Speaking to a journalism class, Rutgers University Athletic Director Julie Hermann said “That’d be great” about the prospect of The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger dying. “I’m going to do all I can to not to give them a headline to keep them alive because I think I got them through the summer,” she said.
Hermann’s remarks, reported by Simon Galperin, who was in the class, preceded last week’s layoffs at the newspaper, in which 167 people lost jobs. Galperin gave The Star-Ledger a copy of a recording of her remarks, The Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi writes, saying her remarks achieved “a perfect level of awfulness.”
In a statement from Rutgers, Hermann did not apologize or explain her attack on the newspaper, instead stating that she was sharing her experiences “in an informal way and out of the glare of the media spotlight.” Because who would have imagined that journalism students would have recording devices?
Hermann “has been a human P.R. nightmare since taking the job,” Politi writes, “and the response from Rutgers officials has been to dig in deeper in their support.”
Maybe that’s why Hermann is rooting for reporters and editorial writers to lose their jobs – they are the only ones who seem to be holding her accountable.
