The university where I advise is playfully (or perhaps not) nicknamed “Overcommitted University” by the student body. The nickname is adopted by freshmen during their first semester on campus when they realize that they are involved in seemingly every area of campus life.
We have a small but active student body, making conflicts of interest a concern for our student media staff. But, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to be careful about limiting what student media are allowed to participate in because I want them to have the full college experience. In short, I don’t want students to have to choose between working for student media and being active in other organizations any more than absolutely necessary.
Because we encourage our student staff to be active, we address conflicts of interest multiple times in our Student Publications Manual.
First, we have a general conflict of interest policy. It reads:
All Student Publications staff members are encouraged to be involved in organizations on and off of campus. There are a few exceptions to this rule.
Student Publications editorial board members should not be an elected or appointed member of any branch of the Student Government Association. The specifics of this policy are addressed in the code of ethics.
Also, staffers may not cover a campus organization to which they belong or participate in any editorial or business decision regarding that organization. The specifics of this policy are addressed in the code of ethics.
In addition, staffers must declare conflicts and avoid involvement in stories dealing with members of their families, close friends or romantic partners. Staff members should not cover—in words, photographs or artwork—or make news judgments about family members, roommates or persons with whom they have financial, adversarial or close sexual or platonic relationships. This includes coverage of those who have control of a staffer’s grades. The specifics of the conflicting relationship policy also are outlined in the code of ethics.
It also is important that editors’ involvements are transparent in the staff’s reporting. If the staff reports on an issue with which an editorial board member has a leadership role (i.e., founding member, officer, lead performer), an editor’s note must be included on that story. The editor’s note should state the editor’s name, position with Student Publications, and relationship to the issue or organization involved in the story. This should be done only if the conflicting interest is the primary subject of the story. Questions about whether the leadership role warrants an editor’s note should be discussed and voted on by the editorial board, with the editors’ focusing on transparency.”
Second, we have an organization membership policy. It reads:
Staffers may not cover a campus organization they belong to or participate in any editorial or business decisions regarding that organization. Staffers may provide story ideas about organizations to which they belong. Staffers should report their memberships to their supervising editor. In addition, staffers should avoid covering organizations or happenings directly involving someone with whom they are in a romantic relationships. To maintain the role of the press as an independent watchdog of government, an editorial staffer should not be an elected or appointed member of the Student Senate. Nor should an editorial staff member work on a student government campaign or openly support a candidate. Student editors are encouraged to vote in student government and organizational elections, but they are prohibited from openly discussing their votes. The Editor-in-Chief can forbid a student editor from voting in any type of organizational election if deemed necessary.”
Third, we have a relationship coverage policy. It reads:
Staffers must declare conflicts and avoid involvement in stories dealing with members of their families, close friends or romantic partners. Staff members should not cover—in words, photographs or artwork—or make news judgments about family members, roommates or persons with whom they have financial, adversarial or close sexual or platonic relationships. This includes coverage of those who have control over a staffer’s grades. Intra-staff dating is not recommended if one person assigns or evaluates the work of the other person or if one is in a position to promote the other to a higher staff position.
Finally, we have a Student Senate participation policy. It reads:
To maintain the role of the press as an independent watchdog of government, an editorial staffer should not be an elected or appointed member of the Student Senate. Nor should an editorial staff member work on a student government campaign or openly support a candidate. Student Publications employees who are not members of the editorial board are allowed to fill Student Senate seats, but cannot report on any student government-related issues. Student Publications employees are encouraged to vote in student government and organizational elections, but they are prohibited from openly discussing their votes. The Editor-in-Chief can forbid a student editor from voting in any type of organizational election if deemed necessary.
While these policies have repetitive components, the editorial board thought they were the best way to address the issue of conflicts of interest in multiple situations. My hope is that the policies are specific enough to avoid conflicts of interest, but that they also allow students on our staff to be active members of the campus population. Please feel free to use our policies to develop your own.
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