The Charlatan is facing a blatant attack on the press fuelled by misinformation and ill-intent.
The publication is currently facing external threats from individuals with no prior involvement in student journalism who aim to overtake the Charlatan’s Board of Directors and subsequently reduce the paper’s operating budget by more than 50 per cent.
During these trying times, the Charlatan’s editorial staff is urging every student to stand up and help protect our ability to continue impactful, student-driven reporting.
At the publication’s upcoming Annual General Meeting on April 6 at 7 p.m., every student will have a part in ensuring the sustenance of the student paper. Attend the meeting, hear about our integral role in the Carleton community and vote to ensure the board stays in responsible hands.
This follows a string of attacks against Canadian student publications, such as censorship and defunding threats faced by the Queen’s Journal, the Imprint and the Interrobang this past year. In times when press freedom is more crucial than ever, we urgently ask the Carleton community to support student journalism.
The Charlatan’s mandate is to inform and connect with the Carleton student body. The Board of Directors helps enhance this mandate by overseeing the financial and legal affairs of the paper, independent from editorial operations. In the absence of a well-intentioned board, the fulfilment of the Charlatan’s mandate will become insurmountably harder.
The Charlatan’s on-campus presence is endangered amid budget cuts proposed by these external threats. Should they be elected, it will no longer be in the budget to rent our office in Nideyinàn, which has always provided a space for any student to voice their story when no one else will listen. The threats also aim to cut editor compensation, disregarding the countless hours the Charlatan’s editorial staff dedicate to informing the student community.
Additionally, these external threats aim to encroach on the editorial integrity and independence of our publication. In public comments on social media, they have proposed new policies which would authorize the board to: assume control over unpublishing and corrections; determine who can write for the newspaper; overtake the editor-in-chief’s ability to hire staff such as our managing and copy editors; and publish promotional stories pre-approved by student government organizations.
These alarming intentions have been posted alongside misinformation about our paper’s operations and current board.
To confront allegations suggesting otherwise, it’s important to highlight some of the publication’s new inclusion-focused initiatives which could not have happened without the direct contributions of this past year’s board.
A recent panel carried out by the board’s director of equity, diversity and inclusion brought media professionals together to promote important conversation on making the media industry a more inclusive place.
Under the direction of the board’s director of community engagement, a newly established co-op program is currently offering three high school students the ability to work alongside the editorial staff as they build their portfolios and gain confidence ahead of post-secondary aspirations.
The position of the board’s director of policy and strategic planning was intentionally created this year to identify gaps in our governance and develop long-term strategies for policy enhancement.
The Board of Directors is undertaking steps to resolve outdated elements of the corporation’s bylaws and constitution. Strategic plans are well underway to reform general membership, craft board election procedures and remove outdated bylaws in order to fulfill the important mandate of being an inclusive, democratic and engaged not-for-profit on campus.
Despite misinformation circulating online, the Charlatan’s finances are in strong health. The newspaper’s funding comes through a yearly $6 student levy, which goes toward operational costs, student employment and insurance. As a not-for-profit corporation, the board is tasked with drafting a yearly budget which responsibly allocates all revenue.
With a board membership who isn’t operating in the paper’s best interests, these noteworthy initiatives will cease to exist.
Join us on April 6 at 7 p.m. and vote for the continued good governance of your student newspaper.
Featured graphic from file.
