Arkansas State University NPR Affiliate News Director's Abuse of Email

Update (6:40 pm):  This posted story preceded the AP and local news by 13 hrs.  The ASU Communications office has indicated that the reported incident is being handled as an internal matter.  Today, in a totally unrelated but coincidental press release,  the ASU Communications Office identified in  that "The Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans will celebrate its new home at an open house reception [tomorrow on the ASU campus] . .. Center officials will recognize Conrad Reynolds, Col.-Retired, USA, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jonesboro chapter, for outstanding support to the Beck PRIDE Center and to wounded veterans in the Jonesboro community." Col. Reynolds had been previously noted in an ASU press release for presenting "a special U.S. flag flown over his post in Iraq last year to hang in the Beck PRIDE Center Day Room."
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Bill Smith, Editor: Arkansas State University (ASU) has an NPR station affiliate on its campus. NPR usually offers easy listening, some classics and local news for college students and often afford training for college students in radio communications. The affiliate is also supported by federal and state dollars. According to a breaking report on today's Washington D.C.'s Roll Call, Greg Chance, the NPR station's news director, used his university funded email to communicate with the office of Senator Blanche Lincoln and to insult a Republican candidate running for the U.S. Senate.

The candidate is retired Army Colonel Conrad Reynolds, a native Arkansan who served his country with distinction including commanding troops in Baghdad, Iraq. Reynolds is one of several candidates running for the position occupied presently by Senator Lincoln. Recent polls indicate that Lincoln is vulnerable and has a low favorable rating with Arkansas voters. Greg Chance in his capacity as news director, received a press release from the Reynolds' campaign which challenged Lincoln's vote on a recent issue.

According to Roll Call, Chance attempted to forward the Reynolds' campaign email to Katie Laning Niebaum, Lincoln's Washington-based communications director. Chance forwarded message to Lincoln's office did not seek a response as would be expected from a news director. Instead, Chance displayed either his total lack of impartiality or a deficit in his ability be impartial in his position as "news director." One might question if Chance could have been seeking to curry favor with Niebaum or the Senator in "hopes of whatever" but this is unknown at this time.

Chance as the news director for an NPR affiliate at Arkansas State University proceeded to make derogatory comments in the email about Col. Conrade Reynolds. Chase called the decorated officer a "nimrod" and mocked his campaign logo which features an Eagle which is also the insignia used for the rank of Colonel in the U.S. military.

When Chance proceeded to forward the Reynolds' email with his comments to Niebaum, he apparently was overcome by his wit or his witlessness. Instead, he replied to K. Ryan James who had sent the original press release from the Reynolds campaign. Wow - what a surprise! Niebaum at Sen. Lincoln's office has said that she did not receive Chance's email.

As a result, Greg Chance acting as the ASU Affiliate NPR news director proved himself to be, in his own words, a "nimrod." Now that Chance has acted inappropriately in his official capacity as news director, where does that leave the university? Insulting a United States Colonel and candidate for the U.S. Senate on behalf of the university was definitely not what ASU President Les Wyatt is looking forward to addressing today.

I expect Chance will be counseled by ASU officials on his lack of professionalism and his misuse of his position in using university email to express derogatory statements which do not reflect favorably on the University. Also, insulting a decorated retired Arkansas United States Colonel showed a lack of understanding of protocol by Mr. Chance. I would suggest that since Chance showed such poor judgment and a willful disregard for protecting ASU, there is a potential that he may have misused university email in other situations. Therefore, his other emails should be reviewed to determine if any other potential actions "by Chance" that reflect negatively on Arkansas State University or its NPR affiliate.

In closing, this is a lesson for everyone. As I warned my children when they were growing up, be careful in what you say and do. Because, when act unprofessional and treat people with disrespect, you eventually get caught or as a minimum find four fingers pointing right back at you. Also, I may be stretching a point a little, but I noted that it is very strange that the word "nimrod" was used. This is the very same word used previously by Arkansas 1st District U.S. Representative Marion Berry to verbally attack a fellow representative on the floor of the House of Representatives. I suggest that all representatives and news directors retire the use of this word.

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