Tufts Daily Constitution

The Tufts Daily Constitution I. Preamble In accordance with the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, we believe that all members of the Tufts community should have the right to exercise freedom of speech and expression. It is the responsibility of the Tufts community to guarantee this freedom to all, regardless of gender, age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, physical disability, sexual orientation, or political belief.

The Tufts Daily editors and staff members may report and editorialize about controversial, crucial or otherwise newsworthy events in the university community, the nation, and the world. At the same time, The Tufts Daily must observe the same legal responsibilities imposed upon other news mediums. Thus The Tufts Daily must preserve its autonomy. Journalistic standards mandate that student editors and writers present news and opinion in a responsible manner: accurately and fairly.

The Tufts Daily is a recognized, non-profit student organization at Tufts University. The Tufts Daily is entirely student-run, and there are no paid editorial positions. The Tufts Daily receives no financial support from Tufts University beyond rent-free office space. Authority and discretion over editorial and business policies and practices rest solely with the student staff of The Tufts Daily, and, likewise, the staff is solely responsible for the said practices.

While The Tufts Daily seeks to maintain a degree of segregation and autonomy between its Editorial and Business operations, it recognizes the need for some overlap in authority and privileges and allows for such provisions within this document.

Published and distributed free of charge almost every class day of the academic year, the Daily provides: - a source of news for the entire Tufts community - a forum of expression and the exchange of ideas - an historical record of events - a means to cover and critique events, shows, and entertainment in the area - a means by which students can gain experience in leadership, journalism, business, graphic arts, newspaper layout, desktop publishing, and other mediarelated skills.

Amendments to this document may be made by a two-thirds vote of a majority of the editorial staff.

II. Composition of Staff A. The Tufts Daily is an entirely student-run newspaper with a primary responsibility to the Tufts community. Secondarily, it provides practical newspaper experience for Tufts students interested in journalism. The Daily’s Editorial Board has the sole responsibility for ensuring that both these functions are performed.

B. Any elected editor or manager, as well as all approved editorial assistants, whose name appears on the masthead of The Tufts Daily is considered a member of the editorial board. For the purpose of this document, this body will henceforth collectively be referred to as the Editorial Board.

C. All members of the Editorial Board are eligible to vote at all editors meetings and elections, with some restrictions outlined in this document.

D. Any person enrolled as a full or part-time student in any Tufts University college, school, or degree program is eligible to contribute to The Tufts Daily as a staff or Editorial Board member.

E. The staff of The Tufts Daily is comprised if three general areas: Editorial, Production, and Business.

F. There can be no more than one Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Editorial Page Editor, Executive Business Director, Business Manager, and Production Director.

There can be no more than three Associate Editors.

G. Keys to the offices of the Daily will be given to staff at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, the Executive Business Director, and the Office Manager.

III. Elections A. Regular elections for Editorial Board positions are held twice a year, near the conclusion of each semester, approximately two weeks prior to the last day of classes.

Any member of the Editorial Board, however, may call for a special election for any position at any time during the semester if another Editorial Board member seconds the motion.

B. Only current Editorial Board members may nominate a student for an editorial position or vote in an election.

C. All candidates are expected to address the Editorial Board and audience members and are required to answer all reasonable questions pertaining to the position.

D. Each position will have a separate vote/ballot and each member of the Editorial Board who is not a candidate for that position may cast one vote per available slot for the position.

E. There is no requirement that any position be filled except for Editor-in-Chief, Executive Business Director, and Production Director. Therefore, in order for an individual to be elected to the Editorial Board, the candidate must receive the support of the majority of all current Editorial Board members (that is, one more vote than half the total number of names listed on the current masthead). The Editor-in-Chief and Executive Business Director are elected by a plurality of the Editorial Board (that is, more votes for them or against them or, if it is a competitive election, then the candidate with the most votes wins. Elections for these two positions will continue until a plurality is reached and nominations may be re-opened by a vote of a simple majority of the Editorial Board.

F. All votes will be tallied by the presiding chair (usually the most recently elected Editor-in-Chief) and will be witnessed by the outgoing Editor-in-Chief, or, if required by the circumstances of the election, the most recently elected Managing Editor or another appropriate editor. In the event of a tie, the most recently elected Editor-inChief (or the presiding chair) casts the deciding vote.

