Questioning Authority
Fallout from the 2020 election expands into a second impeachment trial. Mobs attack the Capital raising charges of unAmerican activity and sedition. Questions of whether not wearing masks and large groups partying extend our national pain of a nearly year-old pandemic.
It is certain scholastic media will address plenty of issues. Just recently Facebook and other digital media addressed questions about obsolescence of objectivity: Could it be obsolete? What does that mean for the emergence of advocacy reporting? Could media roles change? Should they?
Questions concern revision of ethical standards: to reflect guidelines that apply to the newest tools journalists use.
Questions would tackle takedown of published information and the potential impact of deleting historical memory.
Read MoreQuestioning Authority:
Journalists must no longer share just the what. We must provide the WHY
by Candace Bowen, MJE
It’s not just what we tell people. It’s more than ever the WHYords are powerful. And teachable moments are a gift. No one knows that better than journalism teachers. So, when crowds descended on the Capitol Wednesday (note the words I used here), I wasn’t the only one thinking about how to discuss this with my reporting students. But exactly how can I best do that?by Candace Bowen, MJE
Words are powerful. And teachable moments are a gift. No one knows that better than journalism teachers. So, when crowds descended on the Capitol Wednesday (note the words I used here), I wasn’t the only one thinking about how to discuss this with my reporting students. But exactly how can I best do that?
Read MoreA short wish list for Santa from your journalism students
by Cyndi Hyatt
Dear Santa,
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m not sure what the COVID-19 cases look like up at the North Pole, but I would hope that you, Mrs. Claus, the reindeer and the elves have been maintaining social distance and wearing your masks (unlike too many of my fellow Americans).
I imagine you have had to make some serious modifications to your workshop for toy making. Hey, if you are down to 50 percent capacity in the factory, we could all be in for a big letdown this year. (I’m thinking this could be a great story, though…)
But that’s not why I am writing you today.
This year has been terrible, as you well know, but I have a short wish list for this holiday that would cheer me (and a lot of my fellow journalists) up a lot. If you could even fill one of these asks I would be super-grateful. Some of my wishes may take a lot of creative thinking and maybe even strong-arming to make happen, but you’ve got a lot on your side: magic and clout.
Please know, Santa, that I am not a selfish person; everything I am asking for is not just for me – just trying to say I want to share the holiday goods. And what’s the worst you can do? Say no?
- I would like you to bring an end to the term “fake news” in 2021. Frankly, I am sick of hearing it and I’m not really sure what it means. I do know that it is language to demoralize and vilify honest student journalists like myself. What I do every day is based on the desire to tell a true story. I use a code of ethics and the First Amendment as my guides. I don’t lie or fabricate what I write. Sure, sometimes people don’t agree with what I have written, but by no means is it fake. Jeez! Can you do something about that term, Santa?
- Sometimes my principal wants to see what we students are writing or producing ahead of time because he is afraid it may make our school look bad. Can you please send him a copy of the Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism and a copy of the Tinker case? He’s a nice guy but he doesn’t know squat about what my rights and responsibilities as a student journalist. And maybe he will back off some once he actually reads these documents and realizes their importance.
- Do you have access to anything that opens people’s eyes and minds? If so, I would like you to give a vial (or whatever that may come in) to all the state legislators in the nine states that have active New Voices campaigns running. Maybe they can then be able to see the value of a protected free student press and know that with a trained and able adviser, student journalists can be trusted with First Amendment freedoms.
I said I would keep my list short, but I have one more wish…
- Can you score me an interview with President-elect Biden? That would make me soooo popular at school and may enhance my chances of winning Student Journalist of the Year.
Thanks, Santa, for reading my letter. Stay well – stay masked.
Sincerely,
Stu Dentpress
Freedom Grove, PA
PS – You may want to lay off those cookies and milk this year. Obesity is a risk factor for COVID-19.
Read MoreShould it stay or should it go?
by Teresa Scribner, CJE
After spending 17 years in the newspaper industry as a visual journalist, I feel like I have a solid grasp on leaving my personal beliefs at the door when I walk into a newsroom. For years, I bit my tongue on politics, religion and reality TV. Being able to compartmentalize has served me well – first in the industry and now as a teacher.
