After a controversy regarding an ad including a condom on The Beacon's Web page, the paper is back online
By Lucy Dwyer
If your preferred method of reading The Beacon is through the Internet, you may have noticed your favored source of campus news was unavailable through much of October.
On Oct. 21, 2008, an ad run by a nonprofit organization that promoted ending the spread of HIV in Africa was brought to the attention of Dee Anne Finken, assistant director for Student Media. The ad promoted an admirable cause, it also presented a problem. Prominently displayed within the ad was a large logo for Trojan condoms.
"The University of Portland operates under an agreement with College Publisher," said Finken, "under our contract, advertisements cannot include alcohol, tobacco, pro-life/pro-choice statements or contraceptives. When it was brought to my attention, I had The Beacon presence removed from the Website until we could find a solution."
College publisher, the company that the University of Portland holds a contract with for the online hosting of The Beacon website, is a popular college newspaper web hosting system that is home to more than 600 college publications nationwide. When the University of Portland began their agreement in 2006, the company was owned by Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks. However, shortly after the contract was created, Y2M was purchased by MTV.
"When MTV purchased Y2M, the University of Portland was given a new contract and never told about it," explained Jeromy Koffler, director of Student Activities. "I was a little disturbed we weren't immediately notified of the change in contract."
"I thought taking down the Web site was a joke," said Andy Matarrese, editor-in-chief of The Beacon, "It was much ado about nothing. As a newspaper, to not be online is a terrible idea."
While Finken, Koffler and other members of the administration investigated the contract discrepancy with College Publisher, Matarrese set to writing an appeal for why The Beacon should remain online through College Publisher.
"We were trained on this program, it seemed like a waste to find a new one, buy it, and train for it. There would be a loss of initial time and money," Matarrese said. "Also, you can do a lot with College Publisher, you can post video, audio and receive reader feedback and it's part of a network of 600 other college newspapers."
"It is the premier college newspaper site," echoed Finken, "we could host our own site, or create a PDF version, but I'm not sure The Beacon has the staff power for that, and, it doesn't provide the professional look."
Despite the arguments for its re-posting through College Publisher, The Beacon online couldn't ignore the fact that someone had found content on its Web page that not only breached the contract between the two organizations, but might also have offended some readers.
"After reading Andy's appeal, I wanted to open a dialogue about the issue. We plan to have an assessment meeting to make a decision on how to best serve the reader and the institution. In the meantime, we drew up and signed a new contract with College Publisher. Now we can assess the needs of the organization and where to go in the future," said Koffler.
Koffler authorized The Beacon to go back online through the use of College Publisher provided a new copy of the contract was signed by John Goldrick, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Life, that happened just this past week.
With access restored, Koffler is watchful of the new agreement.
"We used to be 100 percent confident about this service. Now we're more cautious about our relationship with College Publisher."
After missing two publications, The Beacon's online format is again up and running, much to the relief of technologically-savvy media consumers.
Explained Finken, "99 percent of newspapers realize they need an online version to stay alive. Sadly, print newspapers are having trouble."
And for now, with the Beacon back in the digital world, it would seem their troubles are behind them.