G. The presiding chair and the most recently elected Editor-in-Chief may not vote in any circumstance other than a tie.

H. New editors shall assume their new positions immediately following elections, whenever possible. Outgoing editors are required to aid and instruct incoming editors until the end of the semester and outgoing editors shall maintain veto power during this

transition period. The masthead and staff ranks shall not be changed until the first issue of the following semester.

I. It is required that the Editor-in-Chief and Executive Business Director have at least one full semester on the Editorial Board prior to election.

J. Assistant Editors and non-elected business positions may be appointed by the newly elected editors or department managers, subject to the approval of a majority of the Editorial Board.

K. There is no ceiling on the number of terms a student can serve as an editor on The Tufts Daily.

L. A quorum for an election or staff vote will be defined as one more half the number of current Editorial Board members, except in cases where an amendment to the Constitution is required, which requires at least two-thirds of all Editorial Board members be present.

M. All motions, other than Constitutional amendments, which require a staff vote must receive the support of a majority of the members of the Editorial Board to pass.

IV. Authority of the Editor-in-Chief A. The Editor-in-Chief shall oversee all content of the newspaper and all day-today staff operations.

B. The Editor-in-Chief shall be the final arbiter between staff members of the community and the Daily and of all disputes between staff members.

C. The Editor-in-Chief shall ensure through regular meetings that the input of the Editorial Board is solicited on policy decisions.

D. The Editor-in-Chief, through the authority vested by the Editorial Board, ultimately will be the sole spokesperson and representative of the newspaper, and shall be responsible for acting in the best interests of the paper and its staff and, unless otherwise arranged, for reflecting the views of the majority of the Editorial Board.

V. Authority of the Executive Board A. In order to aid in overseeing the Editorial side of The Tufts Daily, there shall be an Executive Board consisting of the Editor-in-Chief and any person holding on of the following titles: Managing Editor, Associate Editor, and Editorial Page Editor. There may be no more than six members of the Executive Board.

B. The Executive Board is responsible for editing and reviewing all copy, excluding advertisements, that is to be run in the paper to ensure that it adheres to journalistic standards, styles, and policies of The Tufts Daily and to ensure that it is neither libelous nor malicious. The Executive Board reserves the right not to run any article, column, Letter to the Editor, or opinion piece. The Executive Board has ultimate discretion over the content and style of the paper.

C. The Managing Editor is second in command. In the event of illness, unforeseen emergency, or resignation, the outlined authority of the Editor-in-Chief shall be assumed by the Managing Editor.

D. The Associate Editor is third in command. In the event of illness, unforeseen emergency, or resignation, the outlined authority of the Managing Editor shall be assumed by the most senior Associate Editor. Seniority will be measured by length of time on the Editorial Board, or, if equal, by a decision of the presiding Editor-in-Chief.

E. The Editorial Page Editor primarily shall be responsible for the content of the Daily’s Editorial page, including, but not limited to, editorials and Letters to the Editor.

The Editorial Page Editor will be expected to maintain a strict neutrality when dealing with all content of the page and his vote shall be the last vote cast on an editorial. In the event that no other editor is willing to write an editorial, the Editorial Page Editor shall be responsible for writing it. The Editorial Page Editor shall be responsible for contacting all members of the Editorial approval board and for soliciting Editorial Board opinions with regard to past and future editorials. The Editorial Page Editor is no expected to assume editing responsibilities in other sections of the paper, but may do so at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

F. Specific roles and responsibilities of members of the Executive Board, in addition to those outline in this document, may be designated by the Editor-in-Chief and shall be presented to the Editorial Board at the start of each semester.

VI. Authority of the Managing Board A. In order to aid in the general management and leadership of the Daily, there shall be a Managing Board, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief or acting designate, consisting of the Executive Board, the Executive Business Director, the Business Manager, the Production Director, and another member of the Editorial Board (elected at the start of each semester by a majority vote of those Editorial Board members who are not already on the Managing Board). The Managing Board shall convene regularly to discuss issues pertaining to the growth, development, and direction of the newspaper.

B. The Managing Board shall be consulted and informed of all significant Business, Editorial, and Production initiatives. The Managing Board will have ultimate responsibility and authority for establishing all policies and procedures that do not fall under the specific jurisdiction of any other Daily office or board, as established by this document. These include, but are not limited to, creating and enforcing general rules and guidelines for the design and appearance of the paper, establishing production deadline schedules, setting general staff policy, and prioritizing capital expenditures.

VII. Roles of Editors A. Each editor and assistant editor shall be responsible for their respective departments, with the ultimate responsibility resting with a department’s full editors.

