UW-L student newspaper accused of censoring
by KJ Lang ¦ La Crosse Tribune ¦ 14 March 2008 Pro-life Wisconsin has accused three college newspapers — including the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Racquet — of censorship because they have not run an ad warning against emergency contraceptives.
The ad, showing a college-age male and female, reads “Be good to yourself over spring break. Make smart choices the night before ... that way you won’t have any emergencies to deal with the morning after!”
It also states that “emergency contraception is a powerful, high dose of steroids that tricks a woman’s body into thinking it is pregnant” and can cause “chemical abortions and deadly blood clots.”
Virginia Zignego, communications director for Pro-Life Wisconsin, said Racquet staff told her the ad was not appropriate for the weekly newspaper.
“Obviously, they are not interested in putting forth both sides of the story regarding so-called emergency contraception,” said Peggy Hamill, director of Pro-Life Wisconsin.
Racquet editor Andrea Wilson said the ad still is being considered, but she wanted to consult with Racquet advisor Mary Beth Vahala and other staff members about it.
“In the past, we have had issues with ads of this nature, so we wanted to take our time with discussions before making a decision,” said Wilson.
She added the Racquet doesn’t have specific guidelines about not running ads.
“We have an ad policy, but it doesn’t say what we can and can’t run as far as the subject matter of ads,” said Wilson. “When we have topics in question, we bring it to our advisor and talk about it as an editorial board.”
Wilson declined to say if she objected to the ad.
“As a staff and a newspaper, we are trying to handle this as an overall issue and not whether it offends us personally,” she said.
The ad was sent to 14 university newspapers. The other papers that did not print it were the Marquette University Tribune and the UW-Stout Stoutonia, said Zignego. UW-Madison’s Badger Herald, the UW-Superior Stinger and UW-Platteville and UW-Milwaukee papers accepted the ad, she said.
Newspapers have the right to refuse an ad deemed inappropriate, said Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
The decision often boils down to if the ad is factual, if it creates a false impression or presents someone in a false light, Fox said.
Fox, an editor at various papers for 24 years, said if he were publisher, he would have contacted a reliable medical information source to check the accuracy of the ad’s claims about emergency contraception.
Anything printed in a newspaper, even in an ad, reflects on its credibility, Fox added.
Newspapers in general try to provide “the widest possible freedom of speech while avoiding a legal situation or an intentional publication of inaccurate information,” he said.
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