Marquette Student Journalists: Credit Where Credit Isn’t Due

Back on April 28, the Milwaukee Press Club held its Awards Dinner honoring journalists of many kinds, including student journalists.

Marquette was well-represented, with six students honored. Indeed, Marquette dominated the student media category.

On page 19 of the program was an ad bought by Marquette (see below). It listed the names of all six Marquette student journalists, with a picture of Johnston Hall in the background.

(You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

Nice way to express pride in the students’ achievement, eh?

Unfortunately, there was a bit of an agenda that intruded.

Johnston Hall is the headquarters of the official university paper, the Marquette Tribune, which has offices in the basement. It is also where the Journalism Department is located.

But of the six awards given to Marquette students, four went to The Warrior, and two to the Tribune.

The Warrior is not headquartered in Johnston Hall. An unofficial paper, it’s off campus.

The ad does not list the paper in which each award-winning story appeared, concealing the fact that the majority of awards went to an off-campus unofficial paper.

And the vast majority of the Warrior staff consists of people who aren’t journalism majors.

Marquette has a right to be proud of all six of the student journalists who won awards. But a large share of the good journalism is going on outside Johnston Hall, and being done by students who may have never had a journalism class.

The Warrior staff, however, can be flattered that Marquette is trying to take credit for their achievements.