A proposal to overhaul student media at the University of Utah is designed to broaden student opportunities, according to U. administrators, but the plan is being questioned by the campus newspaper, whose editors worry their independence could be undermined.

Proponents say reforming the way the university supports, funds and oversees student media will benefit the campus radio station, which has operated for years on a diminishing budget that has shrunk to $15,000, as well as some 20 other media outlets.

"We're going to have a consistent source of funding until we become financially viable, then money will be spread to other publications that need it," said KUTE station manager Sean Halls. "This will give us more freedom to get the word out and improve the quality of our service."

The university on Wednesday released a draft policy for trustees to consider at their May 12 meeting. The proposal envisions converging student media, hiring an "advocate" to promote collaboration and provide professional advice and maximize resources, said policy author Ann Darling, chairwoman of the U.'s communication department. The administration also proposes hiking student publications' fees to pay the advocate, bolster KUTE's funding and underwrite a new student advertising agency.

Past and present editors of the Daily Utah Chronicle , the 119-year-old, 15,000-circulation campus paper, suspect the overhaul could enable administration influence in the newsroom. Editor-in-Chief Dustin Gardiner objects to the advocate position if that person is charged with enforcing the new council's policies and procedures.

"It would discourage students from pursuing certain stories," said Gardiner, namely those that could embarrass the university.

Darling said administrators and communication faculty have no interest in guiding the newspaper's content.

"I love what the Chrony does. I want that [experience] to be possible for more students," said Darling, who drafted the policy with journalism professors Glen Feighery and Bob Avery.

The policy's key provision is replacing the Student Broadcasting and Publications councils with a new Student Media Council, composed of faculty and students picked by the trustees. This new body would hire the part-time advocate, possibly a local media professional who may also work as adjunct faculty.

"The role of the advocate is to connect student media with each other and with the larger campus so people will know about all 19 student publications," Darling said. "None of it is about changing the Chrony . Everything is about expanding opportunities for students and allow media outlets we have to grow." She singled out Venceremos , a bilingual newspaper Latino students resurrected last year, as an example of the media opportunities she hopes to build on.

"This process has been extremely disappointing," Gardiner fumed in an e-mail. "They excluded us from all of the early meetings and made no substantial changes after we were finally brought to the table."

Gardiner's concerns are echoed by six of his predecessors, who argue that the proposed advocate's allegiances could be unclear and that whoever is hired should serve only at the pleasure of the Chronicle editor.

"The advocate appears to serve functions that do not help The Chronicle in any significant way. He or she would take on duties already fulfilled by the business manager, advisor and professional mentors," states a letter signed by the former editors-in-chief, five of whom now work in The Salt Lake Tribune newsroom.

They also questioned plans to build joint ventures among student media, saying that would impinge on the Chronicle 's editorial freedom, as well as the policy's failure to guarantee the newspaper a minimum cut of ad revenues and student fees.

The Society of Professional Journalists last year named the Chronicle among the country's top three campus newspapers. Co-finalists Iowa State Daily and The State News of Michigan State University, like most finalists for SPJ's coveted Mark of Excellence award, enjoy great independence.

"Administration influence at campus papers is a common problem," says Neil Ralston, SPJ's vice president for campus chapter affairs and an assistant professor of journalism at Western Kentucky University.

He cautioned against policy changes that would affect the Utah newspaper's structure or bottom line, even if those changes are intended to benefit other student media. Diverting funds would send a "horrible message" that the paper's watchdog function isn't valued.

bmaffly@sltrib.com