FOIA can put a lot of power in the hands of students
by Stan Zoller
One of the challenges associated with presenting at a conference – journalism or otherwise – is trying to figure out how many people will attend your session.
There have been times when I’ve had standing room only, and other times when I could have invited the attendees to Starbucks to discuss the topic over a latte.
I recently presented three sessions at a conference – one on news literacy, one on lede writing and one on using the Freedom of Information Act.
As I drove through the fall colors of Wisconsin, I wondered. My thinking was the lede writing would be packed because student journalists, often at the urging of their advisers, want to spice up their ledes, so I generally have a good turnout. And that was the case.
I wasn’t sure about News Literacy because too many high school journalists it’s a “new” topic, one often mistaken for media literacy. My expectations were that it would be a small turnout. I was right. Small, but enthusiastic.
But what about the FOIA presentation? You know, that “legal stuff” just ain’t as sexy as InDesign or how to raise money for pizzas. But to me, know how to access public records is important for all journalists, including scholastic journalists. So armed with a somewhat humorous title (Dropping the Journalistic F Bomb), I worked my way to the session hoping for the best.
The room was almost filled. In fact there were more students at my FOIA presentation than there were for my lede writing session. It must have been the F Bomb.
It was gratifying so many students had an interest in accessing public records and protecting the public’s right to know.
In addition to tips on how to use the FOIA, we discussed what to expect once you do use it, especially in scholastic media. The FOIA, like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook is essential to delivering timely news.
But it’s a tool.
And as is the case with any tool, you need to know not only how to use it, but why you are using it. The information available by using the FOIA is amazing. The bottom line is this, in most cases if it goes through courts, it is part of a public agency, or if it is government regulated, odds are it can be accessed by the FOIA.
That can put a lot of “power” in the hands of student journalists.
[pullquote]As is the case with any tool, you need to know not only how to use it, but why you are using it. The information available by using the FOIA is amazing. The bottom line is this, in most cases if it goes through courts, it is part of a public agency, or if it is government regulated, odds are it can be accessed by the FOIA. Stan Zoller[/pullquote]
If students decide to use the FOIA to get information about a staff member, faculty member or administrator, they should do so to seek information germane to their story. Just because an administrator is a “jerk” or “the coach didn’t start my boyfriend” is no reason to use the FOIA. It is to be used, not abused.
If there is ever a time to practice journalistic ethics, it’s when you are going to dig below – way below — the surface. I often refer students to the Society of Journalists’ Code of Ethics because, quite simply, it’s the best. The code can be found at http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.
It is also a good time to practice protocol. Make sure your student journalists inform you of every step in the process. Conversely, I have always, maintained an open communication policy with building administrators because, quite simply, principals hate surprises – especially when they’re delivered in student media. Remember, you are practicing protocol, not asking for prior review.
Students need to be braced for a wave of criticism. Calls for invasion of privacy, running “personal” information and “taking advantage” of the First Amendment should be expected. Granted, and hopefully, there will be those news consumers who will understand and appreciate watchdog journalism that is well balanced and well researched.
Still, there will likely be a few administrators who just don’t get it. Rather than try to understand it, they will put on airs as if they do.
As did one administrator who, after being told a journalism staff used the FOIA after a teacher’s arrest, bellowed at the adviser “You can’t use that!”
The answer is quite simply – Yes we can.
The FOIA is a great tool – just use it wisely and with a strong intestinal fortitude.
About Stan Zoller: Stan Zoller, MJE has been a journalism educator for 15 years. Before that he worked as a journalist and media relations professional. He is Vice President of Freedom of Information for the Chicago Headline Club, the nation’s largest local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was a DJNF Special Recognition Adviser in 2010 and Distinguished Adviser in 2011. He is a member of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission and the Outreach Academy Teaching Cadre.
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FAPFA award application deadline is Dec. 1
by John Bowen
Applications are now available for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award (FAPFA).
Student journalists make a difference
Part one of an eight part series.
by Jane Blystone
In today’s world of global interconnection the staffers of the Arrow at Renton High School, in Renton, Wa, have found a way for the student voices within their school to speak, even if it is in Chinese, to the world. They challenge our definition of the word ‘ghetto’ as voices jump from the pages of another issue. We feature their work here.
Be aware that you may need to create a soundcloud account to hear the audio parts of the New American Voices package the students created at a local NPR affiliate. Additionally, if you wish to read the PDF files you will need to download Acrobat Reader to gain access to the files.
In May 2013, JEA SPRC asked advisers to submit student work that had been published during the year to the Making a Difference project. The project’s primary goal is to showcase scholastic journalism that makes a difference in the students’ school or community.
Instead of compiling these entries in an e-book or paper version, the SPRC has chosen to showcase them here with links to online storage so you can see the power of the work, and to provide a public venue beyond schools for this work. We will feature one school’s package per month.
The team of judges select entries that have taken risks in storytelling and provided depth of coverage on a topic. One of the questions we ask of advisers was to tell us if the publication had been subjected to prior review or censorship during the year. As you view these works, consider the impact of student journalism in schools where free speech is honored and in schools where free speech is not honored.
