Kansas City, Mo. ? The Society of Professional Journalists will investigate the removal of Kansas State University’s student newspaper adviser.

In a statement Tuesday on its Web site, SPJ said an eight-member task force would try to meet with officials at the university, in Manhattan, Kan., to emphasize the “necessary and court protected independence of the student media” and ensure “that the rights of student editors and/or student media advisers are not abridged.”

Ron Johnson was reassigned effective Monday from his position as adviser of the student-produced Kansas State Collegian to a teaching position, and was removed from his position as director of student publications.

Missed coverage

Johnson and the Collegian drew criticism after the paper’s staff failed to cover the Big 12 Conference on Black Student Government, held on campus in February. A group of black students at the school had called for his resignation.

Katie Lane, editor-in-chief of the Collegian at the time of the conference, said the paper made a mistake by not covering the event. She said the paper wrote a story preceding the conference and also one after the event. But editors did not realize how many people would attend and also mistakenly thought it was an annual conference, she said.

“It was a matter of not understanding how big the event was,” said Lane, who apologized at a student forum after the conference. “They thought it was intentional. In no way was it intentional.”

‘Outstanding’ work

SPJ President Mac McKerral said the task force’s primary purpose was fact-finding and reminding the administration of the rights of student journalists and of student media advisers.

McKerral said the timing of Johnson’s reassignment — which followed five years of evaluations rating his job performance as “outstanding” and “exceeds expectations” — raised questions about the administration’s motives. He said SPJ was concerned that Johnson’s removal might be an attempt to censor the newspaper’s content.

“The best case scenario would be that if Ron wanted his job back, he would get it,” said McKerral, speaking by phone from an SPJ function in Gainesville, Fla. “This kind of get-rid-of-the-adviser tactic has become much too commonplace.

“These folks are hardworking, knowledgeable, and they have a lot to offer to kids. They shouldn’t get caught in the cross hairs of an administrator who doesn’t like the way they do things,” McKerral said.

At odds with director

Journalism school director Todd Simon said he was looking forward to meeting with SPJ members, although he objected to the use of the term “task force.”

“Task force makes it sound like they’ve made up their minds. I don’t care for the rhetoric, but I’m glad to have them take a look around,” Simon said.

In a May 7 letter to Kansas State’s dean of arts and sciences, Stephen White, Simon recommended that Johnson’s yearly contract not be renewed after the 2004-2005 school year. White rejected Simon’s recommendation.

Simon has said his recommendation was not related to the controversy about the paper’s coverage of minority issues. He said Johnson’s “advising about reporting and writing is unsatisfactory and apparently has been for some time.”

On Wednesday, Johnson said he was pleased that the SPJ had taken an interest “in a tough situation we have here at Kansas State.”

“On the flip side, it is unfortunate that a national association has to investigate a situation like this,” Johnson said. “My reassignment has important ramifications for collegiate journalism across the country. When a college newspaper adviser is reassigned for content concerns, that flies in the face of both ethics and press law.”