T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Chronicle
XXXDAY, MONTH THURSDAY, JUNE 13, XX, 2013 2013
ONE ONEHUNDRED HUNDREDAND ANDEIGHTH EIGHTHYEAR, YEAR,ISSUE ISSUES5 X
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
Chron. to cut Role of librarians changes in digital age day of print next year by Carleigh Stiehm THE CHRONICLE
by Emma Baccellieri THE CHRONICLE
This upcoming school year, The Chronicle will print four issues a week, instead of five, as part of its digital-first model. The decision came after months of deliberation between Chronicle staff members and the board of directors of the Duke Student Publishing Company. The Chronicle incorporated DSPC in 1993 when it broke ties with the University to become a financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper. As such, the 13-member Board, comprised mainly of Chronicle alumni, is responsible for setting broad policies for the organization. The Board voted Saturday in favor of reducing The Chronicle’s print publication in order to focus on developing a stronger digital platform after gaining input from staff members throughout the year. “We’re still a daily production,” said junior Danielle Muoio, editor-in-chief of The Chronicle. “Going forward, we’re just continuing to reach our goal of getting stories to our readers in the most efficient way… we’re really focusing on our online presence because it’s the best way to get information to the most people. It doesn’t mean stopping the thoughtful effort we put into print.” Board members noted that the change will free up the staff’s resources and time, allowing for a greater focus on the paper’s content, rather than on its layout and other intricacies associated with daily print production. By shifting the paper’s emphasis to its online presence, staffers will be better equipped to provide around-the-clock news to the Duke community. “People aren’t waiting for the next day to get the news,” said David Graham, Trinity ’09 and vice-chair of the board. “It’s not enough for The Chronicle to wait 24 hours and get those stories up later on, we have to be publishing things when they happen.” Muoio added that the change will allow for the paper’s print publication to become more engaging and relevant, presenting a higher concentration of analytical pieces and feature stories. “We want to revise what goes into our print edition,” she said. “We’ll be packaging stories in a visual, captivating way to fit the reader experience.” Board members said that although finances were considered in the decision, they were not the driving force. The Chronicle has not been entirely immune to the financial issues that have affected the print media industry, but the paper has managed to maintain significant reserve funds, said Chair of the Board Elizabeth Morgan, Trinity ’90. SEE CHRONICLE ON PAGE 5
Athletics, more than halfway to its fundraising goal, Page 7
TORI POWERS/THE CHRONICLE
Libraries have served as campus hubs for connecting people and ideas since the first students began studying at the University— yet the role of campus libraries is changing, and with it, the role of librarians. The original library is older than the Duke name itself. In 1887, when the University was still known as Trinity College, Trinity President John Crowell established the first campus-wide, general research library. Since then, the University’s has continuously expanded and improved its library system—establishing Perkins Library in 1928, Bostock library and von der Heyden Pavilion in 2005 and adding the David M. Rubenstein collection in 2011. The Duke University Libraries are now home to more than 17.7 million manuscripts, 1.2 million public documents and tens of thousands of films, videos, audio recordings and computer files. The main function of the library, however, is no longer to just house books—much of its selection now resides digitally—and those who work within the halls of Perkins, Lilly and the five other branches of Duke Libraries are adapting to the times as well. “The role of librarian is rapidly changing,” said Jean Ferguson, head of research and reference services. She added that librarians offer a variety of core skills—understanding the needs of the research community, selecting materials to support their work, describing these materials, making materials accessible so they can be easily discovered by a wide range of people and teaching researchers how to find information on their topics.
Librarians have seen their role change over the years as students move toward the Internet to find answers SEE LIBRARY ON PAGE 12
Karsh mulls Tribune sale to Kochs by Danielle Muoio THE CHRONICLE
University trustee Bruce Karsh, Trinity ’77 and president of Oaktree Capital Management, is being pressured to stop Oaktree from selling Tribune Company newspapers to the Koch brothers. The sale would give Koch Industries Inc. control of 10 daily newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun. Those opposing the sale have staged protests throughout May and June in various locations, such as the Los Angeles Times building and Karsh’s home, citing the Koch brothers’ right-wing political agenda as a danger to the journalistic integrity of the publications. Karsh is heavily involved in the University—he has served on the Board of Trustees since 2003 and co-chairs the Duke Forward campaign. In 2011, Karsh and his wife, Martha, donated $50 million for a permanent endowment to support need-based financial aid
for domestic students and a scholarship for international students. Karsh declined a phone interview, noting that he cannot discuss the matter with the press as a member of Oaktree Capital’s board of directors. He noted, however, that the situation has not yet been finalized. “The company (not me!) announced that it is exploring strategic alternatives,” Karsh wrote in an email Wednesday. “It also said that no sale to anyone was imminent.” Senior Lucas Spangher, a former columnist for The Chronicle, reached out to Karsh to persuade him against selling the Tribune newspapers to the Koch brothers. He noted that Karsh called him from London at midnight for a 40-minute phone conversation about the situation. “The conversation was fairly unproductive or negative,” Spangher said. “His primary purpose for calling me was to explain his side of the story rather than listening to my arguments.”
ONTHERECORD
“The BSA must move quickly to allow gay adults ... to serve as leaders. It’s the right thing to do.” —Andrew Kragie in “Boy Scouts” on grading. See column page 11
Spangher is personally opposed to the sale because the Koch brothers have given money to support scientific studies that will deny climate change. A group established by the brothers—The Koch Foundation—has been a significant funder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project, which aims to address criticism of the planet’s temperature record. Selling the Tribune newspapers to the Koch brothers is therefore shortsighted, Spangher said to Karsh, adding that shareholders in the company could withdraw their support over the decision. Karsh told Spangher that Oaktree Capital’s board of directors had considered that as a possible situation, but could not explain the matter further, as it was a confidential meeting. Karsh declined to comment on the phone conversation he had with Spangher. SEE TRIBUNE ON PAGE 5
Duke receives $62 million to study resistant bacteria, Page 5