The importance of context: A lesson on ethics and editing
Last week, NBC officials bore the brunt of an outraged public when the Today Show played a poorly edited 9-1-1 tape from the Trayvon Martin shooting investigation. The tape, some argued, unfairly portrayed Zimmerman as racist. This lesson explores the ethics of proper editing as well as the journalistic mandate that context never be sacrificed for brevity.
Lesson plan by Megan Fromm
Lesson Time: 25-30 minutes
Materials: computer lab/group internet access for research, white board, projection capabilities (or you can make copies of materials for students)
PART I:
First, discuss the background of the Martin/Zimmerman case. What information do students already know? What “facts” do they need to research and verify?
1. Create a class list on the white board of all the “facts” students believe they know about the case.
2.In groups of 2-3, students should take 5-10 minutes to research and verify or discredit one of the facts.
3. Bring the class back together, and make a list of verified facts on the white board, including the sources where students got the information.
Now, as a class, listen to the NBC version of the 9-1-1 tapes. Here is a link for the audio: (Pause at 10 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf_AtDnVhyA
Instruct students to write down any assumptions they might draw about the case from listening to this 911 tape.
Then, play the unabridged 9-1-1 tapes, also found here: (continue playing from 00:10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf_AtDnVhyA
Discuss whether the assumptions created from the edited tapes were supported in the original audio. Ask the following:
Did the second segment tell a different story? What was different? Was there more or less context? Why do you think NBC edited the 911 tape the way they did? How many seconds long was the edited version? How long was the original version?
PART II:
As a class, take a look at some of the reaction to the NBC audio:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-to-do-internal-investigation-on-zimmerman-segment/2012/03/31/gIQAc4HhnS_blog.html
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/10/3546575/commentary-today-show-should-do.html
For an interesting twitter feed screen-capture with responses:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-news-president-speaks-out-on-zimmerman-tape-scandal/2012/04/09/gIQAQ0iw5S_blog.html
Now, back in their groups (or as a class if you can project the internet onto a screen), have students search for the original NBC statement of apology, issued by NBC president to Reuters news service.
Can anyone find it? Is it on the Today Show’s homepage?
Can you find it on msnbc.com, NBC’s online news outlet?
What about at nbc.com?
Is it acceptable that the original statement is so hard to find? What do you think this says to readers/viewers?
How prominent should the statement be if the original mistake has gone viral?
Here’s a synopsis of the statement (you can also finish playing the youtube video from earlier, which shows a quote from the apology):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/08/us-usa-florida-shooting-nbc-idUSBRE83609U20120408
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/nbc-issues-apology-on-zimmerman-tape-screw-up/2012/04/03/gIQA8m5jtS_blog.html
Some further ethical questions to consider:
• Is it ever OK to edit a 9-1-1 tape?
• How should we give readers/viewers/listeners access to the full content?
• What type of information is it OK to cut from audio?
• Do we tell our readers/viewers/listeners that we have edited parts out?
• How do we ensure that an edited slice of audio reflects the factual and contextual information our audience would get if they heard the whole thing?
• What is the appropriate way to correct a mistake of this magnitude?
• If you were the editor in charge, how would you handle this? How would you handle the apology and statement?
PART III:
Finally, as a class, read the Radio Television News Directors Association Code of Ethics, and highlight and discuss the parts that discuss context and accuracy. Did NBC act ethically according to this guide?
http://www.rtnda.org/pages/media_items/code-of-ethics-and-professional-conduct48.php
Read MoreWorth noting
Those looking for guidelines to prepare state groups to pass free expression legislation now have a draft document package to work with.
The Scholastic Press Rights Commission has completed a draft version of its Blueprint for Success: Promoting Scholastic Right Rights Legislation, and makes that information available in time for the JEA/NSPA Seattle convention.
The commission welcomes comments and suggestions before it publishes a final version in the coming months.
The Blueprint can be downloaded here or from a link in the right-hand menu under state legislation on this site.
Several additional legal and ethical sites are also worth noting:
• Back issues of the Student Press Reports. Found at Issuu, this site gives everyone access to information from The SPLC Reports, the Student Press Law Center’s magazine, since it started. Well worth time to just browse or look for information to support local reporting.
• The Panic Button. Found here, The Panic Button links you or your students directly to assistance and information about handling an issue of censorship. Members of the Scholastic Press Rights Commission and 45Words students will respond quickly, offering suggestions and providing information as your students and others plan a strategy to handle censorship.
