Two weeks after Sub-Board I, Inc. suspended Generation Magazine's charter and announced they would hold their own selection process in lieu of an election for the editor in chief position, the organization's executive board made a decision.
Joshua Boston, former managing editor of both Visions and The Spectrum, will serve as Generation's editor in chief for the 2009-10 academic year.
"I think the Generation poses kind of a challenge for student journalists at UB," Boston said. "In the past... it was a niche publication for a lot of people on campus."
Although Boston has limited experience covering arts and life, primary features of Generation, he does not see this as a problem.
"I don't have a lot of experience... covering the arts. I'm a news/features sort of person but that doesn't mean I can't bring people in who know a lot about other things," Boston said. "I look forward to working with a lot of different student journalists and not just from the undergraduates."
He plans on broadening the scope of the magazine beyond its current focus to include topics such as science and technology, and will attempt to find writers from the University at Buffalo Law School, Graduate School, and School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
"[I will make] sure that a lot of different points of view are heard and not just the arts and literary side. In fact I think a lot of students don't appreciate that kind of coverage," Boston said.
At this time, Boston would not say what other changes he plans to make during his time as editor in chief, but did say that he would focus on making sure the magazine is ethical.
"It seems like a lot of the time the Generation staff put entertainment before journalistic responsibility and ethics," Boston said. "That's something that's really important to me, making sure those standards of journalism ethics are held."
SBI intervention
On April 3, SBI notified the Generation's current Editor In Chief Andrew Blake that that they were suspending the magazine's charter.SBI proceeded to modify the charter so that they could change the way editor in chiefs are elected.
The organization notified Blake of the decision after the meeting, but according to Blake, they never disclosed to him the exact reason for the decision.
"I have heard conflicting things but... nothing has been told to me personally," Blake said.
According to SBI Vice President and former Spectrum Editor in Chief Robert Pape, the staff and content of the Generation prompted SBI to suspend their charter, citing the Personals and the "I'm Right, Your Wrong" features as offensive to some groups.
Blake believes that SBI was upset over an article written in the Sept. 16 issue of the magazine that was critical of the Anti-Rape Task Force, a group that is staffed and funded by SBI.
To choose the new editor in chief, SBI set up a hiring committee consisting of Pape, SBI President Paul Albini, Treasurer Charles Harrigan, Executive Director William Hooley, and Generation Associate Editor Michelle Matthews.
The committee interviewed five candidates, including three members of the Generation and one Spectrum editor, and then recommended their choice to the SBI Executive Committee, which made the official hire, according to Boston.
"They spent probably a half hour with each candidate. They asked wide ranging questions and then they made a recommendation based upon the general feeling," Boston said.
The decision
Boston was chosen to be editor in chief because of his experience working at other on-campus publications, according to Harrigan, who served as chair of the hiring committee.
"He had the most experience managing a magazine with working at Visions and working at The Spectrum. His managerial skills and experience made him more qualified," Harrigan said.
However, Blake disagrees and believes that someone who had experience working on the Generation should have been chosen for the position.
"There were people who were made for this job and should have had it," Blake said. "The decision should have been made by people who will have to work with him. Putting the decision into the hands of people who do not oversee the production of the whole magazine is horrible."
In addition, he believes that choosing an outside editor over former Generation staff is an insult to the paper and the people who work on it.
"Picking someone who has nothing to do with the magazine is going to do nothing to further what the magazine has done over 25 years," Blake said. "It is a slap in the face to the rest of the staff...People will leave because of this."
A possible bias
According to Blake, the entire election process was biased due to the fact that Boston and Pape are housemates.
"I think it is hilarious and makes the whole situation laughable when there are people who have worked at the Generation for years and they gave it to a person whose roommate is calling the shots," Blake said. "It doesn't look good for anyone involved."
Pape disagrees and said that his close relationship with Boston had no effect on the election process.
"There is no surprise that [Boston] and I are close, we are friends and colleagues. That is part of the reason I was not chair of the committee," Pape said. "We asked the same questions of everyone."
Harrigan agreed and stated that the relationship between the two was not a factor in Boston's election.
"There were five members on the committee including one person who is from the Generation," Harrigan said. "[Pape] was very impartial. [The two being roommates] had no effect on the hiring decision."
According to Pape, even Matthews supported Boston's appointment.
"I can't give a direct quote but we had one representative from the Generation's current staff and although she was unsure about having an outsider, even the [she] supported [Boston]."
Whatever the terms behind the election, Boston has been officially hired and will begin his term on June 1.
"I think the challenge to broaden the scope, the context, of the magazine, that's really something that I'm excited about," Boston said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
