A class activity to learn
both law AND ethics

Posted by Candace Bowen on Nov 2, 2015 in Blog, Ethical Issues, Legal issues, News, Scholastic Journalism, Teaching | 0 comments

by Candace Bowen
“The first lesson she asked me to teach is lawnethics,” the excited student teacher said, adding more slowly, “But now I’m not exactly sure what that is….”

Sadly, she wasn’t alone in a class of education majors who would soon be licensed to teach journalism in a large Midwestern state. In fact, ask some teachers already in the classroom, ask their principals, and, while they would know it’s not all one word, they might be hard pressed to explain the difference between LAW and ETHICS.

But not knowing the difference makes it difficult to teach these two concepts effectively. They are separate fields, though they do overlap in theory and practice, and plenty of journalistic situations require us to assess both legal and ethical components.

So let’s look at them carefully. The simplistic definition says, “Law tells us what we COULD do, and ethics helps us decide what we SHOULD do.” Other definitions point out laws are passed by governing bodies of a town, state or country and breaking a law has specified consequences. In other words, you can be punished for not following the rules.

Ethics, on the other hand, is more about an individual or team process to arrive at the best way to act for the situation. According to the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, “Ethical questions arise most typically in cases where there is genuine puzzlement about what should be done in various types of situations. There is usually some practical importance or urgency to such questions. Is it ethical for journalists to reveal their sources to the courts, despite their promises of confidentiality? Is it ethical of journalists to invade the privacy of politicians to investigate allegations of unethical conduct?”

It’s impossible to spell out all the ethical options because situations constantly change, and what works in one situation may be wrong in another that’s somewhat similar. Journalists need guidelines to help them make ethical decisions, but hard and fast rules won’t always work.

That’s why so many organizations have ethical guidelines that are flexible. Read the SPJ Code of Ethics: Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently and Be Accountable and Transparent. It says nothing about firing a journalist for using an unnamed source or setting up an undercover sting, but the bullet points under each of these main tenets give the media some guidelines.

The Principals Guide to Scholastic Journalism also helps explain the difference between law and ethics and includes an extensive list of links to valuable resources.

Experienced journalism educators usually find it more effective to teach legal issues first, then ethical, because that’s the approach journalists take in the real world. What COULD we do? Would we be libeling someone if we printed that? If it’s illegal, go no further. But legal situations may have ethical implications. SHOULD we use the victim’s name? What about the accused? Both names? Neither name?

JEA’s law and ethics curriculum follows that same organization (for JEA members only). Even the three-week module handles the First Amendment, court cases, unprotected speech (libel, copyright, invasion of privacy), reporter’s privilege, FERPA, FOIA, before “Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should” and additional ethics approaches.

Copy shot provided by the artist

Hypotheticals are a one good way to get students to look at a situation’s legal and ethical issues, like this one about a piece of art and how the student newspaper could and should report it:

As an art class project, the teacher told her students to create a scratchboard drawing, either from imagination or using a photo as its basis. Tammy used a picture in a school board-approved book, The Family of Man, that depicted a woman balancing a basket on her head. The art teacher thought her finished product was wonderful and wanted to put it in a display case at the end of the art hallway, but she wasn’t sure she could — the woman was nude from the waist up. When the teacher asked the principal’s opinion, he said, no, don’t hang it in the hall. Tammy was furious and so were some of the newspaper staff when they heard the story. Would you cover this incident? How? As an editorial? A news story? Whom would you interview? Would you consider running a copy shot of the photo? What would the principal likely say? First, think about the legal issues — is it obscene? Is it a copyright violation? Any other possible laws you might break? If nothing is legally wrong, what about the ethics? What is your reason for running it? (Download the picture here)

Satire: Easy to confuse when used without context

Posted by John Bowen on Oct 29, 2015 in Blog, Ethical Issues, News, Scholastic Journalism, Teaching | 0 comments

by Tom Gayda
Aw, satire. So fun and entertaining when done well. How many times have I been taken aback for a second by an Onion headline? More than I care to share! Satire can be very powerful when done with purpose, but satire for the sake of satire often falls flat.