• The forum map. This map, a project of The Center for Scholastic Journalism, is a list of schools the Center has determined to be open forums for student expression, either by policy or practice. The purpose of the map is to enable journalism programs seeking to become open forums to have models and contacts to assist in the quest.
• Application to be on the forum map. This writable PDF is your way to apply to have your school recognized as an forum by policy or practice.
• Certification map. This map shows requirements for teaching journalism in 49 of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and links to each state’s department of education.
Read MoreNeed help with censorship issues?
Press the Panic Button!
JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission (SPRC) has set up a uniform process to help advisers – and students – who seek advice about handing censorship or other legal issues.
The Panic Button is an online reporting tool to collect information from those experiencing some type of censorship.
When an adviser or student uses the Panic Button to submit information, designated SPRC members receive notification. This sets in motion a series of responses following a checklist system. In no way will the commission direct the fight against censorship, but each person has a different course of action in supporting the adviser and students while offering suggestions and resources specific to that situation.
As JEA vice president and Commission member Sarah Nichols reported in an email to state and regional directors and board members, “We [a Press Rights Commission subcommittee that developed the process] focused on four key goals:
• A consistent method of reporting
• A process that works quickly
• A tool for collecting data
• A way to avoid overlap and prevent harm.”
Here’s who gets involved and how:
When the adviser hits the panic button and files a report, he or she instantly gets a check sheet with steps to take – like “Take a deep breath — you have support” and “Keep a paper trail.” A student can hit the Panic Button, too, and the check sheet he or she gets is a little different, including, “Contact the Student Press Law Center,” and “Get parental and other student support.” That request for assistance goes to six SPRC members, who quickly respond.
10 ways to nurture scholastic journalism
by Randy Swikle
Retired Student Newspaper Adviser
Johnsburg High School, Johnsburg, Ill.
In 2002, my principal at Johnsburg High School, Chuck Dill, was JEA’s Administrator of the Year. He was an exemplary facilitator who involved local stakeholders of scholastic journalism in a partnership that guarded student autonomy, that balanced student press rights with ethics and pedagogical responsibilities and that nurtured First Amendment education, appreciation and application.
Students were empowered but not emancipated; educators were authoritative but not authoritarian; and the school culture was collaborative and not autocratic. It was an ideal balance of responsibilities that cultivated democratic learning and inspired engaged citizenship.
One Labor Day weekend, our principal was arrested and charged with operating a motorboat while under the influence. He put the school mission above his personal vulnerability and supported the right of student reporters to cover the story on Page 1 of their Johnsburg Weekly News publication. The principal contested the charge, and a judge later exonerated him. That story was covered on Page 1, too.
In the 25 years I advised the JWN, no administrator ever threatened censorship or required prior review of the paper. Controversy was a staple, as it is in any authentic American newspaper. Rather than fear contention, the Johnsburg school community embraced diverse perspectives as an innate feature of a free society. And when journalistic mistakes were made, stakeholders did not point fingers but rather joined hands to problem-solve and inspire remedies.
Principal Dill was a proponent of partnership. I once asked him to list his expectations for the partner who advises the newspaper staff — me! His response serves as a model for nurturing scholastic journalism and the school mission:
No. 10: Understand the peripheral aspects of your job. It is more than teaching journalism. It’s also being an advocate, a problem-solver, a diplomat, a counselor, a personal mentor, a friend, a businessman, a facilitator, a spokesman and a hundred other things.
No. 9: Communicate effectively and ethically. Use strategies of dissemination and persuasion to make a profound difference on the side of what’s right. Focus on issues and maintain the courage to prioritize principle above personal vulnerability.
Read MoreBeyond SJW: an education for reality
by Fern Valentine, MJE
SJW-2012
During Journalism week, and every week for that matter, we need to stress the unique learning opportunities a publication class offers, unique learning they will be able to utilize no matter where they head after high school.
For example, while law is mentioned at least in social studies classes, in publication classes the students learn first hand the opportunities and limitations of U.S. law including, of course, the First Amendment, but also copyright, libel, etc. They learn to check out their legal questions with free advice from the Student Press Law Center. They learn to use their rights responsibly investigating topics of interest to their audience.
Speaking of their audience, instead of their teacher as an audience to their writing, publications staffs have their peers and other readers as their audience, making them take special care in getting everything right. Students learn to edit copy and apply all those grammar and punctuation rules they have been taught, but, in other classes, only their teachers have corrected.
Read More