Monday, October 1, 2001

TV Station at U. of Missouri Draws Fire for Policy on Patriotic Displays By PETER SCHMIDT A television station owned by the University of Missouri at Columbia has come under fire from state lawmakers for barring its newscasters from wearing red-white-and-blue ribbons. Some Missouri legislators threatened last week to try to reduce the university's state appropriation in response to the television station's policy, which they criticized as unpatriotic and as a violation of the free-speech rights of station employees. Most or all of the lawmakers backed away from their threats, however, after learning that the station, KOMU, is self-supporting and does not receive university funds. "I think we have reached an impasse," said State Rep. Matt Bartle, a Republican who has been one of the chief critics of the television station's policy. "It is not realistic to think that I am going to effect change in this policy by somehow withdrawing funding." In an interview Friday, Mr. Bartle said he nonetheless planned to continue to make his objections to the station's policy known to the university's administration. The flap stemmed from a memorandum that Stacey Woelfel, the news director at KOMU, issued to his staff on September 17, six days after terrorist attacks hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "This probably won't be a popular decision for some of you," Mr. Woelfel wrote by e-mail, "but I need to remind everyone that our news broadcasts are not the place for personal statements of support for any cause -- no matter how deserving the cause seems to be. This includes the little red, white, and blue ribbons that a lot of people are sporting these days. "Our job is to deliver the news as free from outside influences as possible," Mr. Woelfel continued. "And, while it seems that there could be no one who would object to our wearing such a symbol, you might be surprised. And it also sets a precedent where countless other causes would want us to wear their symbols as well." Mr. Woelfel's memo instructed: "Leave the ribbons at home when reporting or anchoring for KOMU news." The memo made its way into the hands of state lawmakers. In a subsequent letter to Mr. Woelfel, Mr. Bartle wrote: "It is more than a little troubling that in your rush not to offend that you would ban a symbol of compassion for those who have suffered immense tragedy. This is not a matter of journalistic even-handedness. This is a matter of simple decency and respect for our fellow human beings." Mr. Bartle said that he would be "evaluating far more carefully" the state's financial support for the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. "If this is what you are teaching the next generation of journalists, I question whether the taxpayers of this state will support it," he said, adding that he had sent a copy of his letter to the university's governmental-relations office, "hoping that the administration will look into this matter." Among the other lawmakers who expressed displeasure with the station's policy was State Rep. Chuck Purgason, a Republican who noted in a letter to the station that he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives' Budget Committee. In a September 25 letter to Representative Bartle, Mr. Woelfel defended the station's policy as based on sound journalistic ethics. He also noted that the station's commercial success "helps keep us financially self-sufficient and free from the need for any state appropriations that might leave the perception of having to answer editorially to state government." "Heck, we even give some extra back to the university to pay its bills," Mr. Woelfel said. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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