In 1999, Daily Orange editors and Chancellor Kenneth ‘Buzz’ Shaw signed an agreement demonstrating each party’s acknowledgement of the relationship between the paper and the university.

The agreement gave the paper three important rights:

            1. The right to deliver papers on campus.

            2. The ability to lease 744 Ostrom Ave. from the university as an office building.

            3. Access to all university buildings and administrators necessary for reporting purposes.

But the editors wished Shaw would agree to a few principles as well. As The D.O. does not receive assistance from the university, the agreement stated the university could not in any way attempt to censor the paper’s content or take judicial action regarding any content-related complaint.

Above all, the agreement put in writing that The D.O. was in no way, shape or form tied with the university.

‘Whenever the University discusses the status of The D.O., it will seek to make clear that the paper is an independent editorial voice,’ the agreement read.

From 1999 until 2004, when Shaw resigned as chancellor, the agreement remained. Although challenged and questioned by both university spokesman Kevin Morrow and Syracuse University Athletics at times, both The D.O. and Shaw held true to the terms set within it.

When Chancellor Nancy Cantor took over in 2004, The D.O. hoped to continue the terms of the agreement and the formal relationship the paper had with Shaw. Heather Collura, managing editor in spring 2006 and later editor in chief, said the agreement’s transfer wasn’t a smooth one.

The two D.O. management teams before Collura and then-editor in chief Dana Moran had difficulty reaching terms of an agreement with Cantor, Collura said.

‘Her first year (on campus) was extremely tumultuous,’ Collura said of Cantor. ‘She was extremely cautious with us. They made no progress with her, every meeting resulted in no agreement at all.’

But Jared Novack and Elyse Andrews, editor in chief and managing editor, respectively, before Collura and Moran, started a tradition of monthly meetings with the chancellor. Collura and Moran continued the meetings, and Collura said she thinks the respect shown during the meetings is ultimately what led Cantor to reach an agreement with the paper. The day the agreement was signed was a long-awaited achievement, she said.

‘I remember it being a victorious day,’ Collura said. ‘We ran back in, and we handed Pete (Waack) the paperwork, and it was a big deal because it had taken three administrations to get it done.’

Cantor said she couldn’t recall the exact stipulations of the signing of the new agreement and has met with D.O. management teams, some more than others, since she’s been at the helm of SU.

The meetings help facilitate a positive, professional relationship between SU and The D.O., she said, and can serve as another outlet for learning about what’s happening on campus. On The D.O.’s independence, Cantor said it’s important because it holds the paper to a professional standard.

‘It’s a real, functioning paper, and I think that’s important because it gives you more freedom,’ she said.

But not all management teams have been open to regular meetings with Cantor, said Meredith Galante, editor in chief in spring 2010. During her time in management, the meetings, which had been on ‘hiatus’ for some time, restarted on a biweekly basis, she said.

Of those before her who didn’t continue the meetings as frequently, Galante said, ‘Independence meant something different to them, and while they still kept a very good check on the university, they didn’t meet with the chancellor as frequently.’

For Galante, the meetings served as a way to maintain a professional relationship with the chancellor and another way to stay informed of what was going on around campus. The development of that relationship also made it easier to contact the chancellor or the administration for comment on certain topics.

But that relationship would never have stop Galante from printing something Cantor might not have like.

‘Our job is to keep them in check, so if we find out things that don’t shine the brightest on the university according to our sources, we’re going to print them,’ she said.

In the end, Galante said it’s important to remember that no matter The D.O.’s relationship with the university or the chancellor, they can’t shut the paper down. They can take away distribution rights on campus or stop letting The D.O. rent its house on 744 Ostrom Ave., but the paper will continue.

‘That’s kind of the beauty of it,’ Galante said. ‘They can’t stop us.’

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on February 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm