James Aronson never supported news censorship. That can’t be said about the folks who have headed up the Aronson Awards.
Not even after he, the Envoy faculty advisor, was snagged in a lawsuit filed against The Envoy, AKA the Hunter Student Newspaper, because a ditzy Envoy editor, who wrote and published an article without discussing its content with the faculty advisor, the article allegedly libeling an USG official, and the College refusing to provide legal support for the faculty advisor, who had to pay legal fees out of his pocket. A betrayal ever there was one. Aronson withdrew as faculty advisor.
Years and years later, I and Former Colleague Peter Parisi were hired* for a Phoenix mission, bring back the Envoy (I did, he didn’t) and then the so-called student activists, Student Liberation Action Movement, ganged-banged the publication (with tacit support from D:F/M Colleagues) and then – like a plot of an early Steven King horror story – teamed up with some Colleagues to take over the WORD. And the rest is a history too long to tell at this moment in time.
*Colleague and Distinguished Professor Stewart Ewen convinced The Hunter Administration to revive journalism and backed the wrong horse.
[Note: Did any of Aronson’s Colleagues in what was then the Department of Communications, rise to his support?!? Ha!]
The Envoy, after Aronson left, hit the shoals, publishing once, sometimes never, for more than 20 years and then … the rest is history. Which is much tooooooo long to be told here.
And what about the Envoy now?
Colleague Gold’s announcement is below.
Tami Gold [tamigold@mindspring.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2015 6:26 PM
To: David Pavlosky [pav10023@gmail.com]; Anderson, Kelly [KellyJMAnderson@gmail.com]; Andrew Demirjian; Greggory w Morris; Gustavo Mercado [dektarium@hotmail.com]; Isabel c Pinedo; Ivone Margulies; Joel s Zuker; Joe McElhaney (joemcel@aol.com); Larry Shore [lshorel@optimum.net]; Martin Lucas [mlucas@igc.org]; Andrew Lund; Michael Gitlin [mgitlin@mindspring.com]; Michael Hurbis-cherrier; Prof. Karen Hunter [professorhunter@aol.com]; Ricardo j Miranda; James Roman [drj5647@optonline.net]; Shanti Thakur [lucidafilms@earthlink.net]; Sissel McCarthy [sisselmccarthy@gmail.com]; Steven M Gorelick; Stu Ewen [drstu@bway.net]; Tag9090 [tag9090@aol.com]; Timothy PortlockCc: Carol Adams
SAVE THE DATEJAMES ARONSON AWARDS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE JOURNALISM
Awards Celebration
Tuesday, April 19th, 2016
6:30 PM
Hunter College
Lang Recital HallSince 1990, the Aronson Awards have honored original, written reporting that exposes widespread injustices, underlying causes, and possible reforms. This includes exposing discrimination based on race, class, gender, religion or sexual orientation; economic exploitation; violations of human rights, civil liberties or free expression; environmental degradation; and brutality to civilians in war.
The Aronson Awards has grown and now honors cartoonists and documentaries (from the Hunter College IMA MFA Program).
JAMES ARONSON AWARDS
Tami Gold & Blanca Vazquez – Directors
Professor & Filmmaker
695 Park Avenue, Room 433N
New York, New York 10065
212-772-4953
tamigold@mindspring.com