And the number keeps growing
As much as we don’t want to see it or accept it, the number of student media being restrained grows rapidly.
For instance:
• In Boonville, Mo, the superintendent stopped distribution of The Pirate Press reportedly because the paper had not been reviewed as it was supposed to be. Coverage in the local paper did not report reasons for the stoppage in its first article. Look for an update soon.
• In Arizona, former student journalists are pursuing legal action in an attempt to continue fighting censorship of their high school’s newspaper.
• In Oregon, an student editorial on a community project so angered a former school board member he threatened the adviser and administrators now require all articles, including editorials, to be bylined.
If you are aware of more instance like these, please let us know using this blog’s comments or contact the SPLC or JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission.
The more we know about censorship and its ally prior review, the more we help each other to fight them.
Read MoreSocial networking policies: Getting ahead of the curve
By Russell Hickey
When the Washington Post recently announced new rules for the use of social media by editors and staff, it was met with some criticism. Last week, Howard Kurtz chronicled the reactions – both negative and positive.
The full-text announcement sent to the Post staff was reprinted by paidContent.
The policy behind the guidelines is understandable – journalists should remember that they are always journalists and should do nothing that would undermine their credibility or question their impartiality. Unfortunately, social networking sites, like Twitter, are prone off-the-cuff, spur-of-the moment, out-of-context remarks. Even following or friending certain people or organizations could suggest a bias that can undermine a reporter.
For the high school journalism student, the consequences of social networking sites may not be top of mind. This could have dire consequences if an administrator is looking for a reason to reign in control of a high school publication.
To be certain, non-school sponsored social networking sites are outside the reach of school administrators. Careless use of social networking sites by newspaper editors and staff, however, could provide ammunition for administrators seeking reason for prior review. Thus, it is critical for student press advisors to get ahead of the curve and help encourage students to use some foresight.
The Student Press Law Center’s “Guide to Hazelwood” offers a “Fighting censorship checklist.” The first item on the checklist is to practice sound journalism – which includes avoiding any appearance of bias.
It behooves students and advisers to think through these issues and potentially adverse impact that careless use of social media could have on their student publication. A well-thought out policy for the use of social networking sites by newspaper editors and staff can be a critical demonstration of credibility.
Russell has a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Missouri and a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas, where he completed the Media, Law and Policy Certificate Program. He currently is a Senior Claims Specialist for AXIS Pro, a Errors & Omissions Insurance provider for media companies.
Read MoreFighting off prior review
With examples of administrator censorship running rampant around the country, I thought it might be informative and helpful for other teachers, who may run into similar situations, to speak with a teacher who just successfully fought off censorship from the higher-ups at her school.
Konnie Krislock has been teaching journalism since the late 1960s and has been the adviser of the Evolution at the Orange County High School of the Arts since it began publishing in May 2006. The Evolution’s first issue of the year featured a couple of stories its administration found objectionable.
How Krislock handled the situation provides a pretty good template for how to handle censorship, particularly in a state that has anti-Hazelwood protections.
According to Krislock, the Evolution was able to get coverage in a major metro, the Orange County Register, as well as quick feeback from the SPLC. Krislock was able to use friends at Cal State Fullerton, a major state organization (CNPA) as well as enlist the office of a prominent state politician – state senator Leland Yee – to help her get word out and fight the administration’s attempted censorship. As I’ve found in my five years as an adviser, if administrator’s hate anything, it is bad press and people calling the school complaining about damn near anything.
“Get the word out about what is happening to people in the know,” Krislock said. “I really know everyone and this got covered fast and well. It didn’t hurt that my EIC had been a summer intern with the OCRegister and that the writer realized he knew her. I also know Cal State Fullerton’s communications dean (I used to teach adjunct there) and belong to CNPA, whose lawyer was a resource. I would tell everyone to get connected.”
Most interesting, and appalling, to me was the reaction of Krislock’s students to the situation. If you’ve ever taught in a school where this sort of censorship is permissible, it has a particularly pernicious effect on students.
