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Celebrate Free Speech Week,
show it means something real
Free Speech Week starts Monday, Oct. 19 and continues through Oct. 25.
Let’s show the nation it means something to scholastic journalism, its students and advisers.
According to information from the its website, Free Speech Week (FSW) is a yearly event to raise public awareness of the importance of free speech in our democracy- and to celebrate that freedom. As freedom of speech is a right all American’s share, this non-partisan, non-ideological event is intended to be a unifying celebration.
SPRC suggestions include:
• Publish at least one substantive story across platforms this week that show students who practice free speech to make final content decisions perform intelligently and act journalistically responsible, no matter how controversial the topic
• Reach out to some part(s) of your communities and show them how and why free speech guidelines are important, not only for publishers but for audiences
• Invite community members, from students to adults in and out of school, to sessions where students decide content to be published so these observers can see the thought and principles that go into decision-making.
• Follow links to the FSW Social Media Badge used to the left and/or the FSW logo and display your active support.
Scholastic media can also become partners with FSW and display badges like the one at the start of this article and others. Click here to find out how.
In fact, try to get your whole school to partner and display the social media badge o FSW logo.
You can find other celebration suggestions on the Celebration Ideas 
webpage.
Click on the image to the right to find free speech and expression quotes for personal use.
Read MoreDiverse thinking, open eyes key
to pursuing Hazelwood legislation
by Stan Zoller, MJE
Ah, fall.
Football, the World Series, Homecoming, and Halloween are all traditions and events synonymous with autumn.
There seems, however, to be another occurrence that becomes front and enter as the leaves change color: Drives for legislation that gives scholastic journalists that opportunity to practice uninhibited free and responsible journalism.
Call it what you want — Freedom of Express Legislation, Student Press Right Legislation, Education Readiness or First Amendment Preservation – but the reality is the outcome is the same. Overturn Hazelwood.
[pullquote]The success in North Dakota has apparently infused other states with a surge of energy and interest in hitting the state house. SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte reports that efforts or interest in legislation are under way in New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Florida and Illinois.[/pullquote]
The success in North Dakota has apparently infused other states with a surge of energy and interest in hitting the state house. SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte reports that efforts or interest in legislation are under way in New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Florida and Illinois.
LoMonte notes that efforts to sway state lawmakers away from Hazelwood need to be carefully planned when it comes to substance and methodology. A key, he notes, is to make sure the game plan is diverse. While the effort puts scholastic journalism front and center, it’s important key to show how legislation benefits journalism as a whole.
Is there a magic formula that will guarantee passage? Of course not. The Illinois Journalism Education Association’s Legislation Committee, for example, will look at multiple parts to the equation that need to be put into place. While it’s essential, and this is not rocket science, to find supportive legislators, the best place to start is at home. For example, reaching out to your local legislators is a good idea because they should have a vested interest in working with their constituency.
And while there is comfort in working with peers that you are familiar with, such as other journalism educators, we’ll be looking to establish a broad and diverse base of support. In addition to soliciting the support of scholastic press associations (SPAs), organizers of legislative efforts should, LoMonte says, look at allied journalism groups as well. Collegiate press associations as well as professional media organizations should be included as well. Gaining support from stakeholders who will benefit from well-rounded scholastic journalists will hopefully show legislators that there is a long-term benefit to the bill and that the intent s pro-active and not merely s reaction to a specific issue, school or administrator.
When identifying the aforementioned organizations, the IJEA Legislation Committee will also consider the audiences they serve. Collegiate organizations should, for example, should include those that serve both two-year and four-year schools. Utilizing student chapters of associations like the Society of Professional Journalists, maintain a not only student connection, but a link to professional journalism as well.
[pullquote]Remember those parents who used to bring pizza to layout? They can be a resource as well.[/pullquote] Remember those parents who used to bring pizza to layout? They can be a resource as well. Don’t expect all of your former students to jump on board, because they won’t. Those who do, however, can be independent voices of support.
One thing we’ll be doing in Illinois is encouraging advisers to contact alumni — but not just those working in journalism. Former students who may work in other professions such as public relations, and law for example can not only provide support, but also resources and possibly pro-bono services to aid your efforts.
Sound like a daunting task? It is and it is one that will require you and your committee to keep your eyes wide open for diverse support, ideas, and perhaps most importantly — patience.
In the long run, however, it will be worth the effort.
Read MoreStudent journalists report on Genius Girl story that goes viral
The student journalists at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology knew the story that was going viral in the public media about a student from their school needed to be told from the inside by the people who knew the real story.
The story of the ‘Genius Girl’ from TJHSST moved through public media including the Washington Post, not far from their school. According to the Washington Post, the story was actually a hoax, perpetrated by the student. The student promoted that she had been accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, but in the end, the real story showed that the student had fabricated much of the hype herself. Her peers took on the challenge and reported the story. They interviewed the principal and also others about societal pressure to make the grade.
According to their adviser, Erinn Harris, ” My students didn’t even know where to start in telling this story. A senior forged college acceptances, creating an uproar that was covered in the local, national and international press; we didn’t know what to do, but we knew we needed to do something. In their continuing coverage that began in June, students don’t plan to focus on the “Genius Girl,” but rather the social, cultural and academic stress that drove her to deceive her entire community. The goal is to keep students from feeling the kind of pressure that would lead them to making such drastic and life-altering decisions.”
Their initial story appears here: “Genius Girl” should spark conversation about academic pressure
Check out their website for more coverage in the coming year.
Read MoreFrom mission to manual: Fitting the pieces into a strong Foundation
Part 4 of a series on pieces of the journalism puzzle: fitting the pieces into a strong foundation
The four pieces soft the journalistic puzzle – mission statement, editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual – complement each other in a way to show student participants and community members what they can expect.
Taken together, they lead journalists to carry out their key roles, information gathering, thorough interviewing, observing, researching and leadership.
Mission statements outline values and role.
Policies – board- and media- levels – dictate what principles focus the student media.
Ethical guidelines establish guides to apply the principles.
Staff manual procedures frame daily steps necessary to complete the beliefs, attitudes and standards of each of the previous points.
In the end you truly can have a package.
To help evaluate and discuss student media roles now and in the future, examine this exercise.
Part 1: Build a strong foundation
Part 2: Careful preparation creates strong mission statements
Part 3: Points to avoid in mission statements
Points to avoid in mission statements
Part 3 of a series on pieces of the journalism puzzle: mission pieces to omit
by John Bowen
As with any guiding statement, unclear, undefineable or imprecise wording can lead to misinterpretation of intended principles.
Thus, we would suggest mission statements do not include these terms:
- Entertain(ment). To make this a major point of your mission in some ways limits expectations of what you can be. Engagement suggests audience involvement in more ways than just entertainment, as do other points, and is a much safer term to use.
- Responsible (without explanation to what). The question here is responsible to whom and for what. School officials historically have a different definition than journalists do for what is responsible. If you have to use it, specify what journalistic responsibilities you hold essential.
- Accountable (without explanation to what or who). This parallels responsible. Accountability can be and is important, but it also has to be paired with other points. For example, being accountable for the truth as best you can find it and for accuracy is different than just being accountable for mistakes.
- Excellence (without explanation to what). Excellence is a term we debated quite a bit. What excellence is and how it is determined, the committee decided, is included in other, more specific, principles.
Part 1: Build a strong foundation
Part 2: Careful preparation creates strong mission statements
Part 4: Fitting the pieces into a strong Foundation