B. Each editor shall have editorial authority over the content of articles or photos from his or her respective department. The Editor-in-Chief shall have the authority to overrule the editorial decision of an editor in a dispute over editorial content. Other members of the Executive Board may make changes, but if an editor disagrees with any changes, he or she may appeal to the Editor-in-Chief. If a controversial or substantial change is being made to a department’s page by an Executive Board member, every attempt must be made to notify the department head.

C. Editors shall be expected to produce a pre-determined amount of copy for each issue. Repeated failures to comply with this rule by an editor may be used to commence dismissal proceedings against that editor.

D. Production and deadline schedules shall be set by the Managing Board at the start of each semester. Each department will have an opportunity to give its input; however, the final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

E. An editor shall have input into the production of copy from his or her department if present during the production of the paper. The Production Manager has final say over the look and layout of the paper. If a dispute should arise, the other production managers must be consulted. If the dispute still cannot be resolved, the Editorin-Chief or Managing Editor will serve as arbiter.

F. After copy is sent to production, the Production Managers shall be solely responsible for the layout of the paper, barring any disputes, which are appealed to the Executive Board.

G. Each editor must be mindful of a writer’s intent when making editing changes and has a responsibility not to alter that intent without first consulting the writer.

VIII. Roles and Responsibility of Business Staff A. The business managers of The Tufts Daily are responsible for the business operations and fiscal management of the paper.

B. The business managers shall ensure that payments are received, bills are paid and accounts are maintained. In addition, it is responsible for providing all supplies required by the paper’s other departments.

C. The business managers, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, shall also negotiate contracts, manage the paper’s finances, oversee the operation of a subscription service, and establish advertising rates and regulations.

D. The business managers and the Executive Board are responsible for compiling a yearly budget outline for the paper. Once a semester, a written report on the paper’s financial status must be presented at an editors’ meeting.

E. The business staff has a responsibility to promptly reimburse staff members who are making purchases from a department’s budget. Once a department has been allocated an amount of money for the upcoming year, only the Executive Board may intervene in how a department spends its money.

F. The business managers shall ensure that financial management of the paper is sound and responsible. It shall alert the staff of potential financial problems, or recommend changes, and will protect the business interests of the paper.

G. The Executive Business Director will be responsible for preventing financial mismanagement by any business staff member.

H. Any ads that are deemed controversial or potential libelous shall be subject to review by the Executive Business Director, Business Manager, Ad Manager(s), and the Editor-in-Chief.

I. Specific duties of Business Staff: a. Executive Business Director: The EBD is elected for a one-year term, which begins at the start of the spring semester, but a vote of confidence must be taken at the midpoint of the EBD’s term. The EBD oversees all aspects of the Business department, including office workers and business staff as well as the office itself. Other duties include communicating weekly with the Student Activities Budget Coordinator, setting prices and policies regarding advertising, settling contracts with Charles River Publishing (or current publisher), maintaining the office equipment, organizing the office, organizing the Commencement Issue mailing, and other miscellaneous jobs. b. Business Manager: The Business Manager oversees all monetary transactions into/out of the Daily accounts, primarily focusing on all on-campus billing

through the weekly processing of IDR forms. The Business Manager aids Advertising Managers in any and all necessary ways such as ad preparation, separation of P.O. forms, supplement preparation, etc. The Business Manager is also responsible for planning and delegating responsibilities for ad and food-ad campaigns as well as organizing inserts.

The Business Manager is second in command of the Business department. In the event of illness, unforeseen emergency or resignation, the outline authority of the Executive Business Director shall be assumed by the Business Manager. c. Ad Managers: Duties include all aspects of advertising preparation. If there is only one Ad Manager, commitment to at least three days of ad preparations is necessary (The rest of the Business staff will assume responsibility for remaining days).

Ad Managers are also responsible for handling phone calls and mail related to display advertisements, and they should aid the Business Manager with ad drives. d. Circulation Manager: The Circulation Manager is responsible for acquiring and maintaining subscriptions. He/she is required to maintain adequate address, monetary, and postal files. The Circulation Manager is also responsible for getting subscriptions bundled and mailed in a timely fashion. Responsibilities also include overseeing morning and evening delivery, as well as maintenance of circulation bins and circulation-bin advertising. e. Receivables Manager: The Receivables Manager is responsible for all off-campus billing, including creating weekly invoices for billable production orders and maintaining the tearsheet system. f. Office Manager: The Office Manager is responsible for the general supervision of the office and office staff. Duties include hiring, training, scheduling, monitoring office staff performance, completely weekly payroll forms, and scheduling office meetings. In conjunction with the EBD, the Office Manager is responsible for maintaining office supplies.

