Dec 02, 2016 11:07 AM EST By Julio Cachila, UniversityHerald Reporter

Student reporters face pressure from university administrators, according to a new report released by a committee composed of various organizations.

The report, titled "Threats to the Independence of Student Media," compiled various instances wherein student-run papers were made subject to pressure by school administrators. The problem is not limited to just one university as it is found happening in various higher education institutions, whether public or private, two-year or four-year, and religious or secular.

In many cases, administrators threatened or pressured students and advisers working on the student publications for covering and publishing news that were either critical to the administration, or unflattering and damaging to the reputation of the institution.

Administrators of a four-year public school, for example, demanded that the adviser to the student publication conduct prepublication reviews after the school newspaper published an article about the "top 10 places to hook up on campus."

The pressure also comes from sources other than the school administration, the report states. According to one school media adviser who participated in a survey conducted by the College Media Association, a representative of the graduate student government threatened to cut the school paper's funding if it will not cover more graduate student events.

Such pressures are threats are not disclosed to the public for several reasons, foremost of which is the adviser's fear of losing his or her job, regardless of tenure or position in the institution as staff or faculty.

"[P]rofessors or advisers, whether they are members of the faculty or the staff, can sometimes face intense pressure from college and university administrators to avoid topics or stories that the administration finds objectionable," the report says.

The report has been prepared by representatives from the American Association of University Professors, the College Media Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Student Press Law Center. The report can be downloaded here.

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