Ohio University Center for Student Engagement and Leadership has more than 20 student media organizations that require legal and financial help without direct university support.
OU student media organizations are considered independent of the university, meaning the university does not provide any help regarding legal issues.
When student media organizations have a problem, Andrea Lewis, the director of media at OU and the president-elect for the College Media Association, or CMA, helps them solve it.
“Most of them operate like small businesses on campus. They create a product, they create events and they generate revenue,” Lewis said. “I'm there to be their safety net.”
Through Lewis’ role, she helps guide students and student media organizations behind the scenes, allowing them to focus on their passions.
To do this, Lewis helps to provide students with ways to generate the funds they need, legal resources, production resources and works out logistics.
“If they want to create 20 stories a day, get them up online, have people out there getting footage, taking photos, you have to make sure they have the right equipment to do it,” Lewis said.
Lewis said while students are on the ground making and creating stories when news happens, she helps with all the back-end noise and supports them.
Olivia Freeland, a senior studying media arts production and a co-producer for Fridays Live, has worked with Lewis when Fridays Live’s production team needs help.
Freeland said Lewis helps the team when new executive boards switch. For example, producers and treasures are appointed to help with the Senate Appropriations Commission funding to print posters and stickers.
“I would meet with Andrea, and we would talk about resources that we needed for the season,” Freeland said. “She just kind of makes sure that we know what we're doing, and we know what we need to be doing for the season to make it run smoothly.”
Lewis also provides student media organizations with opportunities like student media roundtables, where student media leadership can come together and bounce ideas off of each other regarding fundraising and group activities.
Jack Slemenda, a senior studying journalism on the news and information track and minoring in political science, is the editor-in-chief for The New Political, or TNP.
Slemenda said Lewis has also helped connect students with opportunities to take their careers further with internships and conferences. He said Lewis approached TNP to invite them to a CMA conference in Atlanta last year.
“It's a really great opportunity to connect with a lot of journalism-like-minded people,” Slemenda said. “I got connected with my internship that I ended up doing.”
According to Slemenda, TNP’s publication quality is good and has been placed on the map thanks to Lewis.
“Without her help and without sending us to these conferences, OU publications wouldn't nearly be on the same map as they are today,” Slemenda said. “They wouldn't have as much credibility as they do today."
According to Slemenda, without these opportunities, students graduating from OU would not be as able to go on to jobs in big market areas like DC or New York.
When student media organizations run into legal issues, Lewis helps connect students to proper resources like the Student Press Freedom Initiative and the Student Press Law Center.
Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the SPLC, said the SPLC is a nonprofit organization that provides legal support to student journalists.
Hiestand said it is best to come to the SPLC before publishing the piece of media because it lets the SPLC check to see if students have the proper work and put in safety measures.
“One interesting experience for journalists to learn how to work with media lawyers,” Hiestand said. “It is part of the business these days, unfortunately. But the other reason is that the students typically have more freedom to push back.”
Lewis said she feels it is important for OU student journalists and student media organizations to know they can come to her for help, and she will provide a safe place.
“In an era where news and information is important, student newspapers are important because it's a space and a place where our journalists are responsibly learning and implementing and applying their skills that they're learning in the classroom,” Lewis said. “We need to keep supporting that because it really makes our students more prepared.”
