Student newspaper top editors, staff leave newspaper

Athens, GA (Grady NewSource) – Top editors and members of the University of Georgia’s student newspaper staff walked out on Wednesday, according to a tweet on the newspaper’s official twitter account.

“The @redandblack‘s top editors and members of its staff walked out of the newspaper building this afternoon for the last time,” reads a message posted shortly before 7 p.m. on the newspaper’s official account, @RedandBlack. The message was written by a spin-off account @RedandDead815 and re-transmitted through the newspaper’s official account.

The Red and Dead movement has started it’s own Web site, where a statement claiming to be from Polina Marinova, a University student and Editor-in-Chief of the paper, reads in-part:

In less than a month, The Red & Black has hired more than 10 permanent staff with veto power over students’ decisions.

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But what’s most alarming to me is that there was no input from The Red & Black student staff about any of these changes.

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[The Red and Black] is no longer a place where lessons can be learned without “serious repercussions.” We don’t believe that is a learning environment.

 

Earlier this month, the head of the Journalism Department at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication Kent Middleton sent a note to the school’s faculty about changes coming to the paper.

“The R&B board approved [August 4] restoring print to five days per week and appointing a professional editorial director, new marketing and product managers, a multimedia director, a business manager and a creative director,” he says in the e-mail.

Excerpts from the e-mail outline some of those hired:

Harry Montevideo remains publisher, sharing oversight of advertising, distribution and editorial with R&B board member Ed Stamper, Grady advertising ’78, who is a retired businessman. Stamper has worked at The Red & Black this summer, leading the paper’s efforts to engage readers by redirecting and restructuring.

Ed Morales will be editorial director, assisted by Erin France, recently regional and health reporter at the Athens Banner-Herald.

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Dan Roth becomes creative director to oversee print and online design and print production. Roth was recently with the UGA archives, following employment at Kudzu Graphics in Athens.

Brent McCullough becomes multimedia director, including oversight of video and production. McCullough has worked with publishing houses and has taught.

Vance and Cheri Leavy, creators of Bulldawg Illustrated and great friends of Grady, are volunteering time to direct marketing and product management, including launch of a freshman mobile app and a reinvigorated Ampersand magazine.

Carolyn Crist, Grady grad, Grady graduate student and former R&B editor-in-chief, will   be a part-time assistant editorial director in charge of recruiting students.

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The paper is hiring two new advertising account managers, bringing the total to three.

 

Despite the Red and Dead statement claiming hired professionals had veto power over students, Middleton’s e-mail outlines a friendlier relationship between students and staff:

The editorial director will consult with student editors daily, advising students before publication on important stories. Student editors retain final editorial authority. Most advising in the past has been after publication.

Grady NewSource is working to confirm the authenticity of posts made by Red and Dead. We have made calls into the Red and Black newsroom and to staff members.

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Grady NewSource’s Mamie Shepherd and David Hurst contributed to this report