How much information is enough for a story? An ethics lesson
How much information is enough for a story?
by John Bowen
Description
Students will explore the following questions: What makes a good headline? What makes a good infographic? What makes a good multimedia package? Is the practice of “All you need to know about X” bad for journalism? In working on those questions, students will also work on formulating corrections for weak practices. They will also work toward forming defenses of stronger processes and policies. One way or another, students will decide the kind of policy they would develop to create an effective and credible news practice. This could involve guidelines or policy for the staff manual.
Objectives
• Students will read and be able to critique an article about coverage cliches
• Students will examine the role coverage cliches play in the media
• Students will draft a policy or guidelines about using this type coverage in their media
Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others
Length
150 minutes
Materials / resources
• The absolute worst cliche online today
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/07/22/the-absolute-worst-cliche-online-today/
Lesson step-by-step
Day 1
1. Background — 15 minutes
Have students read the article,The absolute worst cliché online today. Ask students to either highlight or underline important aspects of the article.
2. Pair work — 10 minutes
Students should prepare a 25-word statement of belief about the points the author makes. If they are not familiar with the practices noted, have them use Internet access to see examples.
3. Work with article concepts — 25 minutes
Once students have read the article and completed their statement, have students find three examples online of the process the author talks about, two in news coverage and one in something else. Students should be ready to discuss the newsvalue, cohesiveness and credibility of the information in these pieces.
Day 2:
1. Link to the last class – 5 minutes
2. Small group discussion – 20 minutes
Divide the class into groups of five to discuss the Washington Post article and the examples they found. Write down their discussion using this handout.
Questions they might address include:
• Do headlines like the ones in your articles catch reader attention, provide enough information or set the stage for misinformation? Or, something else?
• How do you react to the examples you found? Did they present complete and cohesive information so readers have enough of the story to take action or feel they are informed?
• Who or what were the sources of the information? Was the information presented objectively, or did that matter? Could you verify the information presented, and through reliable sources?
• Discuss what you found in relation to the author of “All you need”s points. Do you agree, disagree? Does the author support her points?
• Do you feel the examples – and the author’s point – indicates a bad journalistic practice? Why or why not? If a good practice, how would you defend it? Be specific.
3. Policy drafting and poster creation – 25 minutes
Once the groups have discussed these questions, have each group work as a team to prepare a policy or guideline for your staff manual on the practice of “All you need to know” headlines and approaches. Once the team is finished, have them create a poster of visual means of expressing their position to share with the rest of the class.
Day 3
1. Presentation and assessment – 50 minutes
Students should share their poster and team statements. Students should try to reach an agreement for a working position usable for the staff manual.
Differentiation
Use this section to provide teachers changes to the lesson plan to accommodate students at different skill levels or in different learning environments. If this involves different materials or resources, list those in the Materials/Resources section.
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Taking your student media online:
Will students follow online news media?
An ethics lesson
Taking your student media online: Will audiences follow online news media?
by John Bowen
Description
What should you consider before taking your student media online? This lesson will examine areas students should explore prior to transitioning to online.
Students will work through the following questions:
• Why should audiences follow you online?
• What are the benefits of online news?
• What are the downsides of online news?
• What approaches would you take to motivate potential audience to follow you online?
• What would you do to ensure those approaches follow legal and ethical standards?
• How would you create this process into guidelines for your ethics and staff manuals?
Objectives
• Students will read articles concerning taking a publication online.
• Students will work in groups to create a plan to move their media online.
• Students will create a guideline outlining why taking a publication online is important.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
Length
100 minutes (two 50-minute classes)
Materials / resources
Online ethics guidelines for student media
Your students love social media…and so can you
Cyberlaw: Internet and online media
Living social: College newsrooms revisiting ethics policies for the Twitter generation
Ways to have a social media presence for your staff when your high school says ‘no’
5 reasons why an online newspaper is not the end of the world
High school journalists take a crash course in newspaper economics
College newspaper readership
Lesson step-by-step
Day 1
Have students read in four groups. Each group reads two different articles before class to help frame the next class discussion.
• Online ethics guidelines for student media
• Your students love social media…and so can you
• Cyberlaw: Internet and online media
• Ways to have a social media presence for your staff when your high school says ‘no’
• 5 reasons why an online newspaper is not the end of the world
• Living social: College newsrooms revisiting ethics policies for the Twitter generation
• High school journalists take a crash course in newspaper economics
• College newspaper readership
1. Student work time — 50 minutes
Using what they read for today, students will work in groups of 5 to plan the process of moving their student media online. Their work should ensure that the processes used are ethical. Remind students they will presented their group’s decision the following day.
Day 2
1. Presentation preparation — 5 minutes
Give students a few moments to review their notes.
2. Presentations — 25 minutes
Student groups should present their plans to each other, allowing time for clarification and alternatives.
