The answer to that is simple: to neither. Their loyalties belong to quality journalism and nothing more. The politics involved in holding true to that role, however, can be a bit more challenging.
Still, most advisers are aware – and loyal – to that neutrality. So what, precisely, does their advisory capacity include?
Adviser as Coach
While student journalists are indeed “real” journalists, they are called student journalists for a reason. As they develop their newsgathering and reporting skills, they need a mentor to coach them.
Student newspaper advisers serve in that coaching capacity. The dynamics of the newspaper staff are different than the classroom, giving the students the opportunity to take charge. The adviser does not lecture or assign homework, as would be the case in the classroom. In the newspaper office, the adviser helps students work through real-world problems as they arise.
The student newspaper handbook for College of the Sequoias (Visalia, CA) The Campus outlines six areas in which its adviser coaches student journalists, including:
- News judgment
- Writing and placement
- Content
- Page design
- Professional ethics and conduct
- Journalism principles and techniques
The adviser is on hand to help the students produce the best product they can. However, sometimes students may produce an edition that is below par in the eyes of the campus or the community. In those times, the adviser serves as counsel.
Adviser as Counselor
Newspaper advisers counsel student journalists about legal and ethical issues facing the student press.
Often, the adviser serves as a non-voting member of the editorial board in order to be on hand for decisions and to give suggestions. The editorial board position allows the adviser to give counsel regarding major decisions, though whether the advice is followed is up to the student staff.
On content and newspaper management, the editors traditionally have the final decision. While the adviser has the right to review the publication, the choice of running or removing content belongs to the editors.
Prior Review Versus Prior Restraint
Editors of student publications should bear in mind that prior review is not equivalent to prior restraint.
A college has the right to review material published under its name. Public institutions, however, cannot remove or censor material prior to publication. Private colleges legally have the ability to exercise prior restraint, though most enter into either a gentleman’s agreement not to do so or a written policy.
Most college newspaper handbooks have policies on hand to prevent prior restraint. The Campus has a policy that clearly states the adviser “shall not impose editorial decisions.”
Similarly, Bellevue Community College (Bellevue, WA) student newspaper The Jibsheet has a policy declaring that the adviser is not “censor of the contents of the newspaper, neither in the eyes of the administration nor the students.”
The same goes for the handbook for Amarillo College (Amarillo, TX) publications. The adviser guides but does not censor.
Advisers have a commitment to review student newspapers. Ultimately, their role serves less as a guardian to the college and more to a guardian of the student press. Advisers are on hand to guide student journalists closer to professional-quality journalism. So long as they fulfill that role, they are a friend to the student press.
