The campus community looks to Student Media for information, unwillingly creating student leaders out of the journalists-in-training.
The Legacy, Gumbo, Tiger TV, KLSU and The Reveille make up Student Media. The five student-run entities report news to and about the University.
“Our mission statement is to provide a forum for campus expression, inform students and, in turn, let them inform each other,” said Mari Serebrov, Student Media director.
Employees often are called “gatekeepers,” “go-betweens” or “the bridge” between students and the administration.
“Reporters have access to people that the average student does not have access to,” Serebrov said.
Student Media works as the voice of the student body, Serebrov said. Because student reporters have a connection to the administration, they are able to ask the questions most students are not willing to ask.
For example, a meeting between Reveille staff members and Chancellor Mark Emmert this semester prompted Emmert to send out a broadcast e-mail explaining his position on a subject.
In many cases, the administrators and other campus leaders look to Student Media to provide an outlet to get information to students, Serebrov said.
“The media has one of the most important roles in a democracy,” said Howard Arceneaux, assistant director of Student Media. “Without information, people can’t make informed decisions.”
Many members of Student Media take advantage of their positions to work for change around campus.
Former Reveille Editor Nancy Malone, an activist for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance on campus, helped develop the Campus Action Site Team.
Tiger TV and KLSU raise money for causes such as I Like Mike and canned food drives.
“With Sept. 11, a lot of people looked to us as the first place where they heard the news,” KLSU Station Manager Renee Broussard said. “We have the ability to go on air and inform the public 24 hours a day.”
Reveille Editor Kristen Meyer and Broussard are part of the Student Government President’s Cabinet.
Meyer said she and Broussard are two of the most vocal members of the Cabinet.
“When people talk about leadership, they talk about those who are visible,” Arceneaux said. “[Students in Student Media] go above and beyond the call of duty to be leaders.”
Although many students feel Student Media publicizes significant information, some feel improvement is needed in coverage to make it a better leader.
“All areas of the media on campus should produce more interesting things to the school as a whole,” said Candace Creecy, a vocal performance freshman. “It seems as if they are writing to specific areas of [campus].”
Creecy said Student Media often lacks minority coverage.
“The media should definitely promote diversity and hire more minorities,” said Aisha Nodd, an ISDS freshman.
Meyer agrees The Reveille lacks in minority coverage and minority involvement on the staff.
“The Reveille does not have a diverse staff, but we’re making an effort to recruit minorities,” Meyer said. “We’re trying to make everyone part of the coverage.”
Meyer said the newspaper has a responsibility to report what students want to know about and what they need to know about.
In recent years, The Reveille branched out from the stigma of an extension of campus public relations and began working toward a more clear goal of public service and civic journalism.
The newspaper began promoting important and sometimes overlooked issues, such as disability access and the Master Plan, garnering the Public Service Award from the Southwestern Journalism Conference.
“People have told me many times that The Reveille made them think about things they wouldn’t normally think about,” Meyer said.
Gumbo Editor Christy Lill said the 2001-2002 yearbook lacked any clear focus on international students. The Gumbo hopes to improve its international student coverage in future yearbooks.
As the University’s yearbook, Gumbo provides a record of the past year’s events, Serebrov said.
“The Gumbo is not there to lead, it records a slice of campus life,” she said.
Lill said the yearbook does not serve as a leadership outlet because it is not an immediate, instant gratification like other Student Media entities.
However, Lill said the yearbook staff, in working on the next installment, is working on more issue-oriented topics, such as profiles of important campus leaders and the debate over Hill Farm’s location.
The nationally recognized Legacy magazine brings important issues to the forefront and provides in-depth feature stories four times a year.
The magazine has high-quality stories and graphics design, but often is not viewed as a leadership outlet on campus because it is published less frequently, Legacy Editor Amy Burroughs said.
Some students feel campus media have the potential for subjectivity because they ultimately decide what is news.
“There are many stories that interest me, but it looks as if the employees are putting out what they want to put in the media,” said Tasha Huston, a biology freshman.
However, Pat Parish, associate director of Student Media, feels the student reporters do their best to be objective and only publish what they think students care about or would find interesting.
“It’s tricky because 30,000 people read stuff that is subject to our discretion,” Meyer said. “[But the question is] would people have noticed it if we had not reported on it?”