East Carolina University fires student media adviser

East Carolina University today fired Paul Isom, its student media adviser, a few months after the student newspaper published the nude picture of a streaker at a football game.

The Student Press Law Center‘s story is here.

From the SPLC story:

“There’s no camouflaging what this is, which is retaliation for an editorial judgment made by the students that was completely within the students’ authority to make,” [Student Press Law Center executive director Frank] LoMonte said. “They’re clearly punishing the adviser for something he not only didn’t control, but legally couldn’t control.”

Isom said he has no problem fighting his termination, and isn’t ruling out legal action against the university.

“If I was not willing to stand up for a First Amendment issue, then I wouldn’t have been advising them the way that I was advising them,” he said. “I would have told them, ‘Yeah, don’t run any controversial pictures, don’t make anybody mad.’”