Campus Reform is an American conservativenews website focused on higher education. It is operated by the Leadership Institute. It uses students as reporters. The news site is known for conservative journalism, where it reports incidents of liberalbias and restrictions on free speech on American college campuses.[1] The online publication maintains running list of "victories"—ranging from college policy changes to firings—on a dry-erase board at the website's Arlington, Virginia, headquarters inside the Leadership Institute.[1]
In September 2015, Campus Reform said its website had received 9.3 million page views in the past year.[1]
In September 2015, Campus Reform was first to report that David W. Guth, a University of Kansas associate professor of journalism, had tweeted: "The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time let it be YOUR sons and daughters", in reaction to the Washington Navy Yard shooting days before. The university was deluged by complaints, and the university put Guth on temporary leave with pay.[3]
In June 2017, a Campus Reform story headlined "Prof: 'white marble' in artwork contributes to white supremacy" reported on comments by University of Iowa classics professor Sarah Bond writing an article about white marble statues that read in part: "really sick of alt-right groups appropriating classical antiquities for nefarious reasons."[4] Other conservative outlets such as Heat Street and National Review began citing that Campus Reform story, and Bond began receiving death threats within days.[4]
^ abcSchmidt, Peter (8 September 2015). "Higher Education's Internet Outrage Machine". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Most important, in its view, it had scored 15 "victories"—a term it applies to any situation in which a college changes a policy, fires someone, or otherwise responds to concerns raised by the reporting on its site.
^McMurtrie, Beth (8 September 2015). "What to Do When the Outrage Is Aimed at Your Campus". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 15 May 2016. The university issued a statement, and the story was posted the next day. "Journalism professor says he hopes for murder of NRA members' children," the headline read. Once the National Rifle Association picked up the story, everything else at the university seemed to stop.