IX. Removal of Editors and Business Staff A. The grounds for removal of both editors and business staff include: academic or disciplinary expulsion or suspension fro the University; misuse, abuse, and/or theft of funds or materials from the paper; misrepresentation of self or publication; plagiarism; and violation of the principles set forth in this document.

B. Editors or business staff members may also be removed by two methods: automatic removal, which is warranted by academic suspension or expulsion, or by a two-thirds vote of the editorial staff at an editors meeting.

X. Editorial Policy This section has been replaced by Amendment 2.

XI. Letters to the Editor Policy A. The Letters to the Editor section of The Tufts Daily is an open forum for the discussion of campus issues and comments regarding issues covered in the Daily.

B. All submitted letters must contain the name and phone number of the author(s).

Any letters whose authenticity cannot be verified either by a member of the Executive Board receiving the letter in person or by phone shall be held.

C. The Editorial Page Editor must make efforts to check facts within a letter before the letter can run.

D. Except for extreme circumstances, up to the discretion of the Executive Board, the author’s name shall accompany the printed letter.

E. The Executive Board reserves the right to edit or not to run any submitted letter.

F. Letters addressing issues which appeared in other campus media will not be printed in the Daily, unless another publication’s coverage has become a newsworthy issue which has been covered by the Daily.

G. Advertisements which appear in or as letters shall not be printed.

H. No libelous statements or letters will be printed.

I. Letters shall not be used to attack the personal traits of individuals, only their actions.

J. All letters must be timely. An approximate two-week deadline for the last mention of an on-going subject in the paper shall be observed.

K. Addendum shall be attached to the letters of all public or elected officials, present and former editors of other campus publications, professors and senior administrators. These notes shall also be applied to members of other campus organizations when applicable, upon notification of the author(s).

L. A person whose name appears in the masthead may not write a Letter to the Editor.

XII. Columns A. Columns will appear on the same day every week throughout a semester. It must be written by the same person each week. No more than one column may run on the same day in the same section.

B. Prospective columnists must receive a majority vote of the Editorial Board to be approved.

C. Prospective columnists must submit three writing samples to the entire Executive Board at least three days prior to the approval meeting to be eligible for a standing column.

D. Voting Procedures.

1. Each department will be given an opportunity to present all the columns which they have chosen to endorse and the columnists will be given an opportunity to speak and answer any questions.

2. Each potential columnist will be asked to leave the room when his/her column is being discussed.

3. When all of the columns for a particular department have been discussed and if there are more potential columnists than available spaces, all voting members of the Editorial Board will complete a ballot where they vote in favor of the columns which they feel worthy of being printed. Editors need not vote for any columns, however, no editor may vote for more columns than there are available spots.

4. If there are not more potential columnists than available spots, then the Editorial Board will follow standard voting procedures.

5. Any column which receives a majority of support from the Editorial Board will be voted in. if the number of columns that receive a majority of support exceeds the total number of available spots, then columns will be voted in based on which columns received the most votes. Any ties will be broken by the Editor-in-Chief.

6. The same procedure will be followed for each department.

F. The prospective columnist may not be present during the actual vote.

G. Columns will last for the duration of the semester for which they are approved, but may be continually reapproved so long as the writer is still a student at Tufts University.

XIII. Bylaws A. Daily bylaws will be subject to approval at the beginning of each semester.

Bylaws must be approved by a majority of the Editorial Board.

Amendments: A. An amendment would be proposed, voted on, and have to win approval from 2/3 of the masthead.

B. Any amendments to the constitution must be approved by the Tufts Community Union Judiciary.

I. This amendment pertains to Article II, Section E. Information Technology will be added as the fourth general area of The Tufts Daily.

II. This amendment is designed to replace Article V, Section E and Article X, which define the Daily’s editorial policy. It also affects Article II, Section F, Article V, Section A, and Article XI, Section C. The Daily’s editorials will be written by the Editorial Page Editors in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief. The Editorial Page editors shall be three to five juniors or seniors who have served on the Daily Editorial Board for at least one semester.

They shall be appointed by the Editor-in-chief at the beginning of each semester and serve semester-long terms. The Editorial Page editors will no longer sit on the Executive Board and will no longer participate in the selection and editing of Letters to the Editor.