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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1985)
Page 4brThe Battalion/Friday, September 6,1985 Prison newspaper journalists tackle unique problems Associated Press Chow Line Photo by MIKE SANCHEZ Students wait in line for dinner at the Memorial Student Center cafe teria. The cafeteria serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Students, if they wish to do so, may use the point plan to pay for their meals at the MSC. Arlington polishes its corporate image Associated Press ARLINGTON — The city of Ar lington can now boast of a glossy an nual report to rival those published by major corporations and busi nesses. In step with City Manager Bill Kirchhoffs aim to portray the city as the municipal equivalent of IBM or Nissan, the Arlington government recently compiled its first “annual report.” Printed on heavy white paper and including three-color charts and pic tures highlighting photogenic staff ers, the $14,500 publication often mirrors a business report. On page one, for example, of “Performance Report: Corporate City Arlington,” there is a message from the manager with a photo of Kirchhoff in a conservative gray suit, white shirt and tie. Even the booklet refers to him as the chief executive officer he resembles. “The Arlington city government is structured and operated like a pri- Kirchhoffs mes- vate corporation, sage reads. “We make no apologies for that,” he later said. “We are running the city like a business.” In the 20-page report, residents are referred to as stockholders and the City Council is called Arlington’s board of directors. Earlier this year, city spokeswo man Barbara Burke instructed some council members how to look their best at televised meetings. Her mes sage: look corporate. “What w6’re trying to do is get away from a good of boy image — not that we were ever that way, but we want to show we have a corporate type of government,” said Gene Randall, who heads the public infor mation office. “Dallas does it; many cities have these kinds of publications. They’re not novel,” Kirchhoff said. “What we’re saying is that the city govern ment is well-run and managed prop erly.” STILLWATER, Minn. — The Mirror’s editorial staff is an unlikely crew. It consists of two murderers, a thief, and a man convicted of as saulting a police officer. As editors of the oldest contin uously published prison newspaper in the nation, the four inmates at Stillwater frison say they have an important mission. “We’re the only biweekly prison newspaper in the county,” says edi tor Robert Taliaferro, 30, who is serving a life sentence for murder. “It’s hard to do in a closed environ ment like we have here. We don’t have fires to cover.” While they may not have fires, prisons do have disturbances —news events that can be difficult to cover when confined to a prison cell, said Eldon Rodney Anderson, an asso ciate editor serving a two-year sen tence for theft. The history of The Mirror has been colorful. Three members of Jesse James’ gang — James, Cole man and Robert Younger — were among the founders of the paper. The first issue, dated Aug. 10, 1887, went to about 400 people inside the prison. As journalists. The Mirror’s edi tors face problems unknown to their counterparts on the outside. All their stories must be approved by a prison censor, Taliaferro said, but that has not stopped the paper from tackling stories it thinks are im portant. “They (the administration) frown on covering the negative aspects, but if it’s negative and we feel it should be covered, we’ll write about it,” he said. Staff members frequently are the target of resentment and distrust by other prison inmates — often be cause of their relationships with prison officials, said Robert Morgan, 30, an associate editor who is serving a life sentence for first-degree mur der. “It’s a jealousy thing," Morgan said. “If you’ve got more (privileges) than they’ve got, you’ve (had to have) done something wrong.” Morgan said that he does not let the problem stand in thewayofl job. “W'e’re here to report, to il clare, to share, to let people k®| what’s going on in here, ’ he said, Rick TucKer, The Mirror's spo editor, says covering athletics alio him to put his love of sports toust l former amateur boxer, the31vta old Tucker is working onaseriti] articles on physical conditioning!! says will lx* useful to fellow inmatel “We’re important to everytml here," says Tucker, who alsoactsaf staff photographer. News media outside the pnsj tend to ignore significant issuesfi ing prisoners, focusing only on t fies that paint a bad picture, Aniil son said. “Most of the oustide storiesiij ten about prisons are negativehel line makers,” said Anderson, S “We try to purge that (imagtil small ways.” The Mirror d<»esn’t shy awayfnl controversy. “Staff members — several tml — have disagreed with ouraitida Taliaferro said. “I love it. Ifwq spark that kind of reaction, weta| we’re getting read. That’s g us. We’re doing something thatgtj pie are reading, that we onf proud of .’ The Mirror got its office aftel 1983 disturbance forced prisonti cials to divide a large cell blockiml smaller size, so fewer men woukli together. The result is a tiny.dj tered editorial office. Although their crimes andtJ may have oeen highly publicizdl editors say their work Whind ptij walls goes virtually unnoticed.Cn lation of the 16-page tabloid sui at close to 1,000 inside the pnJ with another 1,500 papers difli uted outside, Taliaferro said. Printing and photography til for the paper are both donenal the prison, Taliaferro said. Anderson, who earned a minotj journalism in a Milwaukec-in trade school, said he is workintj ward a full degree through al versity of Minnesota programniil the prison. Taliaferro is alsownl ing toward a college degree. fiookstone IN THE MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER Texas A&M Bookstore will be open Sunday, Sept. 8 1:00-5:00 p.m. To serve your textbook and supply 845-8681 OFFICIAL NOTICE TO TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDENTS In the past, certain Information has been made public by Texas A&M University as a service to students, families, and other Interested Individuals. Under the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974", the following directory Information may be made public unless the student desires to wlthold any or all of this information. Student's name, address (local and permanent), telephone listing, date and place of birth, sex, nationality, race, major, classification, dates of attendance, class schedule, degrees awarded, awards or honors, class standing, previous institution or educational agency attended by the student, parent's name and address, sports participation, weight and height of athletic team members, parking permit information, and photograph. Any student wishing to withhold any or all of this information should fill out, in person, the appropriate form, available to all students at the Registrar's Office, no later than 5 p.m. Friday, September 20, 1985. R. A. Lacey Registrar ■Heart and Proxy- <^7lnniversary'Eveqt Proxy, a new line of fine quality leather shoes by Palizzio will be introduced in our store Saturday, Sept. 7 1-4 pm. With each pair of Proxy Shoes j viy purchased Saturday, receive a FREE STERLING . | SILVER HEART! -1 V Kathy Bryan, Proxy Representative will also preview styles and colors for Spring - Summer 1986. pi< foi HON across a nibbling geons o very bes the fines Hard I geons is ment. The n a lesser rows, ha years, t< land or wanderi dos thn They ar they’re i( the worked brains tl meal off fin than greener looking hearted munchir prompt! their lu more of The r plosion, enlargin Saito, w forestry the stati and Nat are feed more oj ing mor< and ther reduce tl Wl The Shoe Sioae College Station’s Finest Shoe Store Visa, Am. Ex., MasterCharge, Gift Certificates, Layaway Texas Ave. at Southwest Pkwy. Parkway Square College Station 696-6976 Battalion Classified 845-2611