I couldn't agree more, and I suggest every other Alumni who agree with you to do what I'm about to do, which is write the university to convey my consternation at this decision.

That should be "all Alumni" or "every other Alumnus..."

Olympic medalists sent back their diplomas and asked to be removed from the OU hall of fame after having the track team cut and nothing changed. What do you really think mailing your diploma back will do? I agree the naming is unfortunate, but this school is in dire straights and we need all the money we can get. Please, go make a lot of money and donate it so we can change the name, I'd like nothing more than that, except to see my University not lose the few outstanding programs it has.

She said she's taking it down, I assume as in off her wall, not mailing it back. Personally, I will still donate to the school. As you say, it needs the money. And I don't have a problem with Ailes donating to the school. In fact, I have no problem with the school. I love the school and believe it provided me a comprehensive and admirable education. I do have a problem with naming the newsroom after him, for many reasons. But, more than that, I have a problem with the university dictating the name of the newsroom to the school. If Ms. Feltner is accurate, and I assume she is, in that it was a decision of the university, not that of Hobson, the school or the journalism faculty, to name the newsroom after Ailes, then I believe there is a serious issue here. Who would be a better judge of the credibility, or lack thereof, such a name would afford than the journalism faculty itself, voting democratically? I would call this a forced error on the part of the university, and I will convey my displeasure at the university's lack of respect for the judgment of its faculty in its best school accordingly.

I stand corrected, but regardless, her actions even in this letter won't change the minds of the administration. They've shown time and time again they don't care what the people who pay their salaries think. I love Ohio University and always will, but I can't stand the people who run this school.

I'm not sure why this is so 'sick' and 'horrible.' He's an alumni; he wants to give to the school. What's the big deal? Just because you don't agree with his politics or his job you think OU should have turned down money that would benefit aspiring journalists? Quit being so judgmental.

It's free money. The school needs the money. Yes it sucks that buildings, projects, scholarships, etc. all are named after the person who will pony up the most dough, but that's how the real world works. You don't want it named after a guy you dislike, hell I agree, but it looks like the only way you will get the name changed is to open up your check book and make a large donation.

How melodramatic?! The guy was only the architect of presidential pr campaigns, and led Fox News to become the number one cable news channel in a matter of years. His direction of FNN also continues to dominate other cable news stations by orders of magnitude. This is quite an accomplishment, but of course in your world all the people who watch FNN are just sheeple living in flyover America, right? The same people who cling to their guns and religion, as Senator Obama alluded to, right? Your Faux News remark is pure cynicism based on jealousy. May I remind you that Rupert Murdoch is a huge democratic donor, but that is beside the point.

This guy is brilliant and certainly has his place in history whether or not you agree with where he stands in the political spectrum. OU has plenty of left of center donors and alumni to represent your side. Quit acting as though liberals are not worshiped at OU.

To Sara, I am sorry you live with such a flawed view of the world. It must be depressing to be so elitist and proven wrong over and over. Good luck finding another wall hanging to decorate the area vacated by your diploma. Maybe some Rev. Jeremiah Wright posters would do the trick?

Thank you for the rundown of GOP talking points, in case any of us had forgotten any of them. My point, personally, I'll reiterate, is not with Ailes' donation or even his politics per se. I am, after all, what I consider a practical conservative (as opposed to a Limbaugh "conservative") who believes in a limited federal government and lower taxes. My problem is with the University dictating to the School of Journalism what the name of the newsroom will be. Having been taught what I have been by the faculty in the Scripps school about journalism ethics, accountability, fair game and best practice, I can't believe they would be excited about having their newsroom named after a man who has purposely ignored many of the best tenets of ethical journalistic practice. This includes, but is not limited to, the lessons of Walter Lippman, Warren Breed, Sissela Bok, Daniel Boorstin, et al. My suggestion is that the Scripps faculty be allowed to vote democratically on the name of their newsroom, seeing as they are indeed the resident experts on journalistic integrity at the university. My fear is that prospective students will be turned off and serious journalists concerned about the integrity of the school when they see the newsroom is named after a blatant political operative.

Wow, any possible acknowledgement of a conservative view on campus and we gotta burn our diplomas in protest?! Sure, let the faculty vote on the decision of the name... considering how liberally biased the majority of the staff on campus is, we all know how that will end.


Of course, Feltner does no credit for herself in this article. She merely proves how close-minded she is to anything conservative. Must be a classic case of Bush derangement syndrome. I bet there would be no complaints from her if OU took money from Mary Mapes... But she of course got canned for journalistic fraud. Still waiting to see anyone from Fox who has yet been canned for the same thing.


