What a Young Christian Journalist Who Showed Empathy to a Hate Group Learned From Her Demotion (Interview)
The former editor-in-chief subsequently received a letter from DePauw's Board of Control of Student Publication dated Oct. 28, 2015, explaining that she would be "removed" from her position as editor-in-chief because her actions had resulted in a conflict of interest.
The letter begins by stating that it is following up on a recent meeting regarding concerns that DeCriscio had created a conflict of interest with her article for The Odyssey.
"After speaking with you and hearing your perspective, the board discussed the matter thoroughly and came to the conclusion that you had created a damaging and avoidable conflict of interest," the letter states, adding that DeCriscio's actions "constituted a significant and avoidable breach of ethics."
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The letter clarifies that the conflict of interest does not have to do with publishing a story in a publication other than The DePauw, but rather because DeCriscio "[inserted] herself as an interested actor in an ongoing news story," thus creating a conflict of interest that proved "damaging" to the newspaper's reputation.
Additionally, the board's discussion found that the conflict of interest mentioned was "entirely separate" from the content of DeCriscio's essay for The Odyssey.
"The board agreed that the conflict under discussion was purely a matter of professional protocols and was treated as such," the letter added.
Although she was removed from her position as editor-in-chief, DeCriscio was invited to continue writing for the newspaper without the editor-in-chief title. She could also apply for an editorial position at a later date.
DeCriscio told CP that despite the October letter, she believes she was removed from her position due to the content of her op-ed for The Odyssey.
"All along the way they said it was not the content of my article, but I don't necessarily believe that," DeCriscio explained. "The entire campus decided to hate Brother Jed, and from the onset in my coverage of it, I decided that it was just as important to get his side of things as it was to say what was going on with the campus."
DeCriscio further asserted that she believed when she wrote the op-dd for The Odyssey, "the story [about Campus Ministry USA] was over."
"Brother Jed had told me that they had no intention of coming back to DePauw that semester," she told CP.
Given the outcome, when asked if she would do anything differently, DeCriscio replied: "That's hard to say because on a personal level, the paper was everything to me, and so I guess knowing the outcome, I might have thought twice, but I stand behind the message that was in my article."
DeCriscio said she wanted to write The Odyssey opinion piece because even though she disagreed with The Campus Ministry USA's message, she still saw the controversial preachers as "whole people."
"I thought [Brother Jed] misrepresented Christianity, or at least Christianity as I know it, which is why I had decided to counter that in a way of [saying] 'I don't agree with them, but I do still see them as whole people.' That means, as another person, they are just as deserving of Christ's love as anybody else. That was why I felt the need to write the article, because no one was saying that in the dialogue."
Ultimately, DeCriscio says she stands behind her actions.
"Even if what I did was wrong ,ethically as a journalist, then I think it was the university's job to teach me, and have someone else take my coverage in this, have someone else make editorial decisions on it. But it didn't mean that I was not capable of doing it," DeCriscio asserts.
When asked if she learned any professional lessons, DeCriscio responded "absolutely."
"I've learned that standing up for yourself isn't easy. … I've taken a really good look at journalism ethics because of it.
Jonathan Nichols-Pethick, director of Depauw's Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and an associate professor in media studies, told CP that ultimately, it was a very difficult decision to remove DeCriscio from her position because she is a "kind and caring person."
"Nicole is a gifted writer and journalist, and a kind and caring person. I think the actions and sentiments described in her essay in The Odyssey support that. It was actually a very difficult decision to suspend her as the editor-in-chief, but the board came to the conclusion that it was the best way forward given the journalistic conflict of interest at the heart of the matter. The decision was never a referendum on her beliefs," he said.
