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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.
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by John Bowen, MJE
While JEA condemns attack on the Capitol Jan. 6, it also urged journalism teachers and advisers to continue facilitating fact-based journalism, especially of locally-related issues.
To help students and advisers with that coverage, The SPRC highlights information and ideas that can assist in exploring current events or national issues.
JEA commended journalism educators, president Sarah Nichols, MJE, said, for finding ways to engage students in class and through coverage.
“Courageous journalism informs us all and serves as a historical record. The reporting during and after such events underscores the importance of the work journalists do based on shared values of truth and justice,” Nichols said …”Knowing these actions were largely related to deep-rooted beliefs of hate and intolerance makes the attack all the more critical for us to address.”
Students, Nichols said, students have the right to cover the news; doing so is also their responsibility.
“JEA stands behind journalists exercising their First Amendment right to report and inform the public,” Nichols said. “Journalists must be able to do their jobs without fear of retribution or harm.”
Activities | lessons | and more
• Legal issues covering protests
• If covering protests, note these points
• Riding out the storm should entail future planning
• Protest and the First Amendment
• Tools of truth/Sloppy reporting lessons
• Stories students can best tell: Reporting protests, walkouts and marches
• Covering insurrection: Covering Insurrection: News Frames, Word Choice, & Whose Story to Tell. (online, free workshop)
• State capitols brace for right-wing violence; D.C. locks down ahead of inauguration
• Pushed to the edge by the Capitol riot, people are reporting their family and friends to the FBI
• Texas insurrectionist asks Trump for pardon
One last point. Student media prevented from covering, or prior reviewed by anyone outside the student media staff, on Jan. 6 related issues, please let the Student Press Law Center and us (the SPRC) know. Use the SPLC link and the Panic Button.
Questioning 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 MoreWho owns student content?
Students were back wherever their classes meet after the first of January when questions began on JEA’s listserv about who owned publication content, specifically images, in student media.
Responses came, saying the school did; the publication did and student journalists did. Reasons and answers varied widely.
JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee several years ago, as well as the Student Press Law Center, published insight and options to guide decisions ownership decisions.
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.
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