Beach Haven Times: Journalists society to fact- find in OCC newspaper case

Here is an article from Wednesday's Beach Haven (N.J.) Times via the Ocean County Observer Web site:

Journalists society to fact- find in OCC newspaper case
Posted by the Times-Beacon Newspapers on 01/25/06

BY DON BENNETT
STAFF WRITER

TOMS RIVER — The Society of Professional Journalists and the College Media Advisors are entering the flap over the decision by the Ocean County College Board of Trustees to drop Karen Bosley as longtime advisor to the college newspaper at year's end.

"We'll give them everything they want," said OCC Vice President of College Advancement Tara Kelly.

"We're confident there is no First Amendment issue here. It is an employment issue," she insisted.

Kelly said she has been in touch with both groups and is trying to coordinate a single visit.

The Society of Professional Journalists will do fact-finding to determine if the decision to end Bosley's 35-year stint as advisor to the award-winning Viking News is an attempt to muzzle the newspaper or, as Kelly insists, is employment-related.

Both groups are likely to visit the campus and talk with the senior staff and others early next month, Kelly said...

Full story

Asbury Park Press: Free press hot topic

Prof. Bosley and three Viking News editors discussed their battles with the Ocean County College administration in a story published Sunday by the Asbury Park Press...

Free press hot topic
Students, advisers walk fine line at college newspapers

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/22/06

BY JOSEPH PICARD
STAFF WRITER

DOVER TOWNSHIP — Is the free press less free on a college campus? Should it be?

Those are questions the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to answer, because of a controversy involving a student newspaper at an Illinois university. But those same questions have been raised in the Shore area because of a controversy surrounding the recent removal of the longtime faculty adviser to the student newspaper at Ocean County College.

"I have been removed because the college president does not like what's been written about him in the student newspaper," said Karen Bosley, English professor and, until the end of the spring semester, adviser to the Viking News, the OCC student-run weekly.

"He couldn't punish the students because it would appear too blatant, so he came after me," Bosley said. "It amounts to censorship by intimidation..."

Full story...

College stands by personnel decisions

Another letter written by Tara B. Kelly, vice president of college advancement at Ocean County College, that defends the school's position on its recent personnel decisions -- including Bosley's termination as Viking News adviser and removal from teaching journalism courses -- was published in today's Ocean County Observer.

To be fair, I am going to include a link to it here. I find the following line very amusing...

We will not be swayed by exaggerated arguments or public threats designed to push us to reverse our decisions.

The reason I find this amusing is because the only exaggerated arguments and threats I have read about have originated from the OCC administration, which still refuses to actually come out and say its reasons for the personnel moves.

Times-Beacon: Sounds of silence echoed in Ocean

An editorial published Wednesday by the The Times-Beacon newspaper of Long Beach Island, NJ, touched on the Bosley case at Ocean County College...

America was founded by dissidents — men who were unafraid to criticize those who ruled them.

Though our forefathers won the war against the British, the battle against censorship continues today...

...Here in Ocean County, criticism of Ocean County College officials in the college's student newspaper, The Viking News, is believed by many to be the reason four faculty members were either fired or had their duties cut back last month.

Among them is Karen Bosley, a Long Beach Island resident and faculty advisor to the award-winning Viking News for 35 years. Bosley has been told she not only will not be the paper's advisor next year, but will not be returning to the journalism classes she once taught.

Full story...

More support for Bosley

Another pro-Boz letter -- this one from Elana Aron, of Lakewood, N.J. -- showed up in Monday's Asbury Park Press...

Bosley earned student support
As a former student of Karen Bosley at Ocean County College, editor-in-chief of Seascape, the literary magazine of OCC, and a staff writer at the Viking News newspaper, I feel compelled to express my support for an outstanding journalist, teacher and individual. ("OCC trustees oust student paper adviser," Dec. 13.)

Continue reading...

Viking News editors tell their side of the story

Scott Coppola, editor-in-chief, and Alberto D. Morales, news and photography editor, of the Viking News wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in Friday's Asbury Park Press. Here is an excerpt and links to the online version...

Students are focal point of OCC adviser's ouster
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/13/06

BY SCOTT COPPOLA
AND ALBERTO D. MORALES
In the interests of accuracy, we are compelled to respond to the falsehoods by Tara Kelly, vice president of college advancement at Ocean County College, in her Dec. 28 commentary "OCC adviser ousted for not implementing changes."

First is the lie it is "very unfair to drag our students into an issue that has nothing to do with them." We are the heart of this issue. What the students published in the Viking News led to the removal of Karen Bosley as newspaper adviser.

