The Daily Cougar has done its best to supply students with information for more than 75 years. Every day, we strive to publish a quality publication fit for a flagship institution. Increased readership — both online and in print — are signs that our efforts are being noticed. Yet, our most difficult task has been dealing with criticism from a single entity.
The Student Government Association has decided, without consulting us (or students for that matter), that the USA Today is what students want to read. SGA also decided that the chair of the Student Publications Committee was unfit for her position. Again, the group did so without consulting the board first. Instead, it went straight to Vice President of Student Affairs Elwyn Lee’s office and complained. Now our bylaws have been challenged.
Excuse us, but we put out a finished product every day, so forgive us for not wanting to waste time talking to no apparent end. Our bylaws need no revisions; our staff is diverse, hardworking and accomplished, and the chair of SPC is doing an exceptional job. Still, we are constantly questioned thoughtlessly — and expected, more or less, to be a compilation of press releases from different organizations. Especially SGA.
Increased readership and feedback seem to point toward our accomplishments, but is it enough? Have we guaranteed two-way communication throughout this entire process? The e-mails, letters and comments we receive would make it seem so, but apparently that’s not enough for the SGA.
So we ask you the students, our readers and our peers, how are we doing? Does the Cougar deserve to be around?
We are always looking for student journalists, and we encourage everyone to spread the word about the great opportunities students have when they write under their own names. Writing for the University newspaper is a resume builder if there ever was one, and the opportunity to have your work published will never again be so readily obtainable. The Cougar is online, and its content is available for accreditation and flagship audits.
So, put bluntly, where’s the beef, SGA?
As a former Daily Cougar alum, this really rubs me the wrong way. The Daily Cougar serves the student body. If someone wants to read what is going in in the country as a whole, they can read the internet or pick up USA Today on their own.
I find it to be a bit disheartening that the same filth and ranker that finds seat and voice in Washington has found foothold in SGA. A free student run paper is what makes a college paper good and bad, we must take the good with the bad and be proud that it is not influenced by the corporate agenda. This is ashame and all those who will remember this make sure never to vote for these SGA members again and especially if the pursue legitimate political careers.
I’m sorry, but I was at that meeting and didn’t hear a single word from anyone about replacing the DC with USA Today. In fact, the general discussion seemed to be that USA Today would be a second newspaper on campus. I’m having trouble beleiving that SGA would want to supplant the DC, especially considering how close the two seemed last semester. The DC even ran an endorsement in the SGA presidental race. Is all this rancor because the DC endorsee didn’t win?
A dumbed-down version of infotainment is not
worthy of student funds at a Tier 1 university. SGA: Do you
think your fellow students have to be attracted by bright colors and
pointless illustrative graphics to absorb the day's current
events? USA Today's "Collegiate Readership Program" is just a
marketing plan – not some plight for collegian news awareness. Let
them provide copies of their paper for free if they really care about
the cause. Or, student leaders, you really want to help broaden
awareness of national and international headlines, at least take a
meeting with someone at The Financial Times, or some other
well-respected esteemed publication. (or, just encourage your fellow students to download the FREE Financial Times iPad app, for example) Leave the issues of USA Today
for the nice folks taking classes at The University of Phoenix, where they don't have an official student-run newspaper. As
for U of H, we are in a major media market and already have ample
access to The Houston Chronicle and of course, the 2nd largest
English-language daily newspaper in Houston, The Daily Cougar.
As a former reporter, columnist, and copy editor for The Daily Cougar, I have called upon and referenced my
real-world experience at UH throughout my professional career. Two
years after writing for The Daily Cougar I was writing client press
releases for multi-million dollar PR campaigns. Now, I'm writing
corporate communications one of the most recognized brands in the
world. I feel like these doors wouldn't have been opened for me
professionally if I didn't practice my writing skills in a
professional setting at The Daily Cougar. Basically, I believe that
using student dollars to pay USA Today to distribute "free" papers on
campus would actually hurt students. It could inadvertently take
readers & possibly advertisers away from our own student newspaper, eventually blotting them
out…how can solid university news written by students in black &
white text compete with front pages splashed with flashy full-color
celebrity photos and visually striking charts illustrating the
top-grossing movies of the weekend? Students, speak out to the Office
of Student Affairs and the SGA — do not allow them to devalue your
news or your degree. I shudder to think what the "local" version of
their paper looks like… Who will earn the few bucks for lunch and
the valuable resume-building experience then? Will USA Today provide
the real-world newsroom and professional writing education to U of H
students like The Daily Cougar did for me?
