mass.

"Most of us don't really know who to go so we'll just interview students and it doesn't really get the whole point of view," Whitaker said.  "If we can get contacts with professors and contacts through her, it will be easier and we will hopefully have better articles.

Larkin has realized benefits, too.

"I get to learn more about what's going on around campus, and I get to have more contact with students, which is great because I'm always looking for good stories to pitch to the media. So I get something out of it," Larkin said. "But it's not coming from a desire to have control over what students are doing, it's only to be a resource and so I can learn more about the place."

The other benefit is that students will be able to use Larkin as a resource when writing their stories.  

"We can brainstorm some ideas.  My role with any reporter is to help them tell the full story," Larkin said.

"There is a real opportunity here because any time any reporter contacts me we brainstorm about the story and I inevitably help them find angles they might not have thought of so I encourage you to pursue a wider variety of sources and talk to the administration, not just students."

Students are realizing the advantages. "It's a good resource to be able to go to her and she will point us in the right direction," Gieni, said.

According to Larkin, the new Media Access Policy to include Guidon reporters can only be a win-win situation.

"We're starting from a place by treating all reporters with the same professional courtesies.   That's really all there is to it. It seems like a lot to ask but we're going to try it and see how it goes," Larkin said.