The Carolinian returns to UNCG

Here's an article I wrote in 2005 for UNCG's campus newspaper The Carolinian:

Conspiracy theories and rumors were rampant among the student population when the independent student newspaper of UNCG went missing from the racks in early December. The Carolinian went unpublished for nearly three months, the longest absence in the paper's 86-year history, due to bad business practices that led to university sanctions.

After accusations of business fraud, mass firings and a loss of university affiliation, The Carolinian's executive editor has stepped down and the paper is printing again. But students are still asking, "What really happened?"

A ROCKY HISTORY

In 2002 it was decided by The Carolinian editorial board, a group consisting of the paper's editors, that leadership of The Carolinian would be separated into two positions: an executive editor who would focus on business and administration and a managing editor who would work with section editors and oversee content. The change was a response to the need to separate the paper's business and content, preventing conflicts of interest.

Trinity Whitley, a sophomore, was appointed executive editor in 2003 - a position decided annually by the University Media Board. The media board is a university committee made up of UNCG students, faculty and staff who oversee student funding for the campus' print media, Coraddi and The Carolinian. The media board is chaired by Checka Leinwall, associate director of the Office of Student Life (OSL), the group that oversees affiliated student organizations.

Though Whitley had not previously been on staff at the paper and had no newspaper experience when hired, she was one of only three students to apply for the position.

Carolinian editors said Whitley's inexperience and refusal to accept help or suggestions from the staff created conflicts.

"It was obvious she didn't have any [journalism] experience," said Kevin Harvey, who worked with Whitley as opinions editor when she was hired in the Spring of 2003.

"It's fair to say that she ran the paper poorly," Harvey said.

Whitley said that when she arrived, The Carolinian was "a little unorganized with misplaced principles."

"Almost immediately, within the first few weeks, there were problems," said Joe Killian, the paper's managing editor. Killian said she tried to run the staff "like a military regime." He also spoke of Whitley's temper tantrums and screaming fits.

"I've been fortunate enough not to experience any [of Whitley's temper tantrums]" said Kathryn Kennedy, The Carolinian's news editor.

But Kennedy said she did witness an exchange between Whitley and Morgan Smith, former arts and entertainment editor, where both parties were yelling and pounding their fists on the table. Kennedy went on to say that Whitley's "unprofessionalism was notable."

Soon after Whitley was hired questions arose about advertisement commissions - the percentage of ad money given to employees who sell ads in the paper.

In the past a minimum of four ad representatives, who did nothing but sell ads, were needed to make enough money for The Carolinian to make payroll. Whitley took a different approach to selling advertisements, saying the "advertising system just wasn't working" and that a lot of money wasn't coming in, so a new system was necessary.

Records show that Whitley hired no ad representatives during her first term as executive editor and instead sold and collected commission on most of the paper's ads herself. Carolinian editors and other staff members charged that this lead to fewer ads and less revenue for the paper, but more money for Whitley herself.

Whitley was eventually confronted by the editors and as a result hired Christina Pulliam as office assistant. Pulliam did not work as a full time ad representative and, according to Business Manager David Sebren, "Pulliam sold enough to make $50-$100 a month while Trinity sold enough to make uber amounts of money."

According to editors Whitley became angry when then-News Editor Will Ayers sold approximately $6,000 in advertising over the summer of 2004, insisting that she needed the money from ad commissions herself and didn't want Ayers to bring in new advertisers before she could. Shortly thereafter Sebren said he found documents changing credit for the commission of those ads from Ayers' name to Whitley's.

Since Whitley was accused of illegal activity, namely business fraud, the situation was handed to the student conduct board. There, after a hearing, Whitley was found "not responsible." When Sebren heard about this he was upset and said Whitley "got off on a loop hole" - submitting guidelines for The Carolinian that omitted any rules for business so that she could make the argument she hadn't broken any.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the paper's editors met and submitted a letter of concern to the media board at the end of November. This letter outlined many of their complaints against Whitley, ranging from "misappropriation of funds" to business fraud. It also said that Whitley unilaterally decided to spend thousands of dollars The Carolinian didn't have on an expensive Macintosh G4 computer, her only explanation being, "it's going to be badass."

Whitley later said she purchased the computer because of "misinformation" on The Carolinian's budget from then OSL Business Manager Paul Constantino.

The letter also said Sebren "found doctored paperwork, changing an ad commission from Will Ayers to Trinity's name." When the staff confronted Whitley, "she responded with what can only be described as a temper tantrum" by crying and raising her voice and making personal attacks against the editors present.

In response to the letter, the media board gathered a group of graduate students from the Bryan school under the direction an auditing professor to do a review of the "receipts and expenditures of Carolinian for the period of July 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004."

During the review The Carolinian's operation was suspended, and November 30 was the last issue they were able to produce. Sebren said he was surprised when he heard the news.

"I wasn't prepared for an audit, it threw me for a loop," said Sebren.

During the ongoing review Whitley fired Killian and Sebren and an email was then sent out to the section editors telling them they could stay and accept Whitley's methods or resign immediately. The group responded with an e-mail saying they would make no decision until completion of the financial review - but were summarily fired by Whitley for "not having a group mentality."

The editors all maintain their terminations were retaliation for their letter of concern to the media board.


RECONSTRUCTION

Whitley immediately chose replacements for the editors she had fired - many of whom had been with The Carolinian less than one semester and one of whom was not a staff member when hired. Brad Howell and Joe Scott were appointed Sports and A&E editors, respectively. Amanda Carl was appointed News Editor.

But before Whitley's new group got off the ground Kennedy and Lowrance appealed their terminations and were reinstated - as were Sebren and Killian at later meetings. Smith and Aaron Snyder, the former Sports editor, did not appeal, citing their need to find other, paying jobs during the long hiatus.

Upon the reinstatement of the former editors, the replacements were now unemployed. Whitley said it was, "very heartbreaking to tell the people I hired that they were now replaced." However, Carl said Whitley avoided informing the editors until they had already found out through word-of-mouth.

"I lost a lot of respect" for Whitley, Carl said of the situation.

Carl is once again working in the news section under Kennedy.

With Lowrence and Kennedy back on staff, a whole new set of problems arose. The Carolinian's student group affiliation lapsed because Whitley failed to meet any of the guidelines required to maintain affiliation, including submitting operating procedures to M.L. Gough of OSL without the editorial board's approval and neglecting to include the business or advertising procedures of The Carolinian. This left the paper without office space or the ability to print.

Kennedy worked to regain affiliation with the school by attending affiliation meetings and ensuring that the anti-hazing agreements had been turned in. Also, new operating procedures, drafted by the editorial board, were completed and presented to OSL on February 25.

After the various changes in leadership, the audit was presented to the media board on March 3, and it read, "The Carolinian's recent operating difficulties mainly arise from its lack of documented operating procedures and internal controls."

At that March 3 meeting, Whitley resigned as executive editor. Scott, who was present at the meeting, quoted her as saying "the media board constantly questioned her authority." Whitley said she is now pursuing legal action against Leinwall and the media board "for work without pay" during the Carolinian's hiatus and "slandering [her] name."

Lowrance has since been appointed interim executive editor until one can be appointed by the media board, and The Carolinian's suspension was lifted.