“Three Magazines, Three Crises, Three Solutions”



“Three Magazines, Three Crises, Three Solutions”

This session included stories from three editors: Kerry Temple, Notre Dame Magazine; Todd Copeland, Baylor Line; and Suzanne Johnson, Tulanian. Each presented a story about a major crisis at their institution and then took questions from the audience.

Notre Dame Magazine

Crisis: Notre Dame Magazine’s summer 2004 issue (online at ) included a 23-page section on the topic of homosexuality. The President had requested the editor veer away from this topic.

Behind the scenes: When Temple first pitched the story, his supervising vice president told him the President did not like the topic. It was, the VP said, a hot-button issue; the President knew exactly which trustees and benefactors would not appreciate it; and on occasion, the magazine had made its way to the Vatican, which might also object to the topic.

Temple agreed to consider the matter overnight. He weighed the fact that: The church is not kind to homosexuals; Notre Dame is very Catholic and has become more orthodox in recent years; and the campus had been voted as one of the least welcoming to gays. In fact, its nondiscrimination policy does not include homosexuals.

Other matters he considered: The magazine had tackled controversial issues in the past (including the issue of sexual abuse by Catholic priests), and Temple felt the topic of homosexuality set forth a lot of interesting questions with important answers.

Also, he thought about how some gays have been victims of violence, and part of what may cause such tragic occurrences may be silence about the issue itself. Alumni magazines, he said, stand within two great traditions. They are: 1) journalism and 2) higher education. We, as editors, must educate, with a foot in journalism, not public relations.

With all this in mind, he concluded it was time to “give a face” to the controversial topic and address it.

When he reported his decision to his supervisor, the VP agreed, but the President was not convinced. Temple proceeded, comfortable with the fact he had received his own supervisor’s OK.

While the magazine was in production, the trustees chose not to renew the President’s contract. Temple contacted the incoming President about the issue. He had no comment about it, but later asked Temple to refrain from reporting on controversial issues.

After the publication of the articles, Temple received more than 100 e-mails and calls regarding the issue. (Usually the staff receives 20-30 about any given issue.) 85 percent were supportive of the articles. Many people wanted extra copies of the issue to pass along.

Unfortunately, Temple’s supervisor was told he should prepare to leave the university shortly after the issue published. Temple believes he already had long-standing disagreements with the university administration. (The political climate is a “minefield,” and he has reported to five different vice presidents in five years.)

Baylor Line

Crisis: The President and independent alumni magazine had a falling out, and the administration created a competing publication.

Behind the scenes: Willie Nelson attended Baylor for 4 months in 1954. Editor Todd Copeland decided to report on this, tracking down a transcript and interviewing Nelson for the “untold story.” He discovered Nelson represented the typical Baylor student at the time (demographics, hometown, etc.) and also that Nelson attended on the G.I. Bill. He put the story on the cover.

Some alumni and others responded unfavorably, claiming Willie Nelson’s drug use, music and “hippie” appearance did not represent Baylor favorably.

The President first shared his dislike of the cover and the alumni magazine in general to the alumni board (also independent, like the magazine). He disagreed with the magazine’s coverage of controversial university topics as news.

The administration moved to create its own alumni board and magazine, hiring some of the Baylor Line and alumni staff.

The university administration justified the creation of the new magazine by saying it would reach all alumni – as opposed to dues-paying alumni -- and publish more frequently. A focus group has shown alumni don’t understand the need for a second magazine.

Eventually, the dispute made local headlines.

The President has since stepped down, and a new President has been in place 4 months. The duplication continues. But the magazine has survived (see for the current issue). How?

Copeland says he believes it’s because the staff took the high road. They did not use the magazine to speak out against the administration’s actions. Interestingly, this prompted some alumni to question whether the magazine had failed its alumni. (Did the magazine have a duty to alert its readers to the President’s behavior, which could possibly harm institution?) Copeland also feels the magazine’s focus on information needed by alumni and its mission as a reader-driven publication has kept it alive and competing.

Eventually the magazine did cover the controversy – only after critics had called for the President’s resignation. (He was unpopular for other reasons as well.) Copeland felt the magazine proved its trustworthiness by covering controversial issues in a fair and balanced manner.

Looking back on the experience, Copeland now wishes he had engaged in a more open dialogue with the administration. He will work to resolve duplications with the new President.

The Tulanian

Crisis: In post-Katrina New Orleans, editor Suzanne Johnson struggled to publish the Tulanian and keep alumni informed about the university’s recovery and restructuring.

Behind the scenes: Johnson fled New Orleans with friends and family only 72 hours before it hit. She left her office in August and would not return until November. In the 13 years she had lived in New Orleans, she’d evacuated only twice before.

She drove 15 hours to Shreveport, where she spent 6 days at a Days Inn before moving on to a friend's home.

Unique challenges: Days before the hurricane hit, Tulane had been hosting a freshman orientation for students and their parents. Roughly 1,7000 were in attendance. They evacuated all, busing 600 to Jackson State. Also, the university administers a hospital; all patients were evacuated.

Portions of Tulane flooded; some 2-3 feet, some 6-9 feet (including the library). The water sat for weeks, damaging buildings. The campus sustained more than $230 million in damages. Lost revenue totaled $30-40 million a month.

Throughout the city, more than 1 million people were displaced, 800,000 homes were damaged and 225,000 were destroyed.

As she worried and wondered whether or not she had a house, or a job, Johnson learned she would lose 30 percent of her news staff to layoffs.

She began to publish an online daily newspaper on Sept. 15.

Rebuilding began at Tulane, with many first floors being stripped to the studs, treated for mold and rebuilt completely.

By Nov. 1, she was back on campus. Her home survived the flooding, only to be damaged by a large tree crashing through its roof. Johnson considered herself lucky, as much of the house was still standing.

There would be no phone service until Jan. 1. (E-mail and cell phones – and only some area codes worked – would have to do.) She asked herself, do we need a magazine? She felt the university needed a way to explain life post-Katrina and also needed a publication of record. It would publish Jan. 15 -- but she realized, to meet this deadline, she had only 8 days to work on copy!

The staff struggled with tricky questions: How do we report on the layoffs? How do we distribute the magazines? (Mail service was down in much of New Orleans.) How do we find a new printer? (They returned to a printer used previously who was willing to work issue by issue.) How do we get the job done? (They lost two editors and two designers due to layoffs and had an increased work load due to the e-mail newspaper.) How do we handle insurance issues? (They could not use the word “flood” in the copy!)

And the humdinger of them all: Just one day before the copy deadline, the university would make a major announcement. Johnson had been asked to hold 1/3 of the copy hole for stories about this. She had 24 hours to fill 12 pages of copy following the university’s announcement, which covered Tulane’s bold new plan for the largest restructuring in its history.

The January issue was delivered on time (online at ), and Johnson expects to publish another issue in June. In the fall, the quarterly magazine should resume publication as usual. Also, she has a full issue in the bank, as Katrina postponed publication of the fall issue.

Mariel Betancourt

Assistant Editor

Ohio Today alumni magazine

Ohio University

Scott Quad 102

Athens OH 45701-2979

Telephone: 740-593-1891

Fax: 740-593-1887

E-mail: betancou@ohio.edu

Web: and

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