Though it doers not appear to have a direct connection to the firing of journalism instructor T. R. Hanrahan, multiple sources have told The Turner Report that Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck and Joplin Globe Publisher Michael Beatty have had discussions about having a weekly positive news page or section about the university in the Globe.
Talks about the MSSU section appear to have heated up at about the time Globe reporter Greg Grisolano was pulled off the university beat and have continued since then. Grisolano had been racking up numerous bylines on stories covering the unrest among faculty members upset with Speck's administration and had been sending freedom of information requests trying to get to the bottom of the university's dalliance with a Kansas City medical school over the prospect of bringing a satellite facility to Joplin. The groundwork for much of Grisolano's coverage had been established by the digging of reporters at the Chart.
The Globe's decision to back off critical stories about Speck's administration was spelled out in an April 6, 2010, e-mail from Beatty to Speck.
In that e-mail, Beatty said he had put a stop to Freedom of Information requests filed by Grisolano, offered to bring the newspaper’s editor to meet with Speck to give him "examples of positive stories" the Globe wanted to run about MSSU, and offered Speck advice on how to manage the news to avoid further controversy.
Apparently, that management of the news included a lucrative advertising vehicle for the Globe.
Despite fears that Speck might be preparing to muzzle the Chart or turn it into an adjunct publication for the Globe, it appears the newspaper will continue to publish, although it seems likely that whoever replaces Hanrahan, whose work as well as that of his staff, has received regional and national acclaim, will be instructed to rein in the student reporters and have them working on those positive stories for the Globe, as well as their work for the campus publication.
For the most part, the Globe has continued to ignore the story of Hanrahan's removal, with the exception of a strange column by Editor Carol Stark in the Sunday edition. In that column, Mrs. Stark indicated there was no way she could get to the bottom of what was going on because nobody would tell her anything.
If she really wanted to get the lowdown on what is happening at Missouri Southern State University, perhaps she should contact one of the reporters trained by T. R. Hanrahan.
Could Dwight Douglas possibly have picked a worse president for MSSU? If you recall, Speck was a finalist at SIX other universities that said NO THANKS after interviewing him. The other telling thing about Speck is that he wasn't scheduled to start at MSSU for several months after being hired because of his commitment to Austin Peay University in Tennessee. But when APU found out MSSU had hired him, they said WE INSIST YOU GO RIGHT NOW.
ReplyDeleteAnd we should insist the same. Isn't his contract up? If not, we should buy the sucker out. What a travesty.
ReplyDeleteI believe fabricated stories about MSSU would be a good start for the Globe.
ReplyDeleteLeet's face it. MSSU as a mid-mid-level unicollege will never get the pick of the litter for administrators. So, let's just close our eyes and hope better days are ahead......for the students.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with 4:18. For a quarter of a million dollars a year, we should get someone much, much beter than Speck.
ReplyDelete6:08,
ReplyDeleteYou're kidding me aren't you? Are you guys really paying this doodoo bird over 250 grand?
4:18
Speck's base pay is $180,000. He also gets a $40,000 housing allowance. He also gets a free car and free gasoline. If you add in his benefits, he approaches $300,000 annually.
ReplyDeleteI love the last part of this article.. I'm pretty sure if a journalist from The Globe asked the students about what's going on, the journalist would find out some interesting details. The Globe is proving to everyone how fake they are and what sell outs they are as well. Being a journalist is about informing their community and The Globe is making it clear they don't care about what their community wants either. Ridiculous really.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what the situation may be with Speck and The Globe's little agenda- but they are both making themselves and the college look bad.. Not The Chart at MSSU. T.R. did what he was asked to do. I'm in 100 percent support of T.R. and glad there's still one more person in this field who stands by the real meaning of Journalism and Education!
"If your not pissing someone off, you're not doing your job."
I will always remember this quote during my journalism years.. not only said by T.R. but by every journalist and teacher who ever mattered and made something for themselves.
greg g. was let go from the globe a little while ago.
ReplyDeleteNow the globe is really showing their stupidity by letting Greg go. I always found him to be a good reporter and was not afraid to ask the questions. The Globe is turning into a rag instead of a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing the Globe is good for is lining the bottom of a bird cage to poop on. It's not even fit to be called a rag.
ReplyDeleteFirst a huge salary for Speck, then cutting the international program, spending gobs of money on the alumni center, hiring a criminal, firing Hanrahan, and losing Dale Simpson. Yikes.
FWIW, I e-mailed the alumni office to complain, and I urge other alums to do so. No money as long as this continues.
The Chart has been discontinued and the official campus newspaper is now the Joplin Globe.
ReplyDeleteDid Dale retire?
ReplyDelete