From the Editor’s Desk: What’s Published, is Public

When writing a story for a news organization, there’s an understanding your work can then be used as a source of information for a host of entities and organizations including media outlets, academic essays, political organizations — the list goes on. 

Beyond plagiarism, journalists have little control over where or how our articles are used. All we can do is ensure the information we include is accurate and meaningful. The rest is up to the readers. In a sense, we’re the authors of the first draft of history.

On our online platforms, we’re contributing to a vast number of resources which make up the internet. In print, we’re creating something which could remain on shelves or in archives for generations to come. It can be jarring to think about the shelf-life of any given work. 

In particular, as a student journalist it can be easy to forget the work I’m doing can have effects far off-campus. Recently, The Phoenix broke the story of Sister Jean’s retirement, and as a result were cited by media outlets like ESPN, The New York Times, The Associated Press, CBS News, WBEZ and ABC News, among others. 

The occurrence is a reminder that what we’re doing at The Phoenix is no different than the work of journalists at other non-college related newspapers. It’s a reminder our work matters. 

There is another side of all of this though. In the same week we found out about Sister Jean’s retirement story making an impact, we discovered we were cited as a source on the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) website as supposed evidence of a professor being too progressive. 

The article, “Students and Faculty Discuss Aftermath of Presidential Election at Town Hall Meeting,” was published in 2016 and details the reactions of Loyola community members following President Donald Trump’s election to his first term. It was enough to put this professor on TPUSA’s Professor Watchlist, whose work is “unmasking radical professors,” according to its website

While this makes me uneasy, it’s not because I think The Phoenix shouldn’t be used as a source for them. No matter their beliefs, TPUSA has just as much of a right to cite our reporting as anybody else. What’s aggravating to me is that an organization that supports a president who advocates censorship in journalism — and has coined the term “fake news” — is also benefiting from those same ideals they wish to aid in deconstructing. 

It’s not our job as journalists to decide who can and cannot reference our reporting. It’s our job to make sure we are confident in our work. Knowing The Phoenix’s decades long commitment to quality journalism, I’m confident this 2016 article is an accurate representation of the events which culminated from that historic event. 

If anything, we can all use this as a reminder of the importance of a free press. The free press doesn’t discriminate. It’s about a free market of information for anyone in need. 

This week, take advantage of your access to information by reading The Phoenix. In news, learn about the Green Alley Program in Chicago, catch up on the week in Chicago sports, read about the recent performance by Twenty One Pilots in arts and hear a first-hand account of the effects of dangerous rhetoric surrounding Autism diagnoses from opinion.