The North Carolina university says it is reviewing my request for any public documents that could reveal the whereabouts of $40,000 in Gannett Foundation grants given to the school for endowed scholarships. "We have received your request for public documents and are working with legal counsel to determine an appropriate response,'' spokesman Bill Studenc told me this afternoon in an e-mail.Asking for legal advice is common in these situations, so please don't read much into this development. Also, please note: Several parents asked me to stay on top of this story because it relates to broader questions about the foundation's college scholarship program. I posted this item so they would know I haven't forgotten.
What is the point with this item? Who cares? I sure don't.
ReplyDeleteSeveral parents have asked me to keep on this story; I posted this so they and other readers would know I haven't forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI care. That scholarship program always seemed a little fishy. Thanks, Jim.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "gifts" to charity, today the Courier-Post published a story bragging about their gift (via the Gannett Foundation) to a local Cherry Hill, NJ public high school and other regional charities who were awarded money from the Foundation via the Courier-Post. In over 30 years of following this newspaper I cannot ever recall seeing this in our area. Is the Courier-Post and Gannett trying to "make nice" to the people of Southern New Jersey. It's also interesting that this was just announced almost immediately after the removal of nearly 60 Courier-Post employees as a result of Gannett's recent bloodbath to save money. The CP article "Cherry Hill East awarded Gannett grant listed about 15 recipients. Cherry Hill East High School received $5000 out of the $49,000 total. If anyone wants to reach the article it can be seen on the CP website courierpostonline.com. I hate to sound cynical but the timing seems strange and so does the action itself based on the CP's long history of pretty much ignoring the local community.
ReplyDeleteI care. Keep up the good work, Jim. The Pulitzer committee now accepts online work. I think you'd have a pretty good entry, what with disclosing the profit margins, the scholarship reporting, et. al. I'm serious about this, and there's $10 on the way to encourage you to keep at it.
ReplyDeleteI care, too, and I don't even have kids. Right is right. I also sent along my subscription. Thanks, Jim.
ReplyDelete9:40 pm: You are too kind. This sort of reporting is the sort of daily, keep-up-the-pressure work that good newspapers still do. It takes only a few minutes to write and open-records request, once you've done a few.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not Pulitzer-caliber work -- and that's a good thing. Because this sort of First Amendment reporting doesn't require six months of investigation; it can be done all week long.
Craig. Oops, I mean Anon 8:45 pm, it may be legally allowed under the foundation's bylaws, but it hardly seems to fulfill the spirit of its intent.
ReplyDeleteAnd, if you direct...oops, there I go again. I mean, if Dubow directs foundation monies to Western Carolina and they recognize him directly for it, and not Gannett, isn't that a little more than sleazy? And, isn't part of the value of any donation the recognition it brings on the foundation; i.e. Gannett for its acts? Dubow may be its president, but he's hardly earned the right to treat its monies as his own.
And, let's not forget that a great deal of this industry's value lies in its credibility. Acts like Dubow’s greatly damages it and it no doubt encourages others within Gannett to "push" the ethical boundaries equally as well.
He should step down. Guess is he’d fill his time teaching at Western Carolina for one.