Model ethical guidelines for satire
Satire can make for entertaining writing, however two major points should be considered when discussing the inclusion of satire: 1: Will readers get “it?” and 2: Even if readers do get “it,” are you walking a fine line with the type of content expected of your publication and that which isn’t necessarily journalistic?

While there may be nothing inherently unethical about including satirical content in a student publication, is that the type of content the publication should be known for?

Consider this: does the nightly news ever take a segment for anchors to report on something that didn’t really happen? The back page of the Washington Post run Onion-like stories? Certainly there is a place for satire, but is the legitimate news source the correct place?

Staff manual process
Discuss the need for policies and information about satire depending on the type of media you are. While satire might be appropriate for a literary magazine or humor magazine, does it have a place in the newspaper or on the website?

Suggestions
• Satire can be an effective tool when writing an opinion piece. Consider limiting satire to the opinion pages, where it is clearly labeled opinion.

• Satire online can create issues. Consider a former student searching for school news and comes upon a satirical piece that isn’t obviously satirical by just Googling the school name. Is the desire to include satire in a legitimate news source worth the confusion? Is satire journalistic?
• Some schools produce special edition papers for April Fools Day. Imagine The New York Times doing the same. Hard to do, isn’t it? Why sacrifice the integrity of the paper for fun? Perhaps if satire is so important, the staff should produce a separate humor publication that doesn’t conflict with news. Staffs often think everyone will get the joke, but that’s not always the case. Further, the next time you do try to cover hard-hitting news the readers might think back to how you took everything as a joke the last issue.
• Spend time discussing what your role as a journalist is. Are you a trained satirical writer? Just as we would advise against horoscopes and advice columns as teens often aren’t qualified to provide such content, how does satire fit in with a serious journalistic program?

Resources
Introduction to Satire, JEA  
Avoiding Libel in Satire, JEA 
Ethics and Satire, JEA 
Satire Writing Tips 
How to Start Writing Satire

To find the rest of the Foundations ethical guidelines and more, go here and here.

Build a strong foundation by locking in
pieces of the puzzle called journalism

Posted by John Bowen on Sep 27, 2015 in Blog, Ethical Issues, Legal issues, News, Scholastic Journalism, Teaching | 0 comments

Part 1 of a series  on fitting the pieces of the journalism puzzle:
Knowing where to start

by Candace and John Bowen
Preparing student media for a new year often begins with design- and theme-planning. For a good number this includes summer workshops for training in reporting platforms, visual reporting approaches and the latest in apps and across-platform developments.

We hope such training also includes the basics of law and ethics. Often, we fear it does not.

Because we believe a basic understanding of legal and ethical issues is key to the puzzle of a successful year of sound journalistic media, we’d recommend the solid foundation of journalism basics to support the 2015-16 year and beyond.

Ensure students understand their legal rights and responsibilities before publication and provide them with activities and resources to prepare them for the rigors of publishing and decision-making.

Our training list to start the year and continue through it would be organized something like this:
• Outline the goals and mission of your student media
Like a road map, a goals and mission statement frames direction for student media. A mission statement presents the underlying principles student media adhere to. Goals suggest specific accomplishments used in following the mission. Both establish the how and why for students and communities alike. Like a road map, students may choose different paths from year to year but the outcome stays fixed: thorough, accurate and credible journalism.
Resources:
– New values (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute) 
– April Fool’s Editions, “Don’t be a fool” (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute) 
– Balance and objectivity (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute)
– The role of student media (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)
– The role of the adviser (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)
–  Mission statement development  (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)

– JEA Model Mission statement (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)

• Train staff and editors in legal principles across platforms
Even though students might embrace online media, legal and ethical basics provide a framework for digital media now and what is yet to come. While there might be some changes, the basics of unprotected speech and the importance of knowing legal background won’t change in the foreseeable future.
Resources:
– Law of Student Press, book from the Student Press Law Center, also available on Kindle
– Student Press Law Center
– JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
– Public forum overview (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism (Quill & Scroll and JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Legal Guides (Student Press Law Center)

