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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Radio April Fools Day Joke Backfired
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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-07-2004 01:11 PM
College Papers Pay for April Fools' Issues
Link To Story (may expire)
By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH - Being funny without being offensive is tough to do, which is why college newspapers that publish April Fools' Day editions often end up paying for it.
Three student publications that put out spoofs this year — those at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Scranton and the University of Nebraska at Omaha — know all too well.
Carnegie Mellon's paper, The Tartan, voluntarily shut down for the rest of the semester after publishing a racially charged cartoon in its 12-page spoof edition. The cartoonist lost his job, and the editor in chief — who blamed fatigue for clouding editors' judgment — is taking a leave of absence until fall.
University of Scranton officials closed The Aquinas for parodying Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," college administrators and Georgetown University, a fellow Jesuit institution.
The Gateway, the Nebraska paper, apologized for its four-page edition titled The Ghettoway. One story, with the headline "Gateway cameras stolen during weekend," was written by Ono Udidn. Another fake byline: Mindjo Bidness. The news editor, who is black, told The Gateway for a story Tuesday that she thought the content was representative of pop culture in general.
The NAACP, the Urban League and many community members filed complaints with Nebraska's chancellor. Nancy Belck told The Gateway: "I find it (The Ghettoway) offensive and we will not tolerate it on this campus."
About 75 readers protested Carnegie-Mellon's The Natrat — Tartan backward — which included a depiction of female genitalia and poems about rape and mutilation. The school is forming a committee to investigate.
"The horrible cartoon ... is a repudiation of our core values and it must not be tolerated," university President Jared L. Cohon wrote in a letter to the newspaper of the drawing, which shows a goat using a slur in describing how he hit a black person on a bicycle.
Besides apologizing, The Gateway is planning sensitivity training for its staff members and a forum on student relations. The Tartan has decided to hire an ethics manager to review future issues.
Many of the student publications that find themselves in hot water over spoof editions don't have a professional adviser on staff, said Mark Goodman, executive director Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va.
The law center discourages April Fool's editions, which Goodman said have been known to lead to lawsuits. Still, he said, the organization defends the rights of student editors to decide what to print.
"The suits are seldom successful, but the problem is, they can really cause a lot of headaches" in terms of cost and effort to fight, he said.
April Fools' issues are much less common than they were in the 1970s and '80s, Goodman said.
"I think what most newspaper staff have come to realize is, humor and satire are completely appropriate ... in the right place" such as a regular humor or satire column or separate publication, he said.
"The conflict, I think, for newspapers is when every other issue of the year they're covering straight news ... it creates problems."
Also, Goodman said, not everyone is good at being funny: "Anyone who's ever written satire knows it's not really easy."
People also have different senses of humor, said Aly Colon of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.
"When you engage in humor or satire, the challenge that a newspaper ... faces is one of interpretation. The general idea is that people who are doing an April Fool's joke expect that people on whom it's played will understand the prankster's position," Colon said. "That's where a disconnect can take place."
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I thought college was the one safe haven left for free expression and press, and above all, sense of humor, or for that matter, sense at all.
People always want to be the victim these days. The kid who cries the loudest at the playground. Once their credit cards are maxed out and they're bored, they go looking for things to offend them so that people will feel compassionate. It's an April Fools edition, if you have no sense of humor, don't read it. I would always start my campus radio show with a two minute disclaimer of its potential content, and "...if you feel you may have a reason to file a complaint about this program, you are advised not to listen to this program." ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
That's the problem with this whole "diversity" trend. Everyone is so concerned with being recognized for their differences and being offended if they aren't, that they lack any point of view but their own. Here's a quarter. Go call someone who cares. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
=TMP=
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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!
Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 04-07-2004 02:29 PM
Thomas wrote:
quote:
I thought college was the one safe haven left for free expression and press, and above all, sense of humor, or for that matter, sense at all.
Unfortunately, colleges these days are hotbeds of political correctness. You should see the list of things I have to be careful about when presenting classes and labs these days. A sense of humor (especially my kind it would seem) is definitely not appreciated.
quote:
That's the problem with this whole "diversity" trend. Everyone is so concerned with being recognized for their differences and being offended if they aren't, that they lack any point of view but their own. Here's a quarter. Go call someone who cares.
Yeah, I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way now. I just finished a weekend of teacher training covering how to teach classes for "Generation NeXt." College these days, especially at the junior colleges, is no longer about self discovery or enrichment, it's about vocational training. People now see a degree as a step towards a job or career, and get very upset if anything impedes their progress towards it. PC gives people lots of easy excuses for failing to advance towards that degree, and unfortunately many education professionals fall for this.
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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-08-2004 02:36 AM
quote:
Nancy Belck told The Gateway: "I find it (The Ghettoway) offensive and we will not tolerate it on this campus."
that's right. tolerance is not p.c.
just because something is in the school paper doesn't mean it's sanctioned by the school. best not to open that can of worms. it's maybe different if it's the content of a lecture.
offended parties have several options. they can stop buying the paper, they can write to the editor, they can picket if they're into that. since the school probably sponsors the paper, the administration is within its rights to lay down the law, but it should think long and hard before doing so. one major reason for a school paper is to provide an opportunity, by trial and error, to hone ones journalistic skills and exercise ones right to free expression. stepping over "the line" sometimes is part of that.
quote:
"The general idea is that people who are doing an April Fool's joke expect that people on whom it's played will understand the prankster's position," Colon said.
colon? did you write this "article", thomas?
carl
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