Suck it up, accept the fact that Ailes was generous enough to donate to the school in a time OU needs money, and should be recognized for his action.

konighund--

Of course you're still waiting to see anyone from Fox get canned for journalistic fraud, they ADVOCATE journalistic fraud.

The only people that get canned from Fox News are the ones who ignore the internal memos mandating the reporting.

Ailes and Murdoch wiped out the line between PR and journalism. Oh yeah, the one that helped keep officials' feet to the fire once upon a time. Now we've hooked our wagon to these creeps. Look at Ailes! It's obvious! Science fiction writers have predicted this kind of thing for almost a century. The college is desperate for cash because ... hmm ... oh yeah, around 1994 the Republicans took control of the Ohio General Assembly. Since then it's been slim pickins' for most of us unless you're Bob Ney or Marc Dann. You so-called conservatives and appeasing liberals will never control Athens or this part of Ohio unless it's as a futuristic reservation. You and the true elite you are shilling for are statistically the outliers (outliars?) on the annoying and income charts, respectively. What is Konighund, anyway, some kind of dog? You Dogs of Doom need to stay south of the Manson-Nixon Line.

The White House lies below that line, can we get a bit lower?

Kevin Casey: RIIIGHT, you mean like the forged Bush document scandal?

If you are going to make a claim like that, you need to present evidence to back it up... not the typical "everyone knows it" baseless talking points of Moveon.org. The general public made Fox the #1 channel in the nation due to their balanced approach at reporting. if it was lies that got them to number one, then Keith Olbermann would have the #1 rated show in the nation. Geraldo would love to get people like Hannity and Oreilly canned for failing to follow your supposed memos. Keep drinking the kool-aid.

balderdash: Konig is German for King. And I'm a Yankee currently stationed in the south.

Ok, as usual, and even understandably, people have a tendency to lose perspective. I typically blame this on a lack of information. If any of you would like to gain a accurate, personal, non-ideological perspective on Rupert Murdoch, who he is, how he acts (he's actually rather unassuming in person) and how he runs NewsCorp and its subsidiaries, then please take the time to read this article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200309/fallows.

The article was written by a colleague of mine several years ago, before I began working for the company. If you are unfamiliar with The Atlantic, I'm glad to point out that it, and the other publications of Atlantic Media Group, are all highly respected (by people on all sides of the political spectrum), non-ideological publications. In this article you will find merely unadorned reality.

Let me also point out that my problem is not with Murdoch. My problem is that Ailes, factually, has been a partisan operative over the course of his career. That does not jibe with journalistic integrity. It really just Does Not. And as far as the liberal attitudes of professors on campus, I don't know, I don't think there's any survey information to know. But I know that good journalists like the ones who taught me the trade in Scripps make decisions based on best journalistic practice because that is something we believe in (we certainly ain't in it for the money). Yes, journalists do have opinions. But we also have a "moral compass" (and a handbook to boot) about ethical practice. I believe the majority of professors in Scripps would make their newsroom-naming decision based on the values and principles of best journalistic practice, which has nothing to do with partisanship, as much as Everybody on Both Sides of the political spectrum like to believe Every decision by Any journalist is somehow motivated by partisanship. When it is, it's obvious. Otherwise, it's not partisan, it's journalism according to well-laid principles.

Oh, and, if you've looked at the article, I disagree with Murdoch about the business of news. I believe it should be treated as a public trust. And I don't even have to argue my point. If you care to understand why this cannot be the case, read John Locke's Second Treatise On Civil Government, Tunis Wortman's "A Treatise Concerning Political Enquiry and the Liberty of the Press," A.J. Liebling's "The End of the Free Lunch," Ben Bagdikian's "The Lords of the Global Village," The Hutchins Commission report on Freedom of the Press, and John C. Merrill's The Imperative of Freedom. Draw your own conclusions.

Yeah, that's right everybody. I just assigned a lot of homework. But by the end of it, I guarantee you'll have more knowledge and a more accurate perspective on a host of issues. And if you don't want that, well, they brought back American Gladiators Just For You. Go watch it.

"Let me also point out that my problem is not with Murdoch. My problem is that Ailes, factually, has been a partisan operative over the course of his career. That does not jibe with journalistic integrity."

You can call anyone working for any presidential campaign a partisan. That is a moot point. Calling him an operative introduces a sinister nature...but you are just a journalist, so I wouldn't expect something that doesn't have a political twist or negative connotation toward the right.

Yes, Ailes worked for presidential campaigns, quite successfully I might add. Even so, Ailes led Fox to becoming the number one cable news station. You cannot deny it, it is fact. This is a tremendous accomplishment and you are showing your blind, lockstep, fervor for the left by not acknowledging such an accomplishment. Or maybe you are just pissed because Olbermann will be getting canned soon.

