On numerous occasions, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman has lauded the university as a place of transparency. I am quickly realizing it isn’t.
This, of course, is not Perlman’s fault. But seriously, what does it take to get a question answered?
Last week for the NewsNetNebraska journalism class, we set out to write a story about what snow costs the university. We were hoping to find budget information about snow removal, winter weather supplies and the works. Although we found some interesting information, (click here to check it out) no one would answer our specific question. I heard everything from I can’t tell you that to … nothing. Some just simply ignored the question.
Unfortunately for my reporting and for my readers, I didn’t press the issue. I was on deadline that day, and I have since had an unusually busy week, which has prevented my following up. This is a public university, and I am rather certain the money going to Landscape Services is partially mine, whether from taxes or tuition. I, no, we have a right to know.
Even worse, during my initial call to talk with landscape services, I was told they can’t talk to reporters without the reporters first talking to the Univeristy Communications Office. What? Imagine having that job. I am not sure how much Kelly Bartling, the official spokeswoman for UNL, gets paid, but I’m sure it’s not enough if all she can get done is tell people at the university it’s OK to talk. As an aside, I’m sure I could find out how much she makes, but I would imagine just simply asking won’t do the trick.
This isn’t the first example. Three weeks ago, my reporting team and I set out to write some follow-up on the William Ayers controversy and whether the university will press charges. We knew we had to talk with Bartling first. We gave her a call, and she provided some very useful information. (Click here to see what we learned)
We then asked if we could talk with the UNL police chief about the issue. Bartling agreed and contacted him. After at least 10 calls and several messages from us to the chief, we heard nothing back. When we went to the police station, we were told that they would not allow us to talk with the chief nor schedule an appointment. Only the communications office can do that.
So again, we were back on the phone with Bartling. Again, she contacted the police office. After more calls and messages, we’ve still not heard anything.
So what does it take to get a question answered?
The preceding white space is my attempt, albeit a weak one, at some humorous irony.
