Vincent Filak, a journalism professor at UW-Oshkosh and former adviser for The Advance-Titan student newspaper, has been rallying support this week to oppose restrictions the school has been accused of placing on student media organizations.
On March 9, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, wrote to the university regarding the process that must be followed by reporters at The Advance-Titan to request an interview with university employees. According to FIRE, the newspaper said its reporters must first seek permission from the university marketing office, and if approved, send their questions via email to the marketing office.
Upon learning of the restriction accusations, Filak contacted the head of the university’s marketing department and detailed the exchange in a blog post. He has published several more posts to his blog this week, including one in which he shared contact information for several UW-Oshkosh officials and asked readers to contact them in support of the student journalists, asking that they discontinue any restrictive practices.
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In addition to rallying support, Filak offered his views on how to resolve the issue and shared an update Thursday following a meeting between the newspaper and university officials.