Adviser Derek Smith writes this about the submissions we feature this week. “What if we allow print to do what it wants to do? What if the turning of each page feels like an event—like a children’s book? What if the publication asks a single question (“Is that ‘ghetto’ part of our community actually ‘ghetto,’ and what does ‘ghetto’ mean anyway?”)?
What if our whole issue tells the story of one evolving, developing perspective? What if we rename our Editor-in-Chief “The Chief Storyteller”? What if section names are organic and fluid—the name and size always changing?” The reader will see in part I of this package how students voices jump from the page.
Part II of this submission addresses the English language learners at Renton and the power of their voices. Smith explains the impact this way, “As part of a themed issue called “The Perfect Language,” reporters worked with English Language Learners to record stories of coming to America. Reporters conferenced with ELL students, edited the 1st-person narratives those students composed in English and other languages, and traveled with the students to a local NPR affiliate to record the stories as MP3 files. The MP3 files were included in the “The Perfect Language” issue on a complimentary compact disc titled “New American Voices” – glued into the double-truck. The print edition and “New American Voices” CD were distributed to students and community members during Multicultural Week …” You can also hear their voices a this soundcloud URL and read their work on these PDFs.
In a time when student voices are being silenced across the land, we celebrate the student journalists at Renton because they demonstrate how to tell the stories of their peers in print and on air.
Week 7 blog of a series
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Why we keep harping about prior review
by Kathy Schrier
At the conclusion of our summer student journalism workshop here in Washington state, we asked for student feedback and one student wrote: “We spent too much time hearing about prior review…”
I have to concede that this year’s summer workshop was, in fact, heavy on talk of the dangers posed by administrative prior review. It was inevitable. Workshop presenters included four members of the SPRC (Carrie Faust, Vince DeMiero, Fern Valentine and me); and special guest presenters included Mike Hiestand, consulting attorney for the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), and Brian Schraum, former SPLC Publications Fellow.
The student’s question was valid, causing me to pause and wonder if, in our deep concern for this issue, we don’t sometimes cross the line into overkill territory. If a student attends one of our workshops to learn more about how to use fonts effectively, should we force that student to worry about prior review?
Read MoreDecision-making continues long after a story posts
by Sarah Nichols, MJE
Does a story posted online lose value over time? Is it as important to our readers — and to our media organization — as it was when the story broke?
This important question was the editors’ first true test of the year in the student media program I advise. What first seemed like possible censorship led to a great discussion as they talked about whether to fulfill a request to remove a story posted almost exactly one year prior.
As with any scenario, I thought carefully about the factors when I got the call — in the middle of a different class period, an hour before heading out of town, shoveling down a Chobani as my only meal of the day. The editors responded to my text and said they would stop by in 15 minutes. How will the questions I pose shape their discussion, I wondered?
Read MoreBuilding a climate of trust can ease prior review
The newspaper staff of a small school sought me out at a national journalism conference a few years ago. Despite an informal of publishing with just the consultation of the adviser, the school’s principal now wanted to review the paper before it went to bed.
Although I didn’t agree with the principal’s decision, I knew why she put the new policy in place. I had already heard the story through the journalism teachers’ grapevine, but I had the students tell me their version.
“She said she doesn’t trust us any more.”
Fifth in a series
There was a trail of bad decisions on the part of the staff. The editors knew the package they were creating was around a hot-button issue (It doesn’t matter if it was about student drinking, smoking pot or engaging in unsafe sex — it’s all the same to some adults.), but instead of writing a fact-checked, balanced story, the editors decided to deliberately skew the student poll to make student engagement worse in the activity look worse than it actually was.
In large graphs. On the front page. Above the fold.
Their reasoning: “We knew there was a problem, and we wanted to get the word out. It seemed like a good idea.”
The staff broke some of the cardinal rules of journalism — what I call the ABCs; Be Accurate, Be Balanced, Be Clear.
In breaking those rules, the editors didn’t just break their trust with their principal but with their readers. Every story now looked suspect. Was the author “just trying to get a point across,” or was he accurately telling the truth in a balanced manner?
There was little balm I could offer the staff. Loss of trust is a big wound, and it takes time to heal. The staff would have to be extra diligent in its coverage from this time forward. All staffers wouldn’t just have to get their facts straight, but their spelling, grammar and syntax would have to be flawless.
I encouraged the staff to continue to take on important stories and show it had the skills and the good judgment to cover hard stories responsibly. The goal would be to these stories to rebuild trust with the administration and readers.
Then in six months, they could go back to the principal and show her proof that the staff was deserving of trust. If that didn’t work, then they should try it again in a year, in 18 months — as long as it took.
“Make it your mission,” I said. “Provide responsible journalism with no prior review. Be prepared that it may take time, but make it your legacy — even if it doesn’t happen this year.”
Should students be allowed to make mistakes? Certainly. Does the coach go on the field with a football player during the game to “make sure” he doesn’t drop the ball? Never. But the fact is, private schools and schools in Hazelwood states face a higher scrutiny.
With a strong foundation of trust and thoughtful storytelling, staffs and administrators can build a win-win policy. Together.
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It doesn’t matter if you’re attending a private or religious school or one in a Hazelwood state — you can have a publication with high-quality journalism that speaks to your students. In a future post, we’ll talk about strategies you can use when your principal or board digs in its heels in because it wants to “protect” the community.