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Show U-inedia tenuis must be 2-way A rather one-sided relationship is developing in Cedar City namely the one between Southern Utah State College and some elements of the local media. . ;. ; I Allow us. to first explain some .background: V 4: 1 J.; " Most of the news that appears in the local media from the campus of Southern Utah State College originates from the school's Information Services Department. That's not unusual for . a large institution. : : V As might be expected, these releases are designed to reflect the positive activities taking place on campus, and are written not only to inform, but to help maintain a high public opinion of the institution. Some 3-7 news releases are received at Record offices ' each week from the college. Speaking just for ourselves, but noting the same to be true at other media in the area, these releases have been consistently : published and aired. We, at The Record, have bent over backwards back-wards to accommodate the interests of the college, at times well past our deadline. But, just as much as the college has a desire in promoting its interests, this newspaper has a duty to report the news. Thus, it was recently reported that three SUSC f ootball players had been arrested. A public relations department won't produce a release like that, so it falls upon the newspaper to report it. ; It was the judgment of the editors that football players, as are lawyers, doctors, policemen, elected officials, etc., are very much in the limelight and news center of a community. The editorial staff felt the fact the arrested were football players was newsworthy, as one of the aforementioned groups would certainly be. It was a decision that did not involve jour- -nalism morals, nor was it a "black or white", matter. ' v The resulting furor from the college Was unfortunate. Among1 the other (sometimes unprintable) names we were called, one of being "unprofessional" particularly dJsfurl;W.7'''V''''?'fc''''',T'':'; Had the three not been arrested, or had there been inaccuracies in the story, we could well be judged as being unprofessional. -.' But it appears that brand came from merely calling the three "football players," or "SUSC students," names some people apparently didn't want to see attached to the arrested, purely for: the interests of the college. This incident took place off campus, and was handled by the Cedar City Police. That's the only way adequate information ever: reached our office. We've often encountered an unwillingness to divulge information concerning on-campus incidents, being told that the matter is being "handled internallyVi. : ; ; . We are not asking to bring each and every one of the college's ' sins into the open. Nor, do we feel, is it fair to portray SUSC to the 1 local public as a problem-free institution, one where people never ; get into trouble. irf:-- What we are basically asking for is'thesamcouesy:an4.4.' cooperation with the carrying out of our cbnstitutionl-basl responsibilities, as we so consistently afford the-cdlejge-w'.ttier'' ; efforts. . , . ... , :-" ..; ;-V:-.t:,q$;3 |