I’m four months into my ninth year of teaching, and it has taken years to teach my students how to set aside their personal beliefs when they are covering their peers. But what happens when the one thing you try to teach your students comes back to bite you in the worst way?
In 2020 P.C. (Pre-COVID), I had two alums from our school reach out to me asking if I could remove a story from our website. Both students cited their growth since high school and their fear of future employers seeing the stories during an Internet search. Both students acknowledged that the written stories were accurate, but now that they were college students, those stories were no longer an accurate portrayal of who they are today.
Just a few weeks ago, another student emailed asking if I could remove her photo from a graduation video that had been up since June. Why now? What was I to do?
Just a few weeks ago, another student emailed asking if I could remove her photo from a graduation video that had been up since June. Why now? What was I to do?
I’ve seen several teachers pose this same question in the journalism teachers group on Facebook. What do you do when former students want you to remove them from stories published long ago?
My first instinct was to trust my news judgement gut. The stories were accurate. My student journalists had provided solid, well-researched stories. We had media waivers on file for all of the students we used. All of our bases were covered.
And then my teacher’s light switched on. The story in question was about non-Black students using the n-word. What if my refusal to remove these stories cost my former students their dream job? What if they wanted to be on the Supreme Court, and these stories came up as they sat for their confirmation hearings? Would it be my fault if these kids couldn’t get a job?
Some of the responses on the Facebook page went with what would be best for the students, while others suggested editing the old stories to remove references or unflattering images. I ultimately decided to remove the student’s name from the story, even though it had been in the digisphere for more than six years. And if you do a search for the story, the student’s name will still pop up, although their name isn’t in the story anymore.
Why did I do it?
As for the other two students: one of them was a former staff member who didn’t want their byline on a story they deemed used “horrible language.” The other student claimed they did not give us permission to use their photo in a video, even though we had a copy of their media waiver on file. In both of these instances, I did not honor their requests.
The short answer is, “people change.” I knew this former student had gone on to become a star student in college and had even offered to come back to the school to run a program for students of color. When they first approached me, they insisted on talking on the phone and not over email so that they could sincerely express their regret in using the n-word. And I believed them.
Now, will it earn them a spot on the Supreme Court? I don’t know. But I do feel better about my decision knowing this student had learned from their past behavior.
As for the other two students: one of them was a former staff member who didn’t want their byline on a story they deemed used “horrible language.” The other student claimed they did not give us permission to use their photo in a video, even though we had a copy of their media waiver on file. In both of these instances, I did not honor their requests.
Neither one of these students, in my opinion, had offered a compelling argument beyond their “I-don’t-like-it” approach.
Some may see this as unfair; why do it for some and not for others. For me, the answer was easy. These two students would still be able to get a job if someone were to ever see what it was they were complaining about. The student who wanted to be removed from the video had no complaints about being included in the virtual graduation video or in the yearbook.
I do not know if there is a right answer, but it may serve you well to think about having a policy in place.
Riding out the storm should involve future planning
Scholastic media have important information to convey, this year probably more than ever. In far too many communities, school media are the only source of such information in a news desert created when local and sometimes even larger newspapers have folded in recent years. As we work our way through the storm that is 2020, student-run journalism should learn to anticipate what’s coming next, and how to avoid negative impact.
Part 2 of multiple parts
by John Bowen, MJE
For most high schools, school looms in the coming weeks when students – and advisers – face more of what 2020 can throw at them. Already this fall, journalism programs have faced unforeseen challenges.
• In a state with freedom of expression legislation, student journalists withstood threats demanding prior review, which is often not prohibited by state legislation. The school’s superintendent came to the students’ defense, explaining protection for student free expression.
• In a state trying to pass free expression legislation, school officials made even stronger threats of prior review when students and community members publicized school actions.
• In another state, student photographers were suspended for taking photos of students crowded in a hallway. Most students pictured did not wear masks. Within a week the school faced increasing numbers of those testing positive. School officials also lifted two students’ suspensions for taking the photos.
• During protests earlier this summer, student journalists found themselves targets of police and federal agents as they attempted to cover national events for local perspectives.
Such challenges will continue.
To stay ahead of problems, students can learn to anticipate plan to avoid problems. Such preventative decision-making and problem-solving builds ethical fitness.