If Kelly's assertion "we don't care" about stories critical of the administration or mistakes is the case, why were some of us summoned to the president's office and subjected to, in a meeting we were not allowed to record, a tirade from (OCC President) Jon Larson over a prize-winning story published last year, a story critical of a decision he had made. Larson demanded a "retraction" or he would "take action."

Continue reading...

Ocean County Observer: OCC under fire for firings

Today's Ocean County Observer includes a story about a special meeting of OCC's trustees and administration held Tuesday. Here is an excerpt:

OCC under fire for firings
Posted by the Ocean County Observer on 01/11/06

BY DON BENNETT
STAFF WRITER

TOMS RIVER — "We're not going to go away," Ocean County College Professor Elizabeth Mitchell told the board of trustees yesterday as the faculty closed ranks behind four colleagues either fired or trimmed of duties last month.

In a rare special meeting to discuss personnel, contracts and litigation, the trustees huddled behind closed doors for two and a half hours while faculty and union representatives waited outside, ready to press their demands for the reinstatement of the four staff members.

Neither trustee Chairman Carl Van Thulin nor OCC President Jon Larson would say what was discussed or what was decided in the closed-door session...

Bosley responds to OCC comments

An op-ed piece written by Karen Bosley appeared in Tuesday's Asbury Park Press. It was written in response to this op-ed piece written by Tara B. Kelly, vice president of college advancement at Ocean County College, which was published by the Asbury Park Press on Dec. 28.

Here is the full text of Bosley's piece:

Officials don't understand how college press works
BY KAREN L. BOSLEY

Before responding to the recent attacks on my reputation by Tara Kelly, vice president of college advancement at Ocean County College, I must reply to the telling comment made by OCC trustee Stephan R. Leone at the board meeting during which I, as newspaper adviser, and three excellent, non-tenured faculty members were not rehired for the next academic year.

Leone said, "This is not a reflection on the work of the students at the newspaper, but on the supervision there." That remark not only illustrates how out of touch the trustees are with what is going on in the institution taxpayers have charged them with overseeing, but also reveals the ignorance about the college press so prevalent among management types today.

Paid $4,900 for at least 30 weeks of often multiple 12-hour days, I earn my stipend by giving advice to student journalists who are adults and free to ignore what I say. I am not now, nor have I ever been, either the supervisor or the censor of the work of these public-college journalists, who enjoy protection from administrative control.

It is time to look at some of the untruths in Kelly's Dec. 28 commentary "OCC adviser ousted for not implementing changes."

Her reason for my termination: "Three years ago, the college commissioned a comprehensive assessment of all student media by an outside expert with stellar credentials in higher education mass communications programs. Bosley was provided the results of that review, which included excellent suggestions on how to improve the Viking News. She fought the implementation and did not develop an adequate plan to make the changes recommended, although she was repeatedly and explicitly directed, in writing, to do so by her supervisor."

It is good to expose this "comprehensive assessment" to public scrutiny at last. Puzzled by many aspects of it, another adviser and I sent questions to Frank Wetta, academic affairs vice president, asking about the commissioning of and selection process for it. We received different responses, neither of which answered any questions, but Wetta's response berated me for asking questions at all.

Among the information sought: who had commissioned the study, its purpose and scope, who paid for it and how (taxpayers vs. grant), its cost and how the "expert with stellar credentials" was selected. This "expert," a professor at a four-year, church-related college who makes videos, had someone else (who was unnamed, with no credentials given) assess the Viking News because he apparently lacked the expertise to do so.

What Kelly called a "comprehensive assessment of all student media" had been described by Martin Novelli, then dean of humanities, as a study of OCC's television offerings, not of the journalism program or of student media.

During the day he spent on campus, the "expert" spent five minutes with me during a break between my classes. After he was given a brief visit to the newspaper office by Lee Kobus, academic technology director, he snatched two issues of the Viking News as he left.

His "comprehensive assessment" has little merit as either an academic or a student-media evaluation. College administrators who want quality assessments use quality standards and procedures, such as those of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. After reviewing OCC's assessment, a professor at a university with ACEJMC-accredited programs asked me, "Do you know if the evaluator was paid for this? It might be interesting to track the money trail to find out what this cost."

The "excellent suggestions to improve the Viking News" to which Kelly refers included: using the newspaper "as an extension of the classroom," greater adult oversight and changing the layout. According to Mark Goodman, the Student Press Law Center executive director, all three are or can lead to censorship, and layout is something the editors determine.

