Showcasing journalism’s energies..standing out in a crowd
An amazing number of advisers and students celebrated their creativity and willingness to engage in the viral potential of the Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style crazes recently. True student work should be celebrated and encouraged.
But wouldn’t it be nice – and appropriate – if journalism programs, no matter their platforms, would jumpstart journalistic excellence by devoting the same attitude and enthusiasm for publishing coverage that exhibits depth and substantive reporting skills?
At a time when we seek a Cure for Hazelwood, we need to showcase our best journalistic skills as much as those designed to entertain.
A slightly beleaguered Scholastic Press Rights chairperson
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Impressed by the FAPFA winners? Show everyone your forum status, too
Impressed by the First Amendment Press Freedom Award schools? We are.
We would bet, though, there are more student media out there that would qualify as forums. So, between now and next fall when the next FAPFA deadline comes around, let others know of your forum status by applying to be recognized this Scholastic Journalism Week.
Go to the Center for Scholastic Journalism website and learn more about that recognition, and then submit the online form to apply.
Establishing your student media as open forums for student expression – not closed or limited forums – can make a huge difference in developing a Hazelwood Cure. The best forum is like preventative medicine. The worst is like being exposed to active disease cultures. The information and resources below can help you on the road to wellness.
CSJ recently added these schools as open forums, and their locations will be pinned on CSJ’s Google map:
•Lafayette High School, Wildwood, MO.
• Eureka High School, Eureka, MO.
• South Hadley High School, South Hadley, MA.
Links to map resources:
• List of designated open forums,
• CSJ Forum PowerPoint in case you have further questions about your forum status
Need another eight reasons to work toward designated public forum status/?
Daniel Reimold wrote 8 ways a landmark Supreme Court ruling has changed student journalism on the Poynter website Feb. 21. His main source, SPLC executive director Frank LoMonte, called the Hazelwood decision’s input of scholastic journalism “sheer devastation.”
If nothing else might convince those public forum schools out there to become recognized for their achievements this article and its key points, might.
Reimold ended the article with this quote from LoMonte: I’t disheartening to see anyone censored,” said LoMonte, “but it’s doubly disheartening when people are so frightened and intimidated that they won’t even speak up about it. You’re never going to change public policy until the decision makers perceive there is a widespread problem.”
Read MoreTweet 26: Now it’s your turn. What is the Hazelwood Cure?
After 25 days of Hazelwood, what would you like to see jlsm organizations address? How are YOU able to help? #25HZLWD http://jeasprc.org/tweet-26-now-its-your-turn-what-is-the-hazelwood-cure
What are your thoughts and experiences. What would you like to see journalism organizations address and why. What are you willing to commit to? It will take all of us.
We would love to hear your thoughts and comments about what you would like to see for the future of scholastic journalism and its media.
Please carry the discussion forward using the comment section below.
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A Teacher’s Kit for curing Hazelwood
by Megan Fromm
January 13, 2013, we commemorate a bittersweet milestone in scholastic publications history: the 1988 Supreme Court ruling in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. This decision institutionalized censorship in most public schools in America, and our students have been publishing in its shadow ever since.
This month, JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission seeks to re-engage teachers, students, administrators and local media in a discussion about Hazelwood’s deleterious effects on civic education and scholastic journalism. Similarly, the Student Press Law Center’s “Cure Hazelwood” campaign is aimed at making the public aware of Hazelwood’s ill effects on our nation’s schools. Together, we hope to encourage administrators and policymakers to reconsider a stifling decision that has long plagued our education system.
We hope you will use, during the coming weeks, our Teacher Kit with resources, lesson plans, and calls to action to energize your students and staffs to learn more about—and ultimately take action against— Hazelwood.
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