University of Oregon media

The University of Oregon has a diverse array of student-run and student-created media, including the "Oregon Daily Emerald", the "Oregon Voice", the "Oregon Commentator" and the "Insurgent". The University is also the home of two radio station: KWAX and KWVA.

Print

"Oregon Daily Emerald"

The "Oregon Daily Emerald", published Monday through Friday, primarily features news items and commentary pertaining to the University community, and is considered the daily paper of record. In addition to the print newspaper, the Emerald publishes its features on the internet. The Emerald has been in publication for more than 100 years and has many distinguished alumni. A court case involving the Emerald's publication of several first-hand student accounts of drug use during the 1960s became the basis for the subsequent creation of the Oregon Shield Law. The paper became independent in the 1970s after editor Paul Brainerd realized the potential conflict of interest between acting as a watchdog while simultaneously receiving direct funding and oversight from the university. Today the paper is supported by advertising revenue and is distributed free to students because of a subscription fee paid by the ASUO with incidental fees.

Magazines and quarterlies

"Oregon Voice"

The "Oregon Voice" primarily chronicles popular culture in a zine format. The "Voice" often profiles music acts as they tour through Eugene, and in 1998 the magazine published a widely read interview with "Infinite Jest" author David Foster Wallace.

"Oregon Commentator"

The second oldest publication on campus after the Emerald, the "Oregon Commentator", is a journal of political opinion and humor, modeled in equal parts after such publications as "Harvard Lampoon" and "Reason Magazine". Often, but not always, the Commentator is known for a libertarian or conservative stance. In general, its aim is to serve as a contrarian outlet for students resistant to the prevailing trends on campus.Fact|date=December 2007 In addition to its print magazine, the Commentator publishes its content on its website, where it also maintains a group-run blog frequently linked to by national news outlets. It was founded in fall 1983 primarily by Dane S. Claussen, now a journalism/mass communication professor, and Richard E. Burr, now with "The Detroit News" editorial pages.

"The Insurgent"

The "Insurgent" is a journal of radical politics published by a Collective of students and others who express solidarity with such groups as the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth First! organization. Among other causes, the "Insurgent" rallies for the release of such individuals as Mumia Abu-Jamal and convicted arsonist Jeffrey "Free" Leuers, on the grounds that they are wrongly held political prisoners.

"Flux"

"Flux" is an annual magazine written and edited by students at the University of Oregon School of Journalism & Communication. [cite web |url=http://influx.uoregon.edu/ |title=Flux] It contains in-depth features about a wide variety of topics, many of which are based in the Pacific Northwest but have national appeal and interest.

University published media

The "Oregon Quarterly" is a University magazine which presents "the diversity of ideas and people associated with the University, Oregon, and the Northwest." [ [http://www.uoregon.edu/~oq/ "Oregon Quarterly" website ~ Main page] ]

Other student publications on the University of Oregon campus include the multicultural magazine "Korean Ducks," and the multilingual publication "Global Talk". [ [http://babel.uoregon.edu/globaltalk "Global Talk" website ~ Main page] ] "Global Talk", [ [http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2005/11/18/News/New-Multicultural.Magazine.Makes.Debut.Appearance-1965746.shtml "Global Talk News coverage"~ Oregon Daily Emerald] ] a student-created news publication, provides a place to bring language and culture together including one page each for Chinese, French, Dutch, Farsi, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Scandinavian, Slavic, Swahili, Portuguese, Spanish, and other minor languages unrepresented by major departments. Global Talk is funded by several departments at the UO and was founded in November 2005. It is the first university of Oregon multilingual publication published within the university system and within the whole state of Oregon. Other publications include the ASUO Women's Center's newsletter "The Siren", and the ASUO governmental newsletter "NETMA" (acronym for Nobody Ever Tells Me Anything). The University of Oregon Press [ [https://millrace.uoregon.edu/uopress/index.cfm University of Oregon Press web page] ] publishes books, which since June 1, 2005 have been distributed by the Oregon State University Press.

tudent media controversies

Controversy has occasionally surrounded the "Commentator" and the "Insurgent". In 2001 the "Insurgent" gained national attention for publishing a primer on violent methods of ending scientific testing on lab animals, opposite a page detailing the names, phone numbers, and home addresses of science professors alleged to be involved in such practices.

In 2005, members of the "Insurgent" Collective led efforts to defund the "Oregon Commentator" on the grounds that it had violated its own Mission and Goals statement by ridiculing a prominent student senator. The ASUO's Programs Finance Committee (PFC) voted to defund the "Commentator". Later, three members of the PFC resigned their positions under duress, including one whose criminal record was published in the "Commentator". The free-speech advocacy and civil rights organization FIRE threatened legal action against the University, and the "Commentator's" funding was subsequently reinstated by a reconstituted PFC.

In 2006 the "Commentator" republished the twelve Mohammed cartoons that had sparked riots across the Middle East after first appearing in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten several months prior. The "Insurgent" followed by publishing twelve cartoons depicting Jesus [http://commentator.dreamhosters.com/Insurgent_17.4.pdf] , some of which featured the deity with a prominent erection. Several groups demanded a public apology or a defunding of the "Insurgent", and news outlets including The O'Reilly Factor called for the firing of the University's President David B. Frohnmayer. Both the "Emerald" and the "Commentator" publicly defended the "Insurgent's" right to free speech and Frohnmayer's decision to uphold it, citing the 2001 Southworth decision by the Supreme Court Fact|date=October 2008.

The "Emerald" itself is not a stranger to controversy. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the student newspaper published an annual satire supplement called the "Immorald". The 1981 "Immorald" featured the phrase "Give me a fucking break" in nearly all its stories, which led to an angry editorial in the Eugene "Register-Guard", entitled "The Immorald is Not Funny". The phrase had been used earlier that year by "Emerald" political columnist (and former editor) Greg Wasson, which prompted Max Rijken, a member of the Oregon Legislature, to photocopy the article for fellow legislators and demand that the UO administration take action against the newspaper. The co-editor of that year's "Immorald", Mike Rust, went on to co-found the "Commentator" a few years later.

The other 1981 "Immorald" co-editor, Mike Lee, had lightly sparred with the "Emerald" itself a few years earlier, in a mock controversy that had real consequences for the UO mascot, the Oregon Duck. In 1978, the "Emerald" sponsored a student referendum that would officially declare the cartoon character Mallard Drake as UO mascot. Drake, the creation of "Emerald" editorial cartoonist Steve Sandstrom, was a black-feathered duck, closer in spirit to Daffy Duck than the UO's Donald. Lee opposed the referendum through an organization called the "Retain Class in Your Bird" committee, itself a parody of a campus radical group, the Revolutionary Community Youth Brigade. Students ultimately voted for Donald over Mallard, in an election that drew more votes than the student-body president on the same ballot. UO officials later used that election as evidence that students "officially" voted for Donald Duck as campus mascot.

Radio

The University, under the Associated Students operate three radio stations on campus. KWAX broadcasts classical music and KWVA which broadcasts a variety of music and talk.

References

External links

* [http://media.uoregon.edu/ University of Oregon Channel]
* [http://www.theinsurgent.net/ The Insurgent]