3. Guideline creation — 20 minutes
The entire group will then create one or more approaches to inform others about why taking student media online is important. This should result in a workable Action Plan models and guidelines for ethical and staff manuals.
Differentiation
Use this section to provide teachers changes to the lesson plan to accommodate students at different skill levels or in different learning environments. If this involves different materials or resources, list those in the Materials/Resources section.
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The Playwickian v. Neshaminy School Board:
What is freedom of the student press
and how does a staff make and defend editorial decisions?
A lesson in freedom
The Playwickian vs. Neshaminy School Board – What is freedom of the student press and how does a staff make and defend editorial decisions?
by Cindi Hyatt
Description
This lesson is intended to promote discussion of what the First Amendment defines as free speech and press. Students need to recognize that the First Amendment is intended to protect but also intended to encourage “debate on public issues … [and should be] … uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.” according to Justice William Brennan’s opinion in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964).
One of these debates currently in discussion concerns the battle between the Neshaminy School District and the student newspaper, The Playwickian, over the use of the word “Redskin.”
Students will read three primary documents, followed by discussion of key questions. After this lesson, students should have a deeper understanding of the First Amendment and the complexities of freedom of the press as it relates to student journalism. They should also be aware of how and why they make their own editorial decisions in their student run media.
Background expectations: Students should have a basic understanding of Tinker, Bethel, Morse (http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/constitution-activities/first-amendment/free-speech-school-conduct/facts-case-summary.aspx) and Hazelwood cases (http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-informed/supreme-court/landmark-supreme-court-cases-about-students.aspx). Also a handout of the SPLC’s diagram: (http://www.splc.org/pdf/hazdiagram.pdf). Students should be familiar with the language of the First Amendment and the five freedoms (speech, religion, assembly, petition, press).
Key questions to consider:
• Did the principal and school board meet a standard of reasonableness when they chose to restrict school-sponsored expression?
• Can a government or authority force the students to take this position (compel speech)? In other words, should the school district be able to force the student editors to print a term they find offensive?
• Is the restriction of the term “Redskin” infringe upon the rights of other students’ First Amendment rights, preventing the free flow of discourse?
• How has the Playwickian editorial staff exercised its First Amendment rights as student press?
• How would your staff handle a similar situation?
• Would your staff adopt a policy against using the term redskin for the NFL team Washington Redskins? What would that policy look like? (For further reading on this, please click here.)
Objectives
• Students will read texts that address complex First Amendment issues
• Students will recognize that the First Amendment is open to interpretation
• Students will identify and discuss key points regarding free speech
• Students will recognize both points of view
• Students will discuss how they make editorial decisions
• Students will identify if their publication is protected under the Tinker standard.
• Students will determine if their publication is a public forum
• Students will consider drafting a public policy or an addition to an existing policy for publication that will help serve as protection if any future censorship issues arise with administration.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.d
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.
Length
135 minutes (three 45-minute lessons)
Days One and Two – Understanding the Neshaminy issue and its connection to the First Amendment’s freedom of the press.
Day Three – Reflecting upon student decision making process regarding freedom as student press and determining if their publication is a public forum.
Materials / resources
Article 1: Playwickian editorial explaining the decision to stop using the word “Redskin”
Article 2: Neshaminy officials could use some schooling
Article 3: Freedom of press belongs to school, not student editors
Lesson step-by-step
Day One
1. Introduction — 5 minutes
Teacher should post or project the First Amendment. Ask students to read through it. What does it mean?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
2. Brainstorm case review — 5 minutes
Ask students to help brainstorm a list of cases in which the First Amendment has been challenged. Write the cases on the board.
If students have not learned the cases, teacher should provide a brief overview of each.
Ask students how the First Amendment has been challenged in student journalism cases.
3. Large group discussion — 15 minutes
Class should discuss how the First Amendment has been challenged in each of these cases.
4. Reading — 10 minutes
Teacher should pass out the handout on the background of the Neshaminy case.
5. Reporting on reading — 10 minutes
Teacher should ask students to tell you what happened in the Neshaminy case.
Day 2
1. Review — 5 minutes
Ask students to debrief of the specifics of the Neshaminy case. Ask them what links can be made between this one and the cases discussed during the last class.
2. Reading — 15 minutes
Students should have three primary texts about the Neshaminy case. Ask them to make notes about what they think is important while reading. Tell them they will be working through questions when finished.
Pass out the following:
• The actual editorial published in The Playwickian October 2013
• An opinion piece by Karen Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist (in favor of the students)
• An editorial from the Union Bulletin in Walla Walla Washington (supporting the administration)
5. Pair work — 15 minutes
Students should answer questions from the handout in pairs.
Handout on Playwickian editorial.
Handout on Inquirer column.
Handout on Walla Walla editorial.
