Editorial Freedom Policy

KSU Student Media and the student press are valuable aids in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration on campus. They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and institutional authorities and of formulating opinions on various issues on the campus and in the world at large. In response to the editorial responsibility of students, the University must provide sufficient editorial freedom and sufficient financial autonomy for the student media to maintain their integrity of purpose as vehicles for free inquiry and free expression in an academic community.

KSU Student Media are designated public forums. Student editors and managers have the authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.

Institutional authorities, in consultation with students and faculty, have a responsibility to provide written clarification of the role of student media/publications, the standards to be used in their evaluation, and the limitations on external control of their operation. At the same time, the editorial freedom of student editors and managers entail corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. As safeguards for the editorial freedom of student media, the following provisions are necessary:

A. The student press should be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors and managers should be free to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage.

B. Editors and managers of student media should be protected from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administrative or public disapproval of editorial policy or content. Only for proper and stated causes should editors and managers be subject to removal and then by orderly and prescribed procedures. The agency responsible for the appointment of editors should be the agency responsible for their removal.

C. All college published, broadcast and financed student media should explicitly state on the editorial page and broadcasts that opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Kennesaw State University or the student body.
For complete policies concerning KSU Student Media, contact the Director of Student Media at 470-578-3083.