Building student media foundations
with policy and ethics
Help with crafting policies
and ethical guidelines for student media
This project is a two-fold effort to combine policy, ethics and staff manual procedure into an integrated process where policy sets the stage for ethical guidelines and ethical guidelines shape staff manual procedure.
Our interest in developing the project began when we found several instances when a school administrator in a potential censorship situation wanted to enforce — even punish — students for not following ethics statements because policy, ethics and staff manual points were all intermixed in a common document that the school administrator presumed he had the authority to enforce based on his interpretation.
Hence, our work ties the three elements together – principle, process and procedure – but as statements that separately outline the ideas behind what staffs do.
- This means “principle” is a student media policy.One approved at the board level is best and should be simple and straightforward, acknowledging the media are designated forums of student expression, where students make final content decisions. (See examples following)
Lacking that approval, a similar editorial policy at the publication level is useful, too, because, according to court decisions, operating as a designated public forum in practice is also a good way to protect student free speech rights.
- The “process” is the ethical guidelines. Unlike laws, ethical situations are right vs. right dilemmas and not right vs. wrong. Ethical guidelines are recommendations and thus cannot be broken as laws can. These guidelines help students decide how they operate on a daily basis, and their application is left in the hands of the students.
- The “procedure” is the staff manual, the specific actions and processes the staff uses regularly – how letters are handled, what happens when a source wants to be anonymous – all the things that ensure a staff operates in a professional and credible manner. These also are exclusively enforced by the student staff itself.
The idea is not to dictate policy, ethics guidelines or staff manual models but to provide a menu of items student staffs can choose.
For example, five editorial policy models are part of this project, four for board-level policies and one for a publication-level editorial policy.
All stress student media should be “designated public forums for student expression where students make all content decisions without prior review by school officials.”
[pullquote]Five editorial policy models are part of this project, four for board-level policies and one for a publication-level editorial policy.
All stress student media should be “designated public forums for student expression where students make all content decisions without prior review by school officials.”[/pullquote]
Students and advisers can then add from a separate menu of ethical guidelines and staff manual procedures. Each ethical principle offers staff manual suggestions that stem from its premise.
This separates what must be followed – the board-approved policy – from all the other guidelines, practices and procedures that may change some from year to year and staff to staff. By doing this, staffs can shape their media with roadmaps they have devised.
Resources
Ethics codes are invaluable in student journalism, but not as a guide for punishment, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
• For a sitemap of inclusive materials, go here.
• To go to How to Use the List of Ethics and Staff manuals, go here.
• Go here for a list of General Resources.
Policy model 2
Policy 2: [NAME OF SCHOOL] student media are designated public forums in which students make all decisions of content without prior review from school officials.
Freedom of expression and press freedom are fundamental values in a democratic society. The mission of any institution committed to preparing productive citizens must include teaching these values and providing a venue for students to practice these values, both by lesson and by example.
As preservers of democracy, our schools shall protect, encourage and enhance free speech and the exchange of ideas as a means of protecting our American way of life.
[NAME OF MEDIA] and its staff are protected by and bound to the principles of the First Amendment and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various laws and court decisions implementing those principles.
Comment: Again, this board-level model policy removes process details from being points of board action or meddling. It also introduces educational and philosophical language to give administrators insight into and understanding of why student media do what they do. It can aid in community understanding and support of the forum process.
This policy is slightly longer because it adds philosophical wording to support the decision-making without review. This policy could be effective at the board level because it allows others points to be explained in the ethics guidelines and staff manuals.
Designated forum: This language (designated forum in policy or practice) should be included in policies at board or publication level because all public forums are designated either by action or inaction (unless the board clearly says otherwise). Being silent as students operate as a forum is really permitting a designated forum
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Read MorePolicy model 1
Policy 1: [NAME OF SCHOOL] student media are designated public forums in which students make all decisions of content without prior review by school officials.
Comment: This contains only the basic statement of journalistic responsibility. It is usable at the board level to outline the basic principles of external oversight, leaving the process to other internal packages, like ethics guidelines and staff manuals. This removes from consideration the possibility of board attempts to change process-oriented direction.
A short statement like this clearly establishes the principles and responsibilities that guide all other statements. With no prior review added to it, it has the three crucial points in a policy: (1) designated public forum status in which (2) students make all final decisions regarding content and (3) do so without prior review. Decisions on matters such as letters, bylines, staff disciplinary actions, coverage of death and more are best detailed in ethical guidelines and staff manuals.
Designated forum: This language (designated forum in policy or practice) should be included in policies at board or publication level because all public forums are designated either by action or inaction (unless the board clearly says otherwise). Being silent as students operate as a forum is really permitting a designated forum.
Return to sitemap.
Read MoreGeneral resources for Policy and Ethics
in Student Media
Resources listed here can provide additional information for ethics and staff manual development, as well as assistance for your journalism students and program.
Organizations
American Society of News Editors
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Journalism Education Association
—Scholastic Press Rights Committee
National Association of Broadcasters
National Press Photographer’s Association
National Scholastic Press Association
Radio Television Digital News Association
Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press
Society of Professional Journalists
Publications/Media
Principals Guide to Scholastic Journalism
Press Rights Minute, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
Individuals
Ethics Codes
Articles and materials
Yearbook Ethical Guidelines, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
Students, the First Amendment and the Supreme Court, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
Fighting FERPA With Facts, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
Foundations for Scholastic Journalism, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
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Evaluating and critiquing content
Ethical guidelines
Students should engage in a consistent and ongoing process to evaluate content of their student media. Open, constructive, robust and healthy newsroom dialogue plays a vital role in a publication’s ongoing development. Evaluating and critiquing content helps students to reflect on the process and outcome and allows them to identify areas for improvement. Such reflection is also critical to the overall learning process and mastery of journalistic skills.
Staff manual process
Students should build an evaluation process into the publication cycle. The process should reflect regular input from all segments of the publication’s audience, continually taking into account who is underserved. Students should consider coverage in terms of who was affected by it, outcomes and lessons learned. This process should also include a brainstorming session that considers how to apply these lessons in the future.
Suggestions
Student editors should lead the evaluation process, seeking feedback from all media staff members. Questions to consider during this process could include:
- How are sources depicted? Are they quoted accurately and fairly? Are they depicted without bias? Do they authentically represent the audience?
- Does coverage include anything that wasn’t really there?
- Does coverage deceive the audience in any way?
- Does coverage reflect any stereotypes? Does it make assumptions?
- Does coverage reflect transparency about reporting methods and motives?
- What is missing from the coverage? Is any follow-up necessary? If so, what will that look like?
- Does coverage reflect humility and honesty about the limits of knowledge?
Resources
Lesson: News Literacy and the Publication Staff, Journalism Education Association
Audio: Evaluating And Critiquing Content, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission, Press Rights Minute
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