I am sure we would welcome a Clinton or Carter "operative"...but that is different, right? I am sure Olbermann would be welcomed if he were an alum.

By the way, The Atlantic is NOT respected for the so-called non-ideological stories they offer. It is well know for their liberal slant.

My only comfort is that bastions of liberalism in the newspaper arena are dying a slow death including NYT, WaPo, and others. You can only fool the American people so long.

What does it matter, let people get the news from the sources they trust. Fox is the source for many, deal with it.

By the way, who is minding the socialist store while all you comrades are commenting?

dude get over yourself, it's not 1955 anymore. If you had any level of education you'd know that socialist practices are fundamental in our governmental system (e.i. Social Security).

Alright, well, let me just go through it point by point. Yes, Ailes has run successful Republican campaigns, therefore he is a partisan, as you acknowledge. I can't be held responsible for what any word connotes to you, so if you think the word "operative" is "sinister," so be it. To me operative means: a person engaged, employed, or skilled in some branch of work, esp. productive or industrial work; worker. The dictionary agrees. And I'll defend my accuracy that he has been both productive and industrious for the GOP. Third, there's no accounting for popular taste. Take a look at the Nielson ratings. But popularity does not automatically bestow value or integrity, merely reach. Next, I'll reiterate that, while you're entitled to think of me as having a "blind, lockstep, fervor for the left," I am, in fact (and who would know better than me -- certainly not you) a practical conservative. Next, I don't watch Keith Olbermann and I couldn't care less about his employment status. After that, I, in fact, loathe the Clinton brand and am rather indifferent to Carter. I regret to hear your opinion about The Atlantic, but if you consider Atlantic Media Group's output to be so skewed, please never again refer to Obama as the "most liberal Senator" because it was Atlantic Media Group's National Journal who ranked him as such. Also, you can throw away The Almanac of American Politics, also produced by Atlantic Media Group (and used and referenced by every Congressional office in Washington.) And lastly, I'm sure you're well-versed in the business of Journalism, seeing as you have so much experience with it. I'd appreciate more enlightenment from you on my job. In turn, I can tell you all about your job -- whatever it is -- because, though I have no experience working in your profession, I feel I'm qualified to tell you all about it.

And how to do it better.

Hey jpmo13, about your comparing apples to oranges:

Olbermann has a SHOW. Ailes and Murdoch have a NETWORK. See the difference?

MSNBC has always had "conservatives" like Tucker Carlson and Joe Scarborough as counterbalances. Where are Fox News Channel's counterbalances? Alan Colmes? Give me a break.

And if the New York Times and Washingon Post are so "liberal," why did they roll out the red carpet for the war we are stuck in?

All mainstream media outlets are subject to the influences of corporate ownership and the prevailing political winds. Both of those factors have been largely right-wing throughout history, not leftist.

But Fox News Channel was FOUNDED with the purpose of being a slanted mainstream news outlet that pretends it's not. That's it in a nutshell. That's why Roger Ailes is not a legitimate journalist.

Open your eyes and you can transcend the petty hatred and talking points that others have taught you.

LOL. I didn't know people still existed who thought that OU had some sort of integrity when it came to accepting money. That's HILARIOUS. R. O. F. L.

I'd be curious as to what, if any, stipulations were placed on the teaching material, course contents and on-air publications that will go into or come out of this new newsroom. I mean, there's no such thing as a free lunch. For treatment this good, our knees are gonna get a lil' dirty. I just want to know to what extent we'll be ... "servicing" for this.

Oh come off it Curiosity. Boy its so difficult to think that someone gave money to their alma mater because they valued their experience and education they received there and wanted to help future generations. Just because he doesn't subscribe to what you believe to be acceptable political beliefs does not mean he has a hidden agenda. This kind of divisive thinking is pathetic!

I never said I'm for or against the political affiliation and style of journalism that Ailes is supposedly attached to. For the record, I have nothing to do with the school of journalism and never claimed such. If the money came from an equally leftist source, I'd still be curious. I'll say it again: there's no such thing as charity. That newsroom has been bought and paid for; I just want to know what Scripps will have to do in return. It's not divisive thinking, zxcvbnm32. It's inquiry with a healthy dash of cynicism.

As a member of the newsroom you're all referring to, I can promise you that nothing has changed about the content of the newscasts we broadcast. Moreover, nothing has changed about the course content of the class-side of the newsroom. I can also tell you that the people in charge of both newsrooms have the strongest of commitments to ethical broadcast journalism -- I'm sure they would sooner quit than compromise that commitment.