U. of Georgia Newspaper’s Board Backs Down; Editors May Return

Student journalists who walked out of the offices of The Red & Black at the University of Georgia on Wednesday are reapplying for their jobs after the independent newspaper’s Board of Directors met with them on Friday and issued an apology saying that final editorial control of the publication rests with the student editor, not the professional-staff member whose title was recently changed from “editorial adviser” to “editorial director.” The Student Press Law Center said the board had decided to change the employee’s title back to “adviser,” but had not yet voted on whether to rescind changes in the employee’s job description. The student journalists, including the paper’s editor, walked out after receiving a memorandum from a board member that appeared to give the new editorial director prior review of all material appearing in the paper. The board member has since resigned.