• Ensure board- and/or publication-level policies are in place
Strong board of education level and publication editorial policies reinforce principles student media use to reach their mission. Strong and effective editorial policies, carefully worded, protect not only student media but also school systems if legal issues arise. Lack of careful wording is worse than no policy at all. Policies reflect the publication’s values and commitments. Ideally, the most effective policies establish student media as designated public forums, without prior review and where students make all content decisions.
Resources
– The Foundations of Journalism: policies, ethics and staff manuals (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Board of education- and publication level- models (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Board media policies (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute) 
– Why avoiding prior review is educationally sound (Quill & Scroll Principal’s Guide) 
– Eliminating prior review (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute)

• Train staff and editors in ethical principles across platforms
Even though students might embrace online media, ethical basics provide a compass for print and digital media now and for what is yet to come. Practice in and knowledge of ethical critical thinking provides principles for journalistically responsible reporting. Reinforcement of ethical practices builds student publications steeped in ethical fitness.

Resources:
– JEA Adviser Code of Ethics (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Online ethics guidelines for student media (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)
– Questions student staffs should discuss before entering the social media environment (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)
– SPJ Code of ethics (Society of Professional Journalists) 
– Critical thinking, ethics and knowledge-based practice in visual media (Journalist’s Resource)

• Establish, for online or print, a content verification process
While this might have been part of skills-oriented summer workshop training and practice, its importance goes without question. Verification, credibility, context and accuracy are the reporting cornerstones of journalism. Each is rooted in establishing a rigorous ethical process.
Resources:
– Planning and gathering information/producing content (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Getting it right (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute)
– Journalism as a discipline of verification (American Press Institute) 
– Verification (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee)

• Clarify who owns content
To avoid issues if someone tries to sell your yearbook content online or you want to sell photos, determine ahead of time who owns the content of student work. It’s important to plan this ahead of incidents.

Resources:
– Who Owns Student Content? (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
– Back to School: Who Owns What? (Student Press Law Center) 
– Contribution to Collective Work U.S. Copyright Office

• Develop guidelines for handing takedown demands if online
Fielding requests for takedown demands is increasingly a decision student media have to make, either from reporters after they have left school or from sources because they do not like the story. Choices are limited, and involve ethical thinking.

Resources:
–Takedown demands (JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee) 
–Responding to takedown demands (Student Press Law Center) 
–Takedown requests (JEA SPRC Press Rights Minute)

Without an understanding of rights and responsibilities – the “could we?” and “should we?” of producing media, staffs can have the most attractive layouts imaginable and captivating story-telling, but they could still make legal and ethical mistakes that would ruin their chance to produce anything else for their audience.

Part 1: Build a strong foundation
Part 2: Careful preparation creates strong mission statements
Part 3: Points to avoid
Part 4: Fitting the pieces into a strong Foundation

Celebrating Constitution Day

Posted by John Bowen on Aug 31, 2015 in Blog, Law and Ethics, News, Scholastic Journalism, Teaching | 0 comments

Title

Celebrating Constitution Day at your school.

Description

Host a school-wide Constitution Day at school by combining the efforts of the social studies, English and journalism teachers.

Objectives
• Students will learn more about the Constitution
• Students will explore how the Constitution fits with their daily lives
• Students will revisit the rights guaranteed by the Amendments.

Common Core State Standards

Length
One day

Materials / resources

Prior to the celebration:
Students should make banners that say Happy Constitution Day!” and hang them at entrances

Secure donations for prizes from local businesses.

Photocopy the card students will receive as they arrive

Submit the announcement to be read at the beginning of the day .

Have students create shirts, which read, “Happy Constitution Day!”