David Adams, chairman of the board of the law center and director of student media at Indiana University, said, "I cannot agree there should be more direct adult oversight. That would be illegal. If your student newspaper is like ours, it changes from semester to semester in scope and quality. It's not supposed to be a P.R. piece, but a learning piece."

When Kelly said I "fought the implementation and did not develop an adequate plan to make" those changes, she is telling the truth. I have always fought and will continue to fight the implementation of censorship. There is no such thing as "an adequate plan" for censorship.

The five-year plan the college suddenly asked the Viking News for had no due date, and no changes were "repeatedly and explicitly directed, in writing by (my) supervisor." It is hard to tell who this supervisor is. And when the newspaper produced a five-year plan, the same yardstick was not applied to other student media.

The newspaper plan called for the purchase of some new Macintoshes (as replacements) and software, plus computer desks to replace the health-threatening tables now in use. Prior to last fall, no administrator suggested to me or to an editor other PCs had to/should be purchased. Until Kelly said so in her op-ed piece, no one directed me to incorporate PCs into the production process.

One other result of the "comprehensive assessment" is the college's creation of a digital-media program that was intended to replace the existing journalism one, even though there was no journalism in the curriculum. No input from journalism faculty was sought or considered. Although the program claims to prepare students for "a variety of production positions at newspapers and magazines" and give students "hands-on writing, production and programming experience at the college newspaper," no such preparation or experience is included.

Despite Kelly's claim, I have no need to create an "orchestrated campaign of public commentary." Most professional and student journalists are independent thinkers and as outraged by the college's actions in these matters as I. They are quite capable of public comment without prompting.

Articles from The Press of Atlantic City

Alberto D. Morales, news and photography editor of the Viking News, wrote to tell me about a couple of stories in The Press of Atlantic City.

Student journalists reject college's explanation for removing adviser

Student editors at Ocean County College's Viking News have fired back in support of their ousted adviser, calling a letter by a college spokeswoman defending the school's decision not to renew the adviser's contract "lies and half-truths."

In a letter signed by Editor-in-Chief Scott Coppola, News Editor Alberto Morales and Sports Editor Doug Rush, the students rejected the college's assertions that Karen Bosley, the longtime adviser, was removed for performance-related reasons. Since the Ocean County College trustees decided last month not to renew her contract for the position, the school has been under intense criticism from journalistic organizations, who have argued the decision was an attempt at censorship...

Student paper adviser calls OCC trustees 'out of touch'
The professor whose contract as adviser to Ocean County College's student newspaper was not renewed responded to the school's explanation of her termination Friday, calling the schools trustees "out of touch ... with what's going on in the institution taxpayers have charged them with overseeing."

In a letter sent to various media outlets, the professor, Karen Bosley, refuted several claims made by Tara Kelly, vice president of college advancement, which was likewise released to the media last month...

And here is a third story from The Press of Atlantic City that discusses the issue of school newspaper control:

OCC case sheds light on school paper control
For supporters of Karen Bosley, the Ocean County College professor ousted from her longtime position as adviser to the student newspaper, her case is a clear example of an administration attempting to exert greater control over a publication's content...

A letter of support

A letter to the editor in support of Prof. Bosley appeared in Wednesday's Asbury Park Press (1/4/06). It was written by Suzanne D'ambrosio, who was another favorite instructor of mine from my OCC days. Suzanne, who was then the spokesperson for the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Forked River, N.J., taught a course in public relations.

OCC adviser taught well

When I studied journalism at Ocean County College in the early 1980s, the most important lesson my adviser, Karen Bosley, taught me was a journalist's responsibility to uphold and never abuse the First Amendment.

Twenty-some years later, that message has led me through a successful career in journalism and communications. Bosley continues to teach this valuable lesson to all of her journalism students and the college's Viking News reporters.

It is quite disturbing that the leadership of OCC has chosen to remove Bosley from a position she has held and relished for about three decades. In any dispute such as this, there are shades of gray. I can only speak on behalf of my experience on the Viking News. I have seen firsthand Bosley's tireless efforts, her quest for continued improvement and excellence and, mostly, her demand that the newspaper staff adhere to the basic tenets of journalism — truth, accuracy and fairness.

Since my days at OCC, Bosley has become a friend, mentor and colleague. She beams with pride each time she tells me of a victory for the Viking News and its staff, be it one more national award or another story that uncovered an injustice. Her quest to make the Viking News and its staff a serious journalistic force has never wavered.

I cherish my OCC roots. It's where I learned the vital roles professionalism, integrity and honesty play in the field of communications. I just wonder if those values will hold true when the Viking News gets its "makeover."

Suzanne D'Ambrosio
Eagleswood