6. Small group discussion — 10 minutes
Students pairs should join another pair to create groups of four. Then, the group should discuss the answers to the worksheet in small groups. Ask them to turn in one sheet per group of four.
Day 3
1. Review — 5 minutes
Teacher should pass out the sheets the students turned in during the last class. Ask students to rejoin the groups from the previous class and review their answers.
2. Link to student publications — 10 minutes
Students will determine which standard – Tinker or Hazelwood – applies to their publication. They may have to look up state school code to determine this.
3. Checklist evaluation — 10 minutes
In the group of four, students should fill out the checklist to help guide them in discussing how they make decisions as an editorial board and about their responsibilities to their school and community.
4. Debrief — 10 minutes
Teacher should ask students what they found and discuss.
5. Reflection — 5 minutes
Teacher should ask students to discuss how they can make ethical and responsible decisions as a staff regarding controversial or sensitive issues. What examples can each group find?
6. Action — 5 minutes
Teacher should ask students if their policy needs reframing. If so, how would they go about doing so? Students should consider publishing a public policy in their publication. Here is one from Conestoga High in Pennsylvania.
Differentiation
Students could further explore this topic by looking at the link between the Neshaminy situation and the Washington Post refusal to mention “Redskins” on its op ed pages
Is print dead? An ethics lesson
Is print dead?
by john Bowen
Description
Can students read the Constitution in its original form (cursive)? What could this mean for paper consumption? The JEA listserv recently had an extended discussion about whether print student media was dead, or at least in its death throes.
Students will examine the following questions:
• What are student opinions on the future of print media, especially newspapers?
• Why do they feel this way?
• What credible and reliable sources can they find – and explain – to support their views?
• How do their views affect how they look at their student media?
• How do they think their peers feel?
• What would they create as the ideal scholastic publication program at their school and why?
• How does the discussion make them feel about a career in journalism?
Objectives
• Students will create an argument whether print is dead.
• Students will hypothesize on the future of print journalism as we know it.
• Students will create posters on their belief and evaluate the posters of others.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
Length
150 minutes (three 50-minute classes)
Materials / resources
• Print is dead? Not so fast
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2012/06/28/print-is-dead-not-so-fast/
•Who says print is dead?
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jun/03/who-says-print-is-dead
•Newspapers dead within five years
http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/14/newspapers-dead-within-five-years-usc-predicts
•Hot industry? Warren Buffet is betting on newspapers
http://www.inc.com/francesca-fenzi/warren-buffett-on-newspapers.html
•Are newspapers dead yet?
http://www.onthemedia.org/story/132842-are-newspapers-dead-yet/transcript/
•The end of the printed newspaper
https://medium.com/@cshirky/last-call-c682f6471c70
•Do spinoffs spell death of US newspapers? No and here’s why
http://www.thewrap.com/do-print-spinoffs-spell-death-of-u-s-newspapers-no-and-heres-why/computers
Lesson step-by-step
Day 1
1. Introduction — 5 minutes
Hand out several copies of a printed copy of the Constitution (handwritten). Ask them to read the first 20 lines of a hard-copy of the document.
Now, ask them to find an online copy and repeat the reading and discussion process.
2. Link to content — 5 minutes
What does the exercise say to them about reading cursive and reading print materials? About what they learn in school based on print texts versus online materials. Is it harder to read the cursive writing because schools now downplay it and nothing like it exists online? Work on comparisons between learning from print sources and online ones. (Link here and here for two articles on the impact of reading print versus online material.)
Gradually move the discussion into the future of print, particularly newspapers, and how that could affect education and citizen involvement.
3. Research — 40 minutes
Assign students to find online articles discussing the future of newspapers and print journalism for Day 2. Some sources could include:
• Print is dead? Not so fast
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2012/06/28/print-is-dead-not-so-fast/
•Who says print is dead?
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jun/03/who-says-print-is-dead
•Newspapers dead within five years
http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2011/12/14/newspapers-dead-within-five-years-usc-predicts
•Hot industry? Warren Buffet is betting on newspapers
http://www.inc.com/francesca-fenzi/warren-buffett-on-newspapers.html
•Are newspapers dead yet?
http://www.onthemedia.org/story/132842-are-newspapers-dead-yet/transcript/
•The end of the printed newspaper
https://medium.com/@cshirky/last-call-c682f6471c70
•Do spinoffs spell death of US newspapers? No and here’s why
http://www.thewrap.com/do-print-spinoffs-spell-death-of-u-s-newspapers-no-and-heres-why/omputers
Additionally, ask them to also consider these points raised in a recent JEA listserv discussion on the topic:
• Studies show students don’t read for news online and prefer hard copy
• Journalism is about information gathering and presentation skills, not about just knowing the tools
• Is print better suited for certain kinds of information than other platforms?
