Student newspapers on two campuses are credited with being first to report significant stories in the past year.
The Daily Northwestern at Northwestern University reported last month on hazing, sexual assault, and other problematic behavior involving the university’s football team.
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired, and some players have filed lawsuits while others have transferred to different institutions.
And The Stanford Daily at Stanford University reported last fall that the school president’s research was under investigation for scientific misconduct.
An independent review did clear Marc Tessier-Lavigne of research misconduct, but it found serious flaws in five scientific papers for which he was the principal author.
He eventually resigned.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. The program features Dr. Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier and the students at student radio station The Dog: Jessica Martin, a former teacher in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and former news director of NEWS3-TV at WIU; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