Issues student journalists likely will focus around these:
• As the numbers affected by virus continue remain news, scholastic journalists will face questions about how they report it and related local issues:
–How will HIPAA and FERPA affect reporting of Covid-19 related student issues? Should student-run media try to identify those who tested positive?
–How will journalists handle sources’ requests concerning privacy? How much will your students inform their communities about journalism and privacy?
–What are student rights and responsibilities concerning visual reporting of those involved in massless participation in music, sports event and more. Think photography in crowded hallways.
–What will your audiences need to know about the virus and its effects on education issues, stories your students can do better than anyone else.
–Who speaks most authoritatively on Covid-19 and fallout that surrounds it?
• Election reporting and student media:
–Will your students run political candidate or issue ads, nationally and locally? Some administrators claim student media cannot to that. Research and determine the staff’s view on endorsements and their legality. Check out SPLC’s guidance. Perhaps students don’t want to deal with endorsement. What are pros-cons of that choice?
How will your students report the national election, one on which, some say, will determine the future of democracy in the United States? Should they emphasize the locally important issues? Focus on what voters need to know and the myriad questions that can follow? Would they run only viewpoint pieces?
Questions to help anticipate potential areas of conflict in this time of change
–How would your students explain choosing not to run such ads?
–How will your students report the national election, one on which, some say, will determine the future of democracy in the United States? Should they emphasize the locally important issues? Focus on what voters need to know and the myriad questions that can follow? Would they run only viewpoint pieces?
–How can, or should they factcheck candidates’ claims? What is your obligation to the truth? What is the obligation to call out lies?
–How far will student media go to expose source and information falsity? Is it ethical to plainly call a source a liar?
–What roles, if any, will objectivity, verification, credibility, integrity and knowledge play. Oh, and those are for reporter, columnist and editors as well as sources.
—What ethical planning might student journalists have to make for visual reporting standards when reporting on BLM and protests, police reform and more? For example, should ethical guidelines be changed when identifying protestors, or other participants, to protect their identities.
–How do you determine whose information to cite? Do you have a process to do that? Which student staffers have final say on publishing questionable materials? How do you define questionable? This and this and this and this.
— How good is this story? Professor William Taylor drilled this motto into us in journalism classes: “It isn’t right until it is right.” Who decides what right entails? Right for whom? What’s right: facts, context, implication, perspectives?
–Can voters count on the information to be complete and cohesive enough to cast an informed vote (and we will share more about this in another blog when we look at prior review and restraint and the roe of administrators concerning student media.
—Can/should high school media do this kind of reporting? Why and how? And this.
• Reporting the truth as best you can find it:
–How do you define “responsible?” What is “Responsible Journalism” and who sets the meaning? It is quite common to find a variety of definitions, and that can cause problems. because the term has become a buzzword for control and censorship.
—Is objectivity the gold standard for news journalism? What does it mean; what does it mean in the school setting? Could a photographer also be a “cheerleader,” supporting the team while performing news functions from the sidelines? Is it possible, and this and this.
–How do student journalists choose terminology accurate about other cultures, the economy, education, religion? When is a terrorist not a terrorist?
–To what degree can prior review and restraint alter the truth and accuracy of information? Do voters receive accurate, factual, complete and coherent information upon which to make intelligent, informed decisions?
–What does censorship teach students and adults about whether what they learn about civic engagement, petition and duty is different from reality? What do they do about that new fact?
—What are journalists’ roles now and in the future? How do we help student media be prepared for the changing journalism landscape?
The first piece of this series on preparing student journalists to face change affecting how they complete their obligations and mission. we referred to the “perfect storm” mixing in to a “seething atmosphere of political unease” to go with the virus, protests and the election.
This blog, second in the series, Riding out the storm, is designed to raise questions about additional ethical training student media need. Student journalists can become more adept at anticipating changes to scholastic media and communities it serves, and and in creating alternatives to.
Communities, student and adult, can then take the information they need to factually engage and build desirable futures.
Alone, each of these issues could deeply stress scholastic journalism’s ethical framework. Together, engaging issues and alternatives, we can craft a path to ultimately unify scholastic journalism’s foundation: mission statement, editorial policy, ethical guidelines and application process.
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