Journalism advocates slam decision to close 50-year-old Fanshawe College student newspaper [Video]

The decision by the Fanshawe College student union to close the school’s longtime student newspaper and move its funding to other union priorities is being condemned by the head of the Canadian Association of Journalists, and others who train young journalists.

The move to stop publication of The Interrobang was “unacceptable,” said Brent Jolly, the national advocacy group’s president, who expressed criticism over the apparent lack of say given to Fanshawe’s students.

Last week, the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) said publication of the college’s only campus newspaper would end, both in print and online, on April 4.

FSU officials have said the move was not a cost-cutting measure, and indicated to The Interrobang itself that it came after a reassessment of FSU’s budget amid a steep drop in international students.

It means one fewer student newsroom where aspiring journalists could learn the trade, Jolly says.

“The thing we really need to …