“They were scared,” Krislock said. “Most said they were less likely to take assignments on Evolution after the grilling the editors got from administrators. Everyone was intimidated. Just today my editor started to shy away from a story on swine flu because she said ‘we’ve done enough controversy right now.'”
While administrators often intend to block some sort of news they find will draw unwanted attention to their school, crushing student enthusiasm and creativity for their work on the newspaper is the unwanted result. What advisers must do is work to counteract the effect the administration’s intrusion might have. Fortunately for the students at OCHSA, they’ve got one who’s willing to do the heavy lifting.
“I believe this is the ONE high school subject that teaches student everything they need to know about life,” Krislock said. “My quote in the SPLC article is totally accurate. This is my life’s passion: my adoration of high school students and their RIGHT to express themselves and their ideas in a public forum with an adviser who is knowledgeable and who cares about them and their opinions.”
Read MoreHello? Anyone out there?
When the JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission chair* nudged that group into the blogosphere and encouraged its members to volunteer to post on certain days, I said, “Sure.” Writing I like. Writing means I’m not cleaning the kitchen or grading freshman orientation papers. Besides, the First Amendment soapbox is a good vantage point.
But….is anyone out there? Anyone reading?
The blog analytics say yes…sorta. We’ve had 310 visits since September, for instance. A fair number were new visits but enough aren’t to seem like we must have a bit of a following. Still….the only comments have almost all been from one close friend.(Thank you, Susan.)
Did Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo start this way? Or Ariana Huffington? Or what about those who produce something on blogs.com? With 515 listed there, topics range from Top 10 Vintage Clothing Blogs to Top 10 NFL Stats & Analysts Blogs to Top 10 Crime Beat Blogs. If someone is interested in it, there’s a blog for it….in fact, probably at least 10 of them.
In all those, only three have “journalism” in part of the title (Top 10 Investigation Journalism Blogs, Joshua Benton’s Top 10 Blogs on the Future Of Journalism and Top 10 Visual Politics/Photojournalism Blogs). But there’s not a single one that includes “high school” or “free expression” or “First Amendment” in the title, much less any that put those ideas all together.
Still, studies show people ARE reading blogs and, more important, accepting the ideas they present. (Sometimes that’s a scary thought because not all bloggers have a sense of ethics and a concern for credibility … but that’s another issue.) That means, at least statistically, someone out there wants to know more about legal and ethical situations teens face. They want to keep up with free speech issues and with high school journalism, a solid way to teach critical thinking and let students practice democracy under the guidance of a trained adviser.
So, is anyone reading this? Probably, but if not today’s post, then maybe tomorrow’s or Tuesday’s or next Sunday’s. The Journalism Education Association’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission supports and writes about a cause that stands to make a bigger impact on individual and on the country than one of the Top 10 Popular Shoe Blogs or the 10 Popular All Xbox Blogs.
* And, in the interest of transparency, I’ll note he’s also my husband…and he doesn’t really care if the laundry is folded.
Read MoreDisturbing trends and a series worth reading
Even as some administrators name themselves editors of student publications, others try to use ethics as a guideline for punishment, adding another level to disturbing trends in scholastic journalism.
This misuse of ethical standards in scholastic journalism is the focus on a three-part series by Kent State University graduate student Trevor Ivan at the Center for Scholastic Journalism blog.
Ivan talks about schools and administrative organizations that try to hold scholastic journalists to ethical codes and punish the students if they falter.
“The SPJ Code of Ethics is not a set of legal principles,” Ivan writes, “and shouldn’t be applied as such in an official school board policy (a legal code) governing publications. It’s important to remember the fundamental difference between law and ethics.”
It’s important for us as journalists to know how law and ethics work together to help student journalists understand the ways their rights and responsibilities work together. But ethics should never be used as a factor in punishing student journalists or limiting their growth.
“While saying that students must meet certain ethical standards sounds commendable,” Ivan writes, “it is in fact riddled with problems when it becomes part of a binding editorial policy that allows administrators to squash student expression because of how the administrators interpret such a code.”
The whole series is worth your time, especially if you have anyone trying to enforce ethical standards as a determinant for permitting unfettered student expression.
Read More