• What do their various communities want and need?
• Are scholastic media bound by the same revenue-driven guidelines as commercial media? Should they be?
• Is the discussion fact or anecdotal driven? Does it make a difference?
• It’s the process of informing, not the product that matters
• If print still works in some cases and ways, how can we invent it?
Use some of these points to find other online or print resources on the topic. Here is a rubric you can use for this exercise.
Day 2
1. Review — 5 minutes
Ask students to go around and state the two most interesting snippets of information they learned from the previous class.
2. Group discussion — 10 minutes
Discuss in groups of four or five what others are saying in the readings about the future of print journalism. Do the students agree? Compare their views and the view of others. Which are more credible and reliable? The most supported by fact or logic?
3. Poster creation — 15 minutes
Narrow the discussion to several reoccurring points, pro and con, in each group. Ask students to combine each group’s findings into a poster or projectable image for the class.
4. Statement creation — 10 minutes
Ask them to create “we agree” statements with each of the most common points and post them in the class. Students should post these around the room.
Day 3
Teacher preparation:
Hang the “we agree” posters as well as a blank sheet of paper next to each.
1. Review — 10 minutes
Ask students to walk around the room looking at the “we agree” posters. While reading the posters, students should comment and provide feedback on the blank paper next to the statement
2. Group review of feedback — 15 minutes
Students should look at feedback given. Does the feedback alter their position? Ask groups to discuss this.
3. Assignments — 25 minutes
Students could decide between the following options:
• Students could create a position statement of their own using the platform of their choice on what they feel the future of print to be and why.
• Students could plan what they want student media at their school to be in five to 10 years, supporting their views with sources and factual statements. They would show how each platform cited for the future would meet student and community needs.
• Students could create a survey instrument for their students and communities on the topic and reported a reported piece using the platform of their choice.
• Combination of any of the above as individuals, teams. Or, create another assignment based on the exercise.
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Censorship lesson and case study: Fond du Lac
Censorship Case Study
by Jeff Kocur
Description
A case study on the Fond du Lac High School Cardinal Column’s censorship by administration after the publishing of an article on a rape culture at the school. The study involves censorship of Fond du Lac High School’s by administration after the publishing of an article on a rape culture at the school. Students examine the application of the First Amendment to high school students and evaluate and hypothesize what they might do if faced with a similar situation.
Objectives
• Students will examine the application of the First Amendment to high school students
• Students will discuss the censorship of a high school publication.
• Students will evaluate and hypothesize what they would do if they were in a similar situation.
Common Core State Standards
•Informational text; Integration of knowledge and ideas
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
• Informational text; Integration of knowledge and ideas
Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principlesand use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).
Length
100 minutes (Two 50-minute classes)
Materials / resources
• Handout 1
• Handout 2
• Rape Culture Coverage
For more information about the situation:
• Article on the issue
• Student Press Law Center with links to story
• Article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Lesson step-by-step
Day One:
1. Background — 3 minutes
Teacher should either talk through or project the following:
Summation of issue:
Students at the Cardinal Columns, the student run newspaper at Fond Du Lac High School in Fond Du Lac, Wisc., were compelled to write a piece in the February issue about a rape culture at their school. The Editor-in-Chief, Tanvi Kumar told the Student Press Law Center the following.
“We are so saturated in a society that tolerates and even condones objectification of women and sexualizes them to be less than human beings,” Kumar said. “I think a lot of that … contributes to rape jokes and rape culture, and it’s not something that I could see going under the radar anymore.”
After the article was published, the principal, Jon Wiltzius, enacted a school board policy on the books, but not in practice, that would require the students to submit their paper to him prior to publication. He censored a photo on the cover of the next issue that was critical of the new policy.
2. Opening question — 2 minutes
Ask the students “What if this happened at your school?”
Teacher note: A healthy, mutual understanding of the First Amendment between your staff and your administrator would likely make this a non-issue, but not all schools are that lucky. You may want to share the First Amendment with the students as well.
3. Reading the article — 25 minutes
Teacher should pass out the article. Students should read the coverage in its entirety.
4. Pair work — 15 minutes
Teacher should pass out “Handout 1.” Students could work on the sheet in pairs.
5. Homework
If students have not finished the handout, ask them to do it for homework.
Day 2
1. Recap — 5 minutes
Ask students to “remind you” of what they read about the day before.
2. Large group discussion — 15 minutes
Teacher should ask each group to report their answers. Teacher should facilitate the discussion.
3. Small group work — 15 minutes
Ask each pair to partner with another pair. Pass out “Handout 2.” Students should answer the questions from the sheet.
4. Large group discussion — 15 minutes
Again, teacher should ask each group to report their answers. Teacher should facilitate the discussion.
Differentiation
If students would like more information on the Fond du Lac censorship, they should access the articles listed in the resources section.