When law and ethics and good journalism combine
PART 2 OF a 3-PART SERIES
An experienced Ohio newspaper adviser teams up with a former student — who now has a law degree — to teach the staff about using public records. An alleged rape on campus requires student editors to stand their ground accessing information about it. Once they have details about the incident, they have to decide just what they should – or maybe should not – use. It’s a tale that has all the makings of excellent reporting.
The incident
An unexpected faculty meeting 10th period in mid-September. Police in the halls earlier in the day. All the students at Shaker Heights High School were talking, but the journalism students were more than curious.
“When I came back (to the journalism room) after the meeting, I told them I was forbidden to talk about it,” adviser Natalie Sekicky said. “Yes, there was an incident. Yes, something happened. But we have to be sensitive.”
Read MoreWhen law and ethics and good journalism combine
PART 1 OF a 3-PART SERIES
An experienced Ohio newspaper adviser teams up with a former student — who now has a law degree — to teach the staff about using public records. An alleged rape on campus requires student editors to stand their ground accessing information about it. Once they have details about the incident, they have to decide just what they should – or maybe should not – use. It’s a tale that has all the makings of excellent reporting.
The backstory
Journalism teacher Natalie Sekicky admits she’s lucky. Anyone with a full teaching load and student media to advise can usually only dream about being able to put staffers in teams and work with them as they investigate complicated, in-depth stories.
But then Sekicky’s former editor-in-chief Emily Grannis, a college journalism major, started giving “quick lessons” about record requests to the J1 classes while she was home on breaks. When she entered a nearby law school, she said she was able to work “more formally” with the Shaker Heights students.
Read MoreFAPFA award application deadline is Dec. 1
by John Bowen
Applications are now available for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award (FAPFA).
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 MoreTinker Tour theme opens at OSMA
As Gabby, the Tinker Tour bus, wheeled into town for a stop at Kent State University Oct. 1, we became aware of another way to celebrate Mary Beth Tinker, Mike Hiestand and the myriad of student journalists, their advisers and families who endorse and support the idea that the Constitution and the right of free expression applies to students.
With lyrics and music created by SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte, performed by California’s Carlsbad High School Chamber Singers, filmed and edited by the school’s television students, the song premiered immediately following Tinker’s keynote presentation at the Ohio Scholastic Media Association’s Region 1 Conference.
Interact with the Tinker Tour on Twitter @tinkertour and follow them online here.
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Accountability in journalism: What does it mean for student journalists?
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
LESSON PLAN: Quick hits: questions for online discussion, inclusion in staff policies: The buzzword accountability. What does it mean?
In this lesson, students will discuss three questions:
• For what should journalists (commercial and scholastic) be accountable?
• How do we define accountable?
• How can we convince others this is the best definition?
The discussion will lead toward the development of positions and process for a staff manual
Summative evaluation tool: Student created product
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.5b
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Critical thinking, collaboration
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Handouts, software for desktop publishing (online or computer installed), examples of magazines, yearbooks and newspapers
Length of the Lesson: 45 minutes
Evaluation tools:
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson:
In answering the questions, students will read this online article:
• Trustworthy journalism in a fact-checking-free world
http://craigconnects.org/2013/07/trustworthy-journalism-in-a-fact-checking-free-world.html#.UfGLjCOf7EM.twitter
They will also note this question from the article as a focal point of their work:
“Any news outlet that wants to succeed must be trustworthy, that is, accountable.”
Lesson details:
Break students into small groups and have the students discuss these questions:
• How would you define responsibility in terms of scholastic journalism?
• For what journalists be accountable?
• How should journalists define accountability?
• How should scholastic journalists define accountability?
The whole class will discussion each group’s definitions and positions and work to reach agreement.
As they do this, they will develop a position statement and a process to express the position for their staff manual.
Hints for points they could raise:
–relevance
–context
–perspective
–attribution
–ethics
–attribution
–accuracy
–truth
–facts
–diverse views
–complete
–thorough
–coherent
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