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A Nebraska school board closed a high school newspaper. And they don’t want to talk about it. At the end of the last school year, the Viking Saga published several pieces about LGTBQ Pride Month. The Northwest Public Schools school board responded by shuttering the newspaper and the journalism class that produced it, reported the Grand Island Independent (September 1), which has reported the story for weeks.
The reporting was “both correct and incorrect,” said school superintendent Jeff Edwards in a letter to parents and staff. Viking Saga is only being “paused” and other journalism classes - working on the yearbook - will continue. To a school board meeting in July - facing questions - he only said it was an “administrative decision.” Viking Saga had been published for 54 years.
For those unaware, Nebraska is a Red State, quite conservative, loyal to former president Donald Trump. Mention of LGTBQ rights is strictly appropriated by the religious right. Certainly distressing for that school board, both the New York Times and Washington Post picked up the story in less than flattering terms. Censoring student publications, which are not protected by Constitutional guarantee, is common in Red States, noted the NYT (August 29). The ten local Nebraska newspapers published by Lee Enterprises offered a joint editorial excoriating the school board. “Don’t wrap up censorship in pretty paper and try to call it ‘administrative’.” (See more about censorship here)
The best way to teach journalism - and its foundations - is to give students practice. That seems to have been a step too far for school officials who would typically be howling about “cancel culture.” It’s likely, of course, this episode of political and cultural extremism will only provoke resistance from the impressionable young people. Look what happened in Afghanistan.
It is widely understood that investigative reporters are at risk equal to war correspondents. Looking into the affairs of mobsters and politicians is as dangerous as traversing the steel beams of high-rise construction sites. One slip and it’s, well, over.
Las Vegas (Nevada) Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German was stabbed to death outside his home late last week. His beat was the rough underbelly of Las Vegas, known for widespread corruption more than Elvis. Mr. German’s body was discovered Saturday morning, reported the LV Review-Journal (September 4), with “multiple sharp force injuries.” Local police concluded there had been an “altercation.”
Mr. German had devoted nearly four decades to the career. He wrote a book - Murder in Sin City (2001) - about local mobsters. He exclusively reported (2017) that the Mandalay Bay gunman fired at jet fuel tanks before turning deadly attention to concert goers, 60 killed and over 400 wounded. More recently his attention was turned to corruption at the Las Vegas Convention Center. (See more about investigative reporting here)
Local police released photos to media outlets of a potential suspect who they believe may have been stalking Mr. German. "He was the gold standard of the news business,” said LV Review-Journal executive editor Glenn Cook, quoted by CNN (September 5). “It's hard to imagine what Las Vegas would be like today without his many years of shining a bright light on dark places."
UPDATE: Clark County (Nevada) Sheriff’s Office arrested county administrator Robert Telles last week on suspicion of murdering investigative reporter Jeff German, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal (September 8). A day earlier authorities distributed photos of a person wearing a distinctive straw hat captured “casing” the street where Mr. German lived. Police also released a photo of an automobile that was registered to Mr. Telles.
In the Las Vegas Review-Journal Mr. German published a month-long series beginning in mid-May on the “mentally and emotionally abusive situation” in and around Mr. Telles’ workplace, including “multiple claims of bullying and favoritism.” A new report by Mr. German was in process. Mr. Telles complained about the coverage, usually on social media, which included threats. Mr. German refused to accept police security.
A day after Mr. Telles’ arrest - he had been taken from his home with “self-inflicted wounds” - police revealed that DNA evidence recovered implicated him in the murder. That led to formal arrest for open murder “with malice aforethought,” reported CNN (September 12). The hat, said Las Vegas detectives, had been destroyed but not the shoes.
Becoming more common are politicians booted from office just not letting go. Giant egos abound in that world. Reliable partisans come to their side, including media outlets. But overwhelming hubris awakens the best instincts of editors and reporters.
Czech newspapers affiliated with deposed prime minister Andrej Babis splashed front pages with full-page ads this week ostensibly touting his internet TV show. Actually, they were blatant attacks on media. “Do you trust the media?” was the bold cap title published in MF Dnes and Lidové Noviny, reported Seznam Zprávy (September 5). Both are published by Mafra, owned by Agrofert, once directly owned by Mr. Babis, later placed in a trust after corruption allegations. (See more about elections and media here)
Other Czech newspaper respectively declined to run the ads. "We refused to print this advertisement due to the fact that it is not primarily an advertisement for his show, but rather a discrediting of the media that decided to print this advertisement,” said daily Blesk editor-in-chief Radek Lain. “If Andrej Babis needs to communicate anything to Blesk readers, he has the opportunity to do so several times a year, for example in interviews conducted by our skilled editors.” Denik publisher Vltava Labe Media also declined to publish the ad “since (it) did not comply with our advertising rules or the rules of our publishing code,” said corporate communications manager Aneta Koudelkova. (See more about media in the Czech Republic here)
Others in the Czech media sphere were more direct. “This is where the story of the takeover of the newspaper by Andrej Babis came to a sad end,” said former MF Dnes editor in chief Robert Casensky. “Absolute humiliation.” A similar view was offered by weekly Respekt Erik Tabery. “Only Andrej Babis can humiliate his own media like this.”
Last October PM Babis’ populist ANO party was defeated at the polls, surprising some. A liberal-conservative coalition with an anti-corruption platform prevailed. The general elections took place as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in the famous “Panama Papers” revealed Mr. Babis acquired several high-priced properties through shell companies.
It is well-known that politicians of a certain disposition dislike fact checking. It’s also well-understood. But fact checking is now an important part of the journalistic universe. Journalism schools offer classes, often with practical application.
This merged, awkwardly, as Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, currently running for the US Senate, filed an open records request, reported the Kansas City Star (September 2), for “communication” between two University of Missouri School of Journalism professors and well-known fact checker PolitiFact. The professors are advisors to student newspaper Columbia Missourian, which is affiliated with the School of Journalism, both highly regarded within the journalism world. (See more about journalism here)
AG Schmitt is a right-wing Republican aligned with former US president Donald Trump. The request seeks emails using phrases “fake news,” “the future of political reporting” and “political speech.” To the cautious observer it seems like an intimidation tactic. “We’re simply trying to get to the bottom of the fact checking process,” said a spokesperson for the AG. “We appreciate the University for cooperating with us on this request. We’ll hold off on any further comment at this time.” (See more about elections and media here)
"Anytime a reporter is asked to disclose anything about source information or advice they've been given, that puts the reporter in a difficult position,” said attorney Jean Maneke, who fields questions for the Missouri Press Association hotline, quoted by St. Louis, Missouri television channel KSDK (September 5). "It creates a presumption that he thinks this is something that state government has an interest in. It's very possible that he's looking to find out who the Missourian is talking to, in terms of its sources of information.”
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