Get candy or other treats for students to pass out when people get the answer correct

Butcher paper

Crossword puzzle, “U.S. Constitution”

List of questions for students

Announcement:
Happy Constitution Day! We are celebrating Constitution Day today, Sept. 17 and we can’t wait for you to celebrate it with us. In addition to the quiz you received on your way into school today, you will be able to participate during lunch and in at least one of your classes. In addition, please look at the posters in the hall concerning how you could win a LOCAL BUSINESS gift card. You’ll also see several students with special T-shirts. If you answer their question correctly, you just might get a prize.

Photocopy the following:

Quiz for students entering school (delete answers prior to distribution)

Name _________________________

X hour teacher ________________

1. In what year was the Constitution ratified? (1788)
2. Name two of the signers of the Constitution. (many, see link)
3. How many Amendments are in the Bill of Rights? (10)
4. What is the subject of the first article of the Constitution? (Legislative branch)
5. Name one right guaranteed in the First Amendment. (religion, speech, press, assembly, petition)

Rules: We will randomly select the winner. The first quiz selected with all correct answers wins a LOCAL BUSINESS gift card.

Back: Info about photo scavenger hunt (see below).

Text for posters/Photo Scavenger Hunt

“Want a free burrito?”

Find examples of the Constitution in action and you might just get one. When you find an example, take a photo, write a caption and post to Twitter or Instagram using #YOURSCHOOLIDHEREcd2015. If you don’t have either a Twitter or Instagram, email your entry to YOUR MEDIA EMAIL HERE. Entries must be submitted by (SET TIME IN AFTERNOON) today to be eligible for the drawing. Two winners will be chosen randomly from all the entrants.

During Constitution Day:
• When students arrive:

Media students should hand out the information with the quiz on one side and the photo scavenger hunt on the other side

• Students who are wearing Constitution Day shirts:

Prior to the beginning of the day, distribute the list of questions and answers. When students approach the media students wearing the shirts, they should ask them one of the questions on the list. If the student answers correctly, they get a prize.

Questions (and answers):

1. What three words begin the Preamble? (We the people)
2. What three branches of governmental powers are outlined in the Constitution? (Legislative, Executive, Judicial)
3. How many Amendments are there to the Constitution? (27)
4. What Amendment guarantees freedom of speech? (First)
5. What Amendment guarantees freedom of press? (First)
6. What Amendment guarantees freedom of assembly? (First)
7. What Amendment guarantees freedom of religion? (First)
8. What Amendment guarantees freedom of petition? (First)
9. What Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure? (Fourth)
10. What Amendment abolished slavery? (13)
11. How old must you be to vote? (18)
12. Do you have to be a natural-born citizen to vote? (no)
13. What are the first 10 Amendments called? (Bill of Rights)
14. Where was the first Constitutional Convention? (Philadelphia)
15. Was the Equal Rights Amendment ratified? (no)
16. What year was the Constitution ratified? 1788, 1888 or 1988 (1788)
17. Did the Constitution go into effect before or after the French Revolution? (before)
18. True or false: You have to be legally an adult for the Constitution or its Amendments to apply to you. (false)

• Lunch activities

1. Hang five sheets labeled with each of the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. Ask students to write down one of their  favorite things about Constitution. You could give candy or some other treat to encourage participation.
2. Calligraphy station —  Ask for a community volunteer to run it.
3. Crossword puzzle — See resources

• English class activity options

Activity 1: Constitution content

Step 1 — 15 minutes

Teachers should ask students to get in groups of four. After this is done, project the following:

You find yourself stranded on an island with 15,000 people. The island has a semi-functioning society with most modern conveniences, but no way off. No electronic devices have coverage and there’s no 3D printer or boat manufacturer. A small group of four people have been tasked with creating a document to outline a basic government and the people’s rights. You have 10 minutes to do this. What would you include? Time starts now.

Step 2 — 5 minutes

Pass out copies of the Constitution. Ask students to highlight similarities in what they created and what was created years ago.

