How Rutgers’ daily newspaper achieved independence

By J.D. Lasica (Rutgers College 1977)
April 8, 2003

In many ways, the story of the Targum Alumni Association’s birth is tied inextricably to the paper’s drive for independence. And both came about largely as a result of a seminal journalism convention and alumni reunion held on the Rutgers campus 25 years ago today.

I was chairman of that maddeningly difficult gathering and thus had a pretty good seat as the fast-paced chain of events unfolded during those years. But first, let’s briefly set the stage for our story.

Up until the mid-1970s, the relationship between the Targum and Rutgers University seemed cordial enough. And yet for various reasons, editors in every decade since the 1930s toyed with the notion of snipping the umbilical cord to alma mater. In a 1957 editorial titled “Give Us Liberty,” for instance, the editors cited problems with Targum Council and a prohibition against staff salaries as compelling reasons for independence. The effort came to naught, as did a similar move in 1973.

While the Targum always prided itself on its independence from university control, to some extent that independence was illusory. Although Rutgers had almost never exerted overt censorship, there had been infringements on editorial prerogatives over the years. The dean of students threatened disciplinary action against the editors if the paper endorsed a mayoral candidate in 1974; a few years later he threatened similar action unless the editors stopped running ads for term paper companies. And in 1975 the Student Government Association, upset at sparse coverage, forbade the payment of honoraria to Targum editors. (Prior to that time, editors sometimes received stipends of up to $300 from year-end profits as remuneration for their efforts.)

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