Lesson: Should media re-air a broadcast
in which two people are killed?
Title
Should media re-air a broadcast in which two people are gunned down?
Description
Students will examine how to examine ethics of re-airing this broadcast using Poynter’s 10 questions to make good ethical choices.
Objectives
- Students will collaboratively work through questions to help them make a decision involving journalism ethics.
- Students will decide what they would do in relation to this real-world ethical dilemma.
- Students will note the difference in decisions between public officials and on-air reporters and camera operators.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1.b | Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9 | Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. |
Length
40 minutes
Materials / resources
Ethical questions from Poynter Institute: Ask these 10 questions to make good ethical decisions
Access to JEA’s SPRC Foundations Package: Covering controversy
Lesson step-by-step
Before the lesson delivery:
Because of the sensitivity of the topic, the teacher should tell the students they will be discussing the rebroadcast of the reporter and cameraman who died. They will not be viewing the video, but will discuss the ethical considerations concerning its availability. (Note: Students who have experienced trauma may need to leave the room, some might need to pace. If your community has experienced trauma, it would be advisable to have a counselor ready if needed.)
Step 1 — initial question (5 minutes)
Teacher should ask students if they believe the broadcast of the reporter and cameraman who died should be rebroadcast? Why or why not?
You may even ask students if anyone would like to share that they watched the video and why. (This should be dependent on your class.)
Teacher should tell the students they will make the decision using 10 questions from the Poynter Institute.
Step 2 — small groups (15 minutes)
Separate students into groups. Project (or hand out if no projector is available) Poynter’s 10 questions. Ask each group to discuss and make notes on each of the questions.
Step 3 — decision (5 minutes)
Ask students to come to a consensus as to whether they would re-air the video.
Step 4 — large group debrief (10 minutes)
Ask groups to share their decision and rationale based on the 10 questions provided.
Step 5 — Another questions (5 minutes)
Have you ever seen footage of JFK’s assassination (or another high ranking official)? What are the differences in this instance and that of JFK’s?
(Answers will vary, but many will cite the newsworthiness of the president being assassinated versus a lesser public figure.)
Extension
Ask students (in their groups) to outline several approaches for covering controversial issues. They should use the Scholastic Press Rights Committee resource: Covering controversy as a starting point. Also, see this link. Teacher may want to start with slide 17 (the last slide) for Day 2 of this lesson.
Lesson by Lori Keekley
For more materials on this topic, go here.
Read MoreVirginia shooting aired live,
coverage offers timely discussions
The shooting deaths of two journalists today and the wounding of a third person in Virginia creates possible lessons for scholastic media classrooms.
- Ethics: Should other media repeat the video of the actual shooting? The shooting was broadcast live. Students could discuss the reasons for and against repeating the shooting and develop ethical guidelines for their publishing of controversial situations.
- Newsworthiness: What should the lead be? What additional information should be included in stories like this? What is the best way to update them? Once the breaking news angle has passed, how should media report additional events? How much background should be included?
- Social media: The video and related personal information went viral immediately after the shooting. How much of what hit social media should play a role in news coverage? What should journalists’ social media include? Should social media mix factual information with viewpoints?
- Storify assignment: For students just learning how to use Storify, you could create a lesson with the various approaches digital and social media used about the shooting. Discussion points could include purpose of the Storify, credibility of the sources, verification of information and ethical considerations and in making those decisions. Grading and/or discussions could work around this rubric.
Exploration of these and additional questions and examples can help scholastic journalists place their coverage in perspective and improve their coverage.
Links for use (among many):
• Deadly shooting of reporters in Virginia
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia-police-shooting-live-television-news-report/
• Virginia TV murders: Reporter shot while running away; camerman’s finance watched him die
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/slain-tv-crew-both-engaged.html
• Gunman murders two Virginia reporters in attack broadcast on live TV
http://gawker.com/gunman-fires-shots-at-virginia-news-crew-during-live-re-1726593659?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
• Manhunt on for killer of two employees in SW Virginia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/08/26/tv-camera-crew-caught-in-active-shooter-situation-in-southwest-virginia/
• 2 journalists shot dead during TV broadcast in Virginia
http://mashable.com/2015/08/26/virginia-wdbj7-shooting/
• Deadly shooting during live TV news report in Va.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia-police-shooting-live-television-news-report/
• Image shows the gunman
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/us/virginia-shooting-wdbj/index.html
• Va. shooter posted tweets, video of shooting on Twitter, manhunt underway for former disgruntled employee
http://myfox8.com/2015/08/26/va-shooter-posted-tweets-video-of-shooting-on-twitter-manhunt-underway-for-former-disgruntled-employee/
These links were all early in the day. Seek additional updates for additional information and discussion points.
Updated links from later Aug. 26:
• Should you use the video and the fax from the WDBJ shooting? That depends
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/368905/should-you-use-the-video-and-the-fax-from-the-wdbj-shooting-that-depends/
• Suspect in killing of Virginia TV crew said he was ‘just waiting to go BOOM’
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-virginia-tv-station-workers-fatally-shot-on-air-20150826-story.html
• The Virginia shooting and the dark side of the social media age
http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/369105/the-virginia-shooting-and-the-dark-side-of-the-social-media-age/
• How should news organizations he treating the manifesto from the WDBJ shooting?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZCaPUmD1as&feature=youtu.be
For more materials on this topic, go here.
Read MoreBuilding journalistic foundations:
Adviser’s Institute session materials
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
Curriculum to help students formulate
policies, guