Worth 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 MoreSocial Media Toolbox available to help those
considering, and using, social media in journalism
Marina Hendricks, a member of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission, has developed a “Social Media Toolbox” for use by student journalists and their advisers.
The toolbox, available at hendricksproject.wordpress.com, features 16 lessons on social media plus related resources. The lessons can be used as a unit or individually, depending on the needs of students, advisers and school publication programs.
As a unit, the lessons are designed to help student journalists and their advisers navigate the transition into using social media as part of their publication programs. The unit starts with ethical decision-making to help guide students through the process. It continues with exploration of reasons for using social media, consideration of how social media tools are employed by journalists, and evaluation of the school community’s use of social media through a survey.
Other lessons focus on legal issues, social media policies and roles, cyberbullying, reporting using social media, and tutorials for implementing popular tools such as Facebook and Twitter. The unit concludes by challenging students to design an educational program on social media for the school community.
This is a fantastic educational opportunity for students and teachers to determine the impact of social media in a scholastic journalism setting and for administrators and communities to see how they can support and enhance a journalistically strong – free and responsible – social media program.
Another resource for teaching verification
Looking for a way to help students understand the importance of verifying information before they break stories – no matter which platform they use?
Check out NewsU’s Sources, Verification and Credibility self-directed course.
In the course you will study:
- The characteristics of different forms of information, including news, advertising and public relations
- How to identify different types of sources
- How to evaluate the credibility of sources
- How to assess the credibility of websites
- Questions you should ask to ensure you’re publishing credible information.
As we saw this week, understanding the importance of verifying information and sources can be crucial to maintain credibility of our publications.
Like many of NewsU’s course, it is free. Like many of the courses, it is interactive.
* Note: So I am transparent, Candace Perkins Bowen developed the course.
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Thinking first or acting first? A journalistic dilemma
Lessons abound following the death this morning – and premature reports of it – of Penn State football legend Joe Paterno.
We raised the ethical question of print first versus verify first in October with our Ethical Guidelines for scholastic media, prepared in conjunction with JEA’s Digitial Media Committee.
Is it better to break news and correct as needed, or verify first and be sure of what you report?
Monday, when classes restart, we can only hope there will be significant discussion on all the ethical issues, as well of those of the available technology that bring those issues to the forefront.
For that class discussion, we would recommend the following links:
• How false reports of Joe Paterno’s death were spread and debunked
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/160270/how-false-reports-of-joe-paternos-death-were-spread-and-debunked/
• False paterno death reports highlight journalists’ hunger for glory
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/160277/false-paterno-death-reports-highlight-journalists-hunger-for-glory/
• College news site that misreported Jo Paterno death heralded as future of student media
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/160280/college-news-site-that-misreported-joe-paterno-death-heralded-as-future-of-student-media/
• What happened last night
http://onwardstate.com/2012/01/22/what-happened-last-night/
• The Paterno story: what went wrong
http://blog.breakingnews.com/post/16271185670/the-paterno-story-what-went-wrong
• Onward State Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/OnwardState
• The news and retractions of Joe Paterno’s death told through Storify
http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2012/01/22/the-news-and-retractions-of-joe-paternos-death-told-through-storify/
Whether we talk of the ethical or technological issues first, it should be abundantly clear we must also discuss the social responsibility role of the media with this story.
If we of scholastic media learn from those in commercial or citizen media, what we learn – and practice – must go beyond the how to include the why.
Read MoreLooking for your thoughts on what principals need to know about journalism
Suppose you were in the position to help administrators better understand journalism, its roles, its value and importance. What would you want to have available in the way of materials and information in the following areas:
• Certification and adviser training
• Curriculum
• Professional standards
• “Responsible journalism”
• Legal and ethical issues
• Newspaper/print journalism
• Yearbook journalism
• Broadcast journalism
• Online journalism
• Other
Help us put together packets for a major project to do just that. What worked with your administrators? What do you wish you had available?
Leave your comments here or open a discussion. We are looking for many points of view.
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