4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 7, 2006 JEREMY DAVIDSON IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIvERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890. 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author. Editorial Board Members: Amanda Andrade, Emily Beam, Jared Goldberg, Theresa Kennelly, Christopher Zbrozek FROM THE DAILY Corporate j1ournalism Spirit and character of student newspapers threatened by corporate ownership FROM THE DAILY It's in the air Creation of county-wide wireless network an important step for future of the region The prevalence and usefulness of wireless Internet has become vital and mainstream, especially here in Ann Arbor. With plans to expand access to the University's wireless net- work into residence halls over the next several years, even Washtenaw County seems to be catching onto the idea. Recently, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved a plan developed by the Wireless Washtenaw Advisory Board to implement wireless Internet access for all of Washtenaw County. Given the types of businesses and jobs this area needs to attract to revitalize the local economy, providing this service will prove invaluable not just for Ann Arbor and the University, but for the entire county. Through 20/20 Communications, a local communications company, wire- less Internet will be provided first through three different pilots. Ann Arbor and Saline will each have one, while the third will serve other com- munities in Washtenaw County. Access to the wireless network will be free for all people in Washtenaw County. The free service will run at 84 kbps, but a premium service offering speeds of 500 kbps will be available for $35 per month. According to 20/20 Communi- cations, "the implementation and main- tenance of Wireless Washtenaw will not be funded through public tax money." Currently, especially among the stu- dent population in Ann Arbor, Comcast enjoys a near monopoly in providing Internet access. By creating a county- wide wireless Internet service, Washt- enaw County Board of Commissioners will allow for more competition at higher connection speeds between pro- viders like Comcast. Additionally, free wireless Internet service would be an excellent tool for those who are unable to receive private Internet service or those who cannot afford it. The plan will be able to accommo- date local businesses as well. While setting up an Internet connection in a residence may not be very expensive, businesses and other organizations that require large networks to connect dozens of machines find Internet ser- vices costly - costly enough to locate in another county which provides free or subsidized access. For Washtenaw County to remain competitive, it must alleviate at least some of the burden. With Republicans in the state legis- lature and elsewhere creating a barrage of confusion in their clamoring for a repeal of the Single Business Tax in order to spur job growth, free wire- less Internet access is part of a sim- pler answer. Companies like Google - which has just decided to open-up shop in Ann Arbor - see the high-tech advancements of the city and county as contributing to.a better living envi- ronment. The more advancements, the more accommodated current businesses will feel and the more tempted others will be to move their operations - and jobs - to the region. E G iven the recent trend toward corporate ownership of daily newspapers across America, we probably should have seen this coming. Last week, the Tallahassee Democrat, a daily newspaper owned by Gannett Co., announced its acquisition of the FSView, the student-run newspa- per of Florida State University. While the move is hailed by some as an indication of corporate newspapers more directly addressing student readers, the acquisition should raise some alarm. Plainly, is this the start of a trend which will leave more and more college newspa- pers in corporate hands? And what does that mean for the traditionally maverick role student papers have played in debate and dialogue over the issues of the day? The Democrat insists that it will take a completely hands-off approach in its management of the FSView - indeed, the former owner of the paper has said the staff will notice no change. But even if the Democrat and Gannett Co. do not exercise editorial control over the View, there's something wrong with the simple fact that they could. Student newspapers have long held an unbridled charm, a nature that may alarm the old guard but is simply a manifesta- tion of generational growth. When this page argued for the legalization of mari- juana in the late 1960s, many readers were shocked and the Daily became the focus of national media attention. Yet, nearly 40 years later, many national commentators have questioned the economic merits of LIVE ON YOUR FEET an enforcement-based drug policy - a discussion born from thinking that was once too extreme for mainstream dailies. There was a time when the country's local dailies used to rustle some feathers, too. But that willingness to take risks in calling atten- tion to worthy issues has faded as bottom lines resulting form corporate ownership begin to override the spirit of investigative journalism. Indeed, we now live in a time when the New York Times, one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers, has its patriotism questioned for sticking to its traditional, hard-hitting approach to inves- tigative reporting. Could the future hold the similar trouble for college newspapers? There are things a college paper would do and say that simply would not be acceptable in any of Gannett's other publi- cations. But many of these things do need to be said. Unfiltered, college newspapers serve an important function in writing honestly about the issues, without having to worry about advertising revenues and sales. But as part of a profit-driven cor- poration like Gannett, we wonder if the FSView will remain so unburdened. With local daily newspapers marching ever more shamelessly toward trivial sto- ries and fluff as opposed to worthy news reporting, college journalism remains one of the last places to hear about issues as they are and get true viewpoints unal- tered by pressures a profit-based publi- cation is sure to face. If Gannett leaves the FSView alone, that's great, but will the next corporation that buys a college newspaper be so benevolent? JOHN OQUIST EDITORIAL BOARD ENDORSEMENTS Below is a summary of the Daily editorial board's endorsements for con- tested local races in Tuesday's primary election. The full endorsements ran in last week's issue and can be accessed on our website, www.michigandaily. com. If you have comments about our endorsements, be sure to join a discus- sion about them at our blog The Podium, which can be accessed at http://apps. michigandaily.com/blogs/thepodium/. Mayor of Ann Arbor: John Hieftje Ann Arbor City Council Ward 1: Ron Suarez Ward 3: Jeff Meyers Ward 5: Chris Easthope State House of Representatives 53rd District: Rebekah Warren 9...AsoLtaastBI FoRcts tsrtt a rostra r- IHEARD SOME CHRISTIANS WEAT USRTO AT I RAN TO HELP BING ABOUT BH DO AYSs. AN EB EfFRCES ETRA R WttK Or COsFLIcT...1 *CLICK* EXPERTS ESTIMATE NORTH KOREA COULD HAVE AS MANY AS TWELVE NUCLEAR... *CLICK* .GLOBAL WARMING COULD RESULT IN WIDESPREAD EXTREME WEATHER... 'CL Ct AS SOME SAY THE COUNTRY IS IN A FULL BLOWN CIVIL WAR... FRANKLY, IM NOT SURE WE NEED GODS HELP ON THIS ONE.. a IL