SGA, I am disappoint.
I'll be the first to admit that the Daily Cougar hasn't ever been a source of national news. That's why there was always a kiosk selling the Chronicle in the common areas of the dorms (and usually, someone would buy a copy and leave it in the lounge if there was something truly worth reading). In fact, the paper has prided itself on being almost entirely student-generated content (with the exception of the crossword and sudoku puzzles).
That said, in my six and a half years in my beloved Land of Uh, I never expected national coverage from The Daily Cougar beyond that which appeared on page 3 (later page 4). I expected full coverage of campus events. As a columnist, I tried my damnedest to stick to talking about campus events (though sometimes, if a national issue got my goat and wasn't getting any coverage from other columnists, I'd write on it).
Now, could the Cougar partner with an outside news source to provide a section of wire reports on world news of the day? Sure, it probably could. In fact, that would probably be a more reasonable and equitable solution to getting world news in the hands of UH students. Yes, that would cost money, but I'm fairly certain it would cost less than the $55k/term to distribute USA Today on campus, and it would retain the Cougar's editorial control (which I've generally found to be competent over the years).
Yeah, the SGA is overreaching with this one. As a number of people have pointed out, this isn't even the first time that Dr. Lee has tried to interfere with the operations of the Student Publications Committee or the Cougar: I distinctly remember an era where he would pick one of his favorites to apply for the EIC post, then raise a stink about minorities being underrepresented at The Daily Cougar when that bid was unsuccessful (his favorites are invariably black, and had typically spent little time in the newsroom). This was particularly comical when those that did receive the post were themselves minority students.
I am distressed to see the SGA back in his palm, though. We, the students, once did have some semblance of control over that body. Perhaps it is time that someone circulated a petition to disband the SGA.
It is easy to demonize the SGA as many (but not all) of its members seem to be involved in it for only selfish reasons: to pad their resume, to network, and to socialize. As a former SPC chairperson, I remember the afternoon meetings where the SGA reps blathered on about the kinds of stories the Cougar should run, how staffers should direct their advertising, and how editors should manage their staff. What I noticed was that the SGA was all about generating ideas; the follow-up was someone else's problem: the Student Publications department. Again, this seems to be the case. Who even reads USA Today? The NY Times would have been a more viable option if they're looking for a U.S. news source, and even at that, most students read their news online. THIS WOULD BE A WASTE OF STUDENT FUNDS!
Now, I don't know anything about the current SPC chair, but I will say this, if she was willing to stand up for the Daily Cougar in the face of one of the SGA's so-called brilliant, yet fiscally irresponsible, and campus-demoralizing ideas, then I am certain that she deserves her position, and if she is reading this, don't let them get you down.
And to the SGA, stop crying to Elwyn Lee. He doesn't care about you. He simply doesn't want UH students to have a voice. This is not a victory for you; you are simply a means to his end.
after reading this article, i went ahead and emailed one of my sga reps to confirm that they wanted to replace the daily cougar.
he informed me that that was not the intent. in fact, usa today was designed to supplement the cougar. he also mentioned that the program has been a success at other campuses like the university of nebraska. i called a buddy up who goes there and they still have a campus paper. without better evidence that sga is actively trying to do away with the campus paper, i don't believe it.
i also asked the sga rep what happened with the spc chair. apparently, it was against the bylaws of the committee for the chair to also run a student publication (in this case the yearbook). it seems that if this is the case, no one said she was unfit or even that she needed to be removed – it seems like the committee could revise their bylaws to allow her to serve in the dual capacity if they deem it prudent.
the way i see it, sga gave me an actual story behind the events. this article only seemed to serve the purpose of inflaming the student body with half-truths and gross misrepresentatons.
so daily cougar, can we get the full story, please?
thanks,
tyler lee