Since when does Joplin Globe support student journalists' First Amendment rights?

It's a good thing T. R. Hanrahan is still alive. If not, he would be rolling in his grave.

On its opinion page Friday, the Joplin Globe Editorial Board came out strongly in favor of the rights of MU student journalist Tim Tai, who ran into problems while he was trying to cover the events that are taking place at the university.

His right to expect that he would be able to do his job should never have been in doubt, especially in a place of higher learning.

The Globe editorial was right on the money. Student journalists, all journalists for that matter, should be allowed to do their jobs.

But while the Globe was willing to step into this situation at the University of Missouri, it failed to do so when the situation was taking place in its own backyard.

When former Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck had copies of the Chart removed from a campus function because it had an article he considered to be negative, the Globe failed to write a word about it.

Then later, when Speck cracked down on the Chart staff, which was doing an incredible job of covering the problems that he and his administration had caused since his arrival on campus. Speck eventually fired Hanrahan, who was the Chart adviser, and silenced the voice of the campus newspaper.

During that time, the Joplin Globe failed to do what newspapers over the United States have always done when student journalists have been challenged. There were no editorials defending the students' rights to investigate wrongdoing on the campus. There were no examinations of whether Hanrahan's dismissal had anything to do with the investigations of Speck.

When it came time to defend the First Amendment when it was being challenged in Joplin, the editorial board did not write one word. The newspaper's reporters never investigated the situation.

On the contrary, the Globe took a far more significant stance on the First Amendment when it came to Missouri Southern. After initially running investigative articles by reporter Greg Grisolano, who was hitting the university with one Sunshine Law request after another, the Globe removed Grisolano from university coverage and transferred him to another beat.

And in an e-mail that was acquired through a Sunshine Law request, it was revealed that the Globe's publisher Michael Beatty, who still holds that position. conspired with Speck to help him deal with negative media coverage.

Beatty's e-mail to Speck included the following passage:
"We wanted to do an arboretum story for Arbor Day, a story on the mansions (sic) renovation, a story on the Science Fair, of course, the Prairie Issue, and lastly on how you saved money for the university on the hiring of the two new VP's."

Beatty opened the e-mail by telling Speck that the critical investigation into his presidency was a thing of the past:

"You will hear that we are withdrawing our requests for your schedule, Rod's schedule, and your expenses."

After that opening, Beatty asked for a meeting with him, Editor Carol Stark, and Speck.

"As I thought more about the issue of a spokesperson, I will share with you what I experienced in Baltimore. I was used to the spokesperson to be more of a facilitator of the organization on how the message should be controlled. Examples would be call to Rod (Surber) about a story, he knows how you want the story played out so he picks the spokesperson. This gives him/you appropriate individual time to develop the message. The process is really about controlling the message when working with the press and keeping transparency to the taxpayers

"I think we can find a middle ground so that all will be satisfied with the process."

The contents of that e-mail would never have been revealed had it not been for that freedom of information request, which came from Editor Brennan Stebbins and the Chart staff. An excellent example of investigative reporting.

No thanks to the newest proponents of students' First Amendment rights, our friends at the Joplin Globe.