Statement from The Gramblinite
Gramblinite Press ReleaseFor more information: 318-274-3333, De’Eric M. Henry
On Friday, The Gramblinite’s editor in chief De’Eric M. Henry received a phone call from one of the advisers to the paper, reporting that some community and faculty members were outraged about some of the photos that were published on the The Gramblinite’s Web site of the Alma J. Brown Elementary School events staged in support of the Jena Six.
The editor in chief and news editor Darryl D. Smith had a conference call to discuss the photos. They decided to remove the three (3) photos of the girl with her head in the “noose.” The editor in chief then spoke to the acting department head of the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Martin Edu, and explained to him why the three (3) photos were removed.
The decision to remove the three (3) photos did not come from GSU President Horace Judson. It was an editorial decision. However, the decision to remove all photos and the story (Students at GSU’s Alma J. Brown sound off on Jena 6 protest) came from the office of the president and no student editors were present in the office at the time (Friday, Sept. 28).
One (1) Gramblinite adviser was ordered to remove everything pertaining to the Alma J. Brown Jena Six march by the president’s office. Student editors found out early Monday morning that everything regarding the Alma J. Brown demonstration had been removed from the site. Henry ordered that everything be re-uploaded to the Web site (thegramblinite.com) immediately with the exception of the three (3) photos.
“The Gramblinite only did what our motto stands for: ‘We don’t make the news; we report it,'” said Henry. “We do not approve of censorship or prior review, and we stand by our editorial decision to inform the students of Grambling State University of news events that effect them on campus, in the community and everywhere.”
UPDATE: The three (3) Jena Six photos in question are copyright of The Gramblinite. There is NO permission being granted to use the photos for ANY publication.