The Campus Media Board will spend a very busy summer revamping the way the student newspaper and radio station train and organize their staffs. The restructuring plan, which was finalized this week for Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Carol Wall, was spurred by the campus community reaction to cartoons carried in The California Aggie in April and May that were considered by many to be insensitive to underrepresented minorities and women. At Wall's request, the media board, which oversees The Aggie and KDVS, has spent the last two months developing a strategic plan to establish professional training and diversity education for the student media. Wall asked for a plan that "ensures that the campus media operate with the highest journalistic standards, both for quality and sensitivity to the needs of all members of our campus community." The board, Aggie and KDVS managers, and student volunteers will spend the next two months tackling the strategic initiatives and their specific actions. The plan is to get them finished in time to launch the professional development program and operational changes by fall quarter. "These changes are significant, substantive and focused on the proactive to help avoid situations in the future," emphasized Larry Swanson, chair of the media board. Swanson, associate athletic director for intercollegiate athletics, has been a member of the board since 1992 and affiliated with campus since 1972. During Swanson's time on campus, controversies over Aggie actions have cropped up. However, the difference this year, he says, is that the controversy has stimulated a call for change, not only in how the student media are educated and operated, but in how the media board acts. "I can say during my tenure that this issue has really changed our media board's focus dramatically," Swanson said. "It is a very large departure from being on the reactive side." Another media board member, Janet Gong, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said the goal is to effect a long-term sustained change in the campus media. "But it will still require a lot of people to be vigilant, hard-working and supportive to make this happen," Gong said. The new editor of The Aggie, Rebecca Emmerich, said she is eager to start making the changes. "This year has brought to light a lot of issues," she said. "But I don't think that this controversy was a bad thing, because it was important to recognize problems so we can come up with solutions from the inside out." The following initiatives have been developed by the board: Philosophical statements: This summer Emmerich and Justin Kable, the continuing general manager for KDVS, will develop philosophic principles--via mission statements for both The Aggie and KDVS. The statements will guide the annual administrative plans for each organization. The journalistic objectives also will be reviewed, with the aim of incorporating the campus "Principles of Community" into the editorial guidelines. Web search for policies and practices: Three student volunteers will be reviewing other college and university media guidelines to offer Emmerich and Kable useful ideas. Advertising policies: Emmerich and Kable will also review their advertising policies. For The Aggie, Emmerich will be looking at how to incorporate into the advertising policy both the journalistic objectives and regard for freedom of expression expressed in the "Principles of Community." Kable will develop staff guidelines that explain the practices and limitations of advertising for the radio station, reflecting the Federal Communications Commission regulations. Controversial materials: The two media managers will also review the existing referral and approval processes for airing or publishing controversial materials, before developing written guidelines describing the processes. Emmerich will work with Assis-tant Vice Chancellor Gong on developing a list of journalists and journalistic associations, alumni who were former editors, faculty members and other advisory/programmatic resources to assist the editorial board and editor-in-chief in considering issues associated with controversial materials. Kable will work with board member Bill Wagman of Information Resources to develop a similar list appropriate for KDVS. Diversity education: With Sacramento Bee Executive Editor Rick Rodriguez already having met with the media board and The Aggie staff about media responsibilities for a diverse community, the goal is now to develop an ongoing series of diversity education programs for the media board as well as the campus student media throughout the year. There is to be a specific emphasis on diversity education in the context of the media, freedom of expression and journalistic ethics. Winnie LaNier, director of the Cross-Cultural Center, will develop a list of programs after consulting broadly. Job descriptions will also be reviewed to indicate the appropriate responsibility and accountability for diversity education. Media board composition: The board will add the director of the Cross-Cultural Center or a designee as an ex-officio member. The board rejected a suggestion of appointing a "diversity editor" to the staff or Aggie editorial board, believing that responsibility for being sensitive to a diverse campus belongs in every editor's job description. "All editors should be covering these issues, so that everybody will be working on the same goals," Emmerich said. She also pointed out that although The Aggie has many writers from underrepresented groups who like to write about diversity issues, her goal for this coming year is to actively recruit a more diverse newsroom. Training materials, job descriptions and orientation: The media managers will be reviewing and updating these items. They will also finish writing a policy that better defines the working and editorial relationships between editors and columnists, reflecting editorial principles. Employee sign-off: As part of orientation, Emmerich and Kable will update or develop a system of employee sign-off, indicating an understanding of media policies and personnel procedures. Professional development: After a list of professional resources is developed for The Aggie and KDVS, the media board will create and implement professional development programs. Among the ideas are partnerships between student journalists and professional journalists and internships throughout the region. The media board would also like to develop an institutional relationship with another university or college that offers academic training in journalism, such as California State University, Sacramento, or Sacramento City College. Through this relationship, UC Davis student journalists might take seminars or have access to resources. Media studies: The board has recommended to Vice Chancellor Wall that she investigate a media studies or journalism-type program--or range of programs. Existing academic courses and programs will be inventoried. Wall has also been asked to consider the use of independent study courses and the development of an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary program/minor in media studies. In addition, developing an academic seminar or institute for media studies through academic departments or University Extension may be explored. Budgetary implications: This fall the board will analyze the potential costs of the initiatives. Performance appraisal: The media board will conduct a performance appraisal of both media managers annually at the end of fall quarter, looking at their job description, administrative plan and goal statements, and current media-board initiatives. Throughout the process, maintaining the First Amendment has been a priority, say participants. "We have, throughout this process, kept in mind that we must maintain editorial freedom and have a responsibility to not act in a manner that would restrict in any way the freedom of the press," said media board chair Swanson. Emmerich added: "I think that part of the problem is we're a student group. Year to year, there's so much changeover that we don't teach each other. Things slip through the cracks. I'm really excited to work on these policies so that they'll be in place in future years and new staff can work and build upon them."