Questions
Does the start of a new school year always lead to rolling out new procedures, ideas or policies?Should it?
By John Bowen, MJE
Maybe, for instance, a new staff and school year might be an excellent time to revisit publication Mission Statements, Editorial Policy, your Ethical Guidelines and the procedures to carry out quality student media leadership made possible by journalistic responsibility?
Focus on an important news story reported as school starts.
Banning many things or ideas in schools is not new. Banning cell phones during the school day has a long and varied history of differing positions:
• Cell phones disrupted the school day.
• Cell phones encouraged cheating.
• Cell phones changed opinions when communities learned they could be useful.
• Cell phones could better alert parents if violence occurred at school.
• Cell phones, and their offspring, Smartphones, enabled students to cheat, to disrupt and to steal, but in newer ways.
Activities based on media coverage of high school of student working in adult industry
by John Bowen, MJE
In my last blog we discussed the importance of fighting prior review, and noted its use is growing, even in states with state legislation protecting student expression.
To emphasize the issue, we highlight recent review attempts with the Bruin Voice of Stockton, California, and related reporting about the student story.
You have a link to the story and multiple links to commercially reported information. To study the original story and reporting on it, we provide possible starting questions for discussion of the concept of review itself and how other reporters covered the original story.
By doing this, we hope not only to create critical thinking about prior review and about how such topics are reported.
The Bruin Voice
Media that reported the story
Writing about teenager who makes sex videos, school paper becomes the news
Bear Creek student newspaper’s controversial story will run as planned
Students express support for Bear Creek newspaper after controversial story publishes
Profile of student porn worker allowed to run in Stockton high school newspaper
Q&A: Teacher facing possible firing over student sex worker profile
Story on high school porn performer sparks censorship clash
District relents, allows Stockton school paper to run story about student in porn
Reporting and information gathering questions
• What are differences in the coverages?
• Are any questions unanswered? What, and who could be additional sources?
• What, if any, bias shows through in reporting, word usage, sources, approach?
• What information is missing? What sources could have provided it?
• Was the best lead used? If not, what alternatives might have been better?
• What background was used? What could have been used?
• What were coverage strengths? Weaknesses?
Legal and ethical questions
• What ethical issues did the reporter(s) have to address?
• What legal issues should be addressed? Were they? If addressed was the reporting accurate, robust and complete?
• Should topics like the Bruin Voice piece be reported by scholastic media? Discuss the legal and ethical issues and how you might handle them?
Our last blog: Prior review imposes ineffective educational limits on learning, citizenship
Read MorePrior review imposes ineffective educational limits on learning, citizenship
by John Bowen, MJE
Unbelievably, prior review seems to be spreading.
It occurred recently in Illinois, California, Ohio, Texas and numerous additional states. It shows no signs of slowing, despite efforts to pass state legislation to protect student expression.
To read about California review and restraint demands, go here. To read the articles in question go here.
Every scholastic journalism organization has opposed prior review and, hopefully, will continue to do so.
Legally, though, prior review is not unconstitutional although prior restraint – censorship – is in some states, Thus, the best way to fight it is with educational principles and the need for stronger civic engagement.
Arguable points against prior review include:
• It limits student intellectual and societal growth
• It delays or even extinguishes the development of journalistic responsibility
• It shackles critical thinking
• It leads historically to prior restraint which leads to mis- and disinformation
• It has no educational value
Yet, it still continues and spreads.
As journalism teachers we know our students learn more when they make content choices.
Prior review and restraint do not teach students to produce higher quality journalism or to become more journalistically responsible.
As journalism teachers we know the only way to teach students to take responsibility for their decisions is to train them for that responsibility.
As journalism teachers we know democracy depends on students who understand all voices have a right to be heard and have a voice in their school and community.
It is our responsibility to find and publicize ways to convince those who support prior review why the practice has no place in scholastic journalism.
For our democracy, our educational system and our individual abilities to separate credible information untruths.
To gain traction against prior review, JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee will focus its efforts to provide educational and civic support for advisers, students, parents and administrators so they can best educate their communities.
The resources below represent our initial steps to extend the discussion about the dangers of a practice that historically only led to censorship.
Resources
Prior review
What to tell your principal about prior review?
Why avoiding prior review is educationally sound
Dealing with unwanted, forced prior review?
Definitions of prior review, prior restraint
Prior review vs prior restraint
Questions advisers should ask those who want to implement prior review
Why we keep harping about prior review
Understanding the perils of prior review and restraint
Talking points blog and talking points to counter prior review
And much, much more at Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Read MoreStudents in the forefront
Students who can name one of the five freedoms in the First Amendment earn an appropriate t-shirt from Mary Beth and John Tinker. Represented on stage were Florida, Texas and Iowa. (photo by Candace Bowen)
by Candace Bowen Third in a series
When anyone tells Mary Beth Tinker that students are the future, she firmly but politely corrects them: “No, they’re the present.”
If the students participating in the #Tinkerversary events this week are typical – and it would seem they are –, the present is in good hands.
Read MoreNow things are different in Des Moines
John Tinker signs a black armband for two Callanan Middle School students. They told he and Mary Beth about causes that mattered to them. (photo by Candace Bowen)
by Candace Bowen Second in a series
Des Moines schools, how you have changed since early winter 1965.
That’s when a high school principal got wind of a pending Vietnam War protest – reportedly when his school’s newspaper adviser showed him a story about it for the next issue. He and his fellow principals decided suspensions would be the punishment for anyone who did this.
Read MoreBuilding on Student Press Freedom Day and Year of the Student Journalist
This week began free expression celebration with Student Press Freedom Day, introduced the Year of the Student Journalist and showcased lessons and information on the 50th Tinkerversity.
For those who might have missed or wanted this information and more, here is relevant information all in one place:
- Year of the Student Journalist activities start a calendar year of national and individual events and programming that will raise awareness of student journalists’ role and struggles they face. For more information, go here.
- Tinker Turns 50 is a celebration of the 50thanniversary of Tinker. Scholastic journalists will be able to follow the Tinkers, John and Mary Beth,through events and programs as they return to Iowa, Feb. 18-28. Livestream and educational resources information are available. General information and links to the full schedule, here.
- The Schoolhouse Gate is a project to enable student journalists to tell stories about young people and free speech. Students from Parkland will gather submissions from around the nation about how free speech is being celebrated, challenged and used locally. See more information here.
- Celebrating Student Press Freedom Day is a JEA project of its Scholastic Press Rights committee with lessons, resources and daily free speech activities. Find those materials here.
- RFK Human Rights program extended the nomination deadline for its 2019 Journalism Awards student categories until Feb. 8. For more about the awards and guidelines go here.