FEATURED
Key Takeaways
- A student journalist at St. Joe’s University collaborated with an alumna to seek the dismissal of Professor Greg Manco after he criticized slavery reparations on Twitter.
- The phone call in which the student journalist expressed intentions to 'get this man f***ing fired' has raised ethical concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest.
- In response to a complaint from the alumna, Manco faced university suspension but was later cleared of wrongdoing; he is now suing the university for defamation and other claims following his termination.
- Media ethics experts emphasize the importance of recusal for journalists when there is a personal stake in the story, underscoring a need for ethical standards in student media.
Audio recordings show a student journalist at Saint Joseph’s University coordinating with an alumna to take down a professor who had criticized slavery reparations.
The recordings, released as part of Professor Greg Manco’s lawsuit against his former employer, raise ethical concerns, according to a media studies professor. St. Joseph’s is a private, Catholic institution in Philadelphia.
The phone call reportedly happened in February 2021 but only recently has been released as part of the ongoing lawsuit.
In 2021, a former student of Manco’s complained about posts on Twitter (now X) where the professor criticized reparations and racial identity politics.
The alumna last took a class with the professor in 2017, but claimed he had discriminated against her. The university suspended the professor, then cleared him of wrongdoing. When he sued and alleged the retaliation was due to the “F” the alumna received, the school fired him, claiming he violated the graduate’s privacy rights.
On the phone call, the alumna complains to an unidentified student journalist about the school allegedly not taking her complaints seriously.
“But I am gonna see what I can do and I don’t know, maybe convince other people to report him as well. I already set this out, so we’ll see,” the reporter said in response. “I’m going to talk to [a journalism professor] about it as well. I just don’t want him to work here anymore, so — I’m on it. Going to get this man f***ing fired. Alright.”
The College Fix contacted student newspaper The Hawk’s editorial staff several times and also reached out to Saint Joseph’s media relations office in the past several weeks. The Fix asked whether the student journalist heard in the recording contributed to the article, whether the newsroom disclosed any conflict-of-interest internally, and what policies exist for managing such conflicts. No one responded.
Manco deferred to his attorney when asked for comment. His attorney did not respond to the request for comment in the past several weeks.
Manco filed suit in federal court in January 2022, naming the university and multiple individuals. He alleges defamation, breach of contract, false light, civil conspiracy, and violations of federal and state law. He had taught at SJU for 15 years and was a full-time visiting professor at the time of the incident.
The university did not renew his contract later that year and fully terminated his adjunct role in May 2022, as The Fix previously reported.
A media ethics scholar contacted by The Fix said student journalists, like their professional counterparts, should recuse themselves from stories where they have a personal stake or preexisting opinion.
“Any student journalist who makes inflammatory comments in advance of publishing a story should have recused themselves,” Professor Jeffrey McCall, who teaches media ethics at DePauw University, said via email. “This is a clear issue of conflict of interest, and it’s up to student editors and faculty advisers to enforce standards of journalistic integrity.”
“Student media needs structures in place to make sure it operates ethically,” McCall told The Fix. “Editorial independence does not mean freedom from accountability.”
MORE: Professors spread misinformation about Kirk’s alleged killer