Step 3 — 5 minutes

Ask students to share their similarities and differences. Teacher (or another student) could make a list of these on the board.

Step 4 — 10 minutes

Ask students how the Constitution is still relevant today.

Activity 2:

What do all the Amendments mean?

Teacher preparation

Copy the Constitutional amendments and cut them into strips.

Also, have blank paper available for students

Step 1 — 5 minutes

Ask students to partner with another person in class. Then, ask students to randomly select one of the strips of paper.

Step 2 — 20 minutes

First, students should look up any work they don’t already know.

Then they should write the amendment using their own words.

Look up words you don’t know

Put the amendment in your own words

Provide an example

Make a poster (using the blank paper) the has the amendment in the students’ own words and example.

(Teacher could post these inside or outside the classroom.)

Step 3 — 10 minutes

Students should present their poster to the class.

Social Studies classes:

Pictionary

Prior to class:

Make a copy of the list below. Additionally, cut the clues into strips.

Step 1 — 5 minutes

Divide class into three teams. Each team sends one member to the front to draw a picture of the word or phrase. Each member of each team participates in turn. Drawers cannot speak, spell or use numbers. All three teams use the same word and act at the same time. The team to guess the word or phrase first wins one point.

The right to bear arms

Search warrant

Freedom of speech

The right to an attorney

Voting age of 18

All persons born in the US are citizens of the U.S.

Congress makes the laws

The President is the Commander-in-Chief

The President can veto a law.

The right to have witnesses testify for you in court.

The right to face your accuser and/or question witnesses against you.

The right to assemble peacefully

No cruel and unusual punishment

Slavery is forbidden.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

The right to petition the government

The Supreme Court can decide if laws are constitutional (“judicial review”)

Freedom of the press.

The president appoints judges.

The Constitution can be amended.

States have some powers reserved for them.

Freedom of religion

The right to trial by jury

Government cannot discriminate based on race (“equal protection of the law”)

Each state has 2 senators.

The federal government makes money (the states cannot make money)

Building journalistic foundations:
Adviser’s Institute session materials

Posted by John Bowen on Jul 8, 2015 in Blog, Law and Ethics, News, Scholastic Journalism, Teaching | 0 comments

Members of the Scholastic Press Rights Commission presented this material July 13 at the JEA Advisers Institute In Las Vegas.

No matter what platform you use, the choice of an editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual can make or break your student media – and consistency is very important.

What you select, and why, does make a difference.

Along with the newest in digital tools and storyforms, training for a new year and new staff  should include basics in law and ethics, especially development of editorial  policies and staff manuals.

To ensure students understand these legal and ethical foundations before publication, especially with the new roles, we recommend advisers and student staffs do the following:
• Outline goals and mission for your student media
• Train your editors and staff in legal principles across platforms
• Ensure board- and/or publication-level policies are in place
• Train editors and staff in ethical principles across platforms
• Establish, for online or print, a content verification process
• Clarify who owns the content
• Develop guidelines for handling takedown demands.

Weaving editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual into a complementary package develops a foundation of good journalistic practices, beginning with editorial policies.

As our journalistic process changes to include new roles as outlined by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in Blur, we need a strong foundation that binds  them together.

New roles include: Authenticator, Sense Maker, Investigator, Witness bearer, Empowerer, Smart Aggregator, Forum Organizer, Role Model and increase the importance of having a strong legal and ethical foundation.

We think our policy-ethics-staff manual Foundation will help meet this change.

Resources for you
1. Explanation of the policy-ethics-staff manual idea
2. What’s at stake in policy development
3. Policy talking points
4. When your student media are public forums and when they are not
5. Building your policies
6. Definition of policy terms
7. Questions about forums
8. More questions about forums
9. Foundations-policy package
10. Possible alternative workding samples
11. SPRC model policies
12. JEA board-approved model editorial policy
13. Questions about prior review

Our PowerPoint from the Advisers Institute presentation is below
Link to lesson plan based on the presentation.
Link to model policies
Link to the complete Foundations package