Editorial independence is a key tenet of The Post’s mission
We want you, our readers, to know we have messed up in a big way.
As journalists, we treasure nothing more than working tirelessly to earn your trust. When we report on Athens and Ohio University news, we want you to know that an independent group of reporters and editors crafted that content.
As editors who value that independence, it’s our obligation to explain what we think was a poor call made by one of our top editors.
For a portion of this semester, The Post has been working under an agreement with OU administrators that gave President Roderick McDavis the chance to write op-eds to be published in our newspaper and on thepostathens.com.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7f32444e-e15d-11e4-9b97-77a806282582"}}
The Post’s opinion editor made an agreement with the president and his chief of staff that if McDavis wrote an op-ed for The Post, it would be published without any conflicting opinions from The Post staff for 24 hours.
We deem such a relationship between OU’s top administrators and our editorially independent publication as inappropriate and a violation of newsroom policies.
On Monday, The Post published an op-ed by McDavis — his second of the academic year — and an editorial critiquing its content.
Jennifer Kirksey, McDavis’ chief of staff, then made us aware of the prior agreement between the opinion editor and the president’s office. She also informed us that a meeting between the president and a Post reporter was canceled because we had gone back on our word.
That was the first time any of The Post’s other top editors heard of such an agreement.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="58d475d8-e15d-11e4-ad3f-3ff4e7a381be"}}
After conducting an internal investigation, we found the opinion editor acted alone, making the verbal agreement with McDavis and Kirksey earlier this year.
Not only did The Post’s Monday editorial dishonor an agreement the rest of the executive staff was unaware of, but the publication's editorial independence also could have been compromised as a result. And although the agreement wasn't conceived by a Post employee, a Post employee approved it — potentially calling into question a fundamental tenet of our newsroom: How only Post employees can dictate what is published by The Post.
It’s also worth noting that, to the best of our knowledge, The Post has never held publication of a story or opinion piece because of an op-ed written by McDavis or any other individual or group The Post covers. For the record, like everything else we publish, the decision to publish this editorial was ours alone.
Jim Ryan, Post editor-in-chief, decided to suspend the opinion editor for two weeks.
We apologize for working under conditions that would offer the appearance that The Post’s editorial independence is not our utmost priority.
We hope this editorial assures you that this publication is, in fact, student-run and editorially independent of the university it covers.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: editor-in-chief Jim Ryan, managing editor Sara Jerde and projects editor Allan Smith. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
