The OSU student led newspaper, the O’Colly, has been rightfully criticized recently for perceived bias in articles written by students about Oklahoma State University’s methods of handling the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to these critiques, I felt it necessary to explain why the O’Colly is not an innocent bystander to the bias being published on their platform. While in their statement, they did explain that Farris’s article does not speak for all O’Colly staff, they held true to the belief that opinion pieces are important. While I don’t think many people would argue with opinion pieces having an important role in journalism, there are inconsistencies in whose voices are heard and whose are silenced. Former alumni and current O’Colly staff have spoken out with concern about potential biases within the O’Colly workplace hierarchy. There seems to be many reasons to be suspicious of how the O’Colly selects their Editor in Chief, and how articles are selected for publication.
Students, many of whom wish to remain anonymous, have reported that they suspect favoritism from the previous Editor in Chief playing a role in what articles are published. One student explained that in the past, she had an article idea approved by the former Editor in Chief that was later dismissed and ignored for, suspected, personal reasons. Additionally, OSU alum, Jenny Maupin, who used to be a staff reporter for the O’Colly, explained that in the Fall 2020 semester, she informed Helsley that she intended to run for the position of Editor in Chief, and “while [she] was quarantining for two weeks while [her] roommates both had Covid, they held the election and didn’t tell [her].”
Beyond this, current O’Colly staff have reported potentially problematic themes throughout the semester. One student explained that after conducting an interview and writing an article for a feature story, the final version did not accurately reflect what was stated in the interview. She explained, “When I read the final edited version it hardly conveyed their ideologies how I quoted. My story was cut short and practically rewritten. I didn’t even get to see the edits before it was published. My theory is that the editor did not agree with the source’s views…just a hunch until the editor explains the edits. And for that article I was told take whatever angle I wanted for the story.” Another student staff member stated that the O’Colly staff seems to be focusing more on “opinionated pieces” and “trivial articles” such as tailgating and the county fair which may be because everyone wants to be “back to normal.” On top of this, certain ideas for articles related to COVID have been ignored when brought forth, and one O’Colly writer said, “Lack of communication seems prevalent this semester, and I wanna blame COVID for that but like… we’re chatting online y’know? It’s not that hard to answer someone back.”
All of this points to a need for independent review of the O’Colly. In order to align themselves with ethical journalistic practices, the O’Colly advisor, John Helsley, and current staff must reflect on their existing power structure and actively try to raise up voices of all perspectives that reflect the OSU community, instead of relying on the biases of the few that hold the majority of control.
Lastly, the outrage over Farris’s article cannot be understated. Many former and current O’Colly staff want their disappointment noted. Some alumni felt so strongly that they wrote and signed a statement of their own explaining how they fear that Farris’s article brings shame to the O’Colly name, and they call for a review of Helsley’s tenure as advisor. Another alum stated, “I was incredibly embarrassed by the “Enough is Enough” piece. Maddison used her platform to complain about a situation and she put herself before the paper. It was unethical and this piece is getting rightly criticized, however, she is a student. Mistakes and learning are part of the gig. I feel like this is on the adviser. Where was he or she prior to this (and the “Just Stop” article) piece making print?”
Another OSU alum and former O’Colly staff member, Jet Turner, also felt the need to express his discontent with the abuse of Farris’s position as Editor in Chief, but also explained that this is not the first time the O’Colly has had this problem saying, “The sad thing is the current O’Colly Editor-in-Chief is the second recent EIC who used the position to further their own self interests. She’s just the first to do it so blatantly and without direction.” It is also important that while the frustration over the article itself is clear, there’s a consensus among former staff members that what truly saddens them is that this is what has become of the O’Colly legacy of which they have always been so proud. One alum stated, “Now, we all need to be cautious with our criticisms of her and this piece, but I do feel this has hurt the institution that I was proud to be a member of.” Lastly, former staff reporter, Jenny Maupin, went on to say, “Objectively I would say it’s impossible to be objective in journalism. There is no middle line, and everyone is going to have leanings, but what Maddie did is flat out dangerous…This is not leaning. She is slamming into the alt-right and using the platform all of us O’Colly staffers sacrificed so much for.”
This piece is not meant to denigrate the O’Colly name. It is an important platform to remain on campus as it offers students experience and can easily be used to heighten student voices which is an important feature for university institutions to have. Students, while making up the majority on campus, often have their voices and needs ignored, so having a mechanism in place to amplify student voices and force administration to listen as well as inform the general public in Stillwater of important activity on and off campus is an extremely important job. However, it seem to be that the current goal of the O’Colly is to allow a select few to determine what voices and issues ought to be heard. Such practices are worthy of criticism, and criticism is necessary if we want the O’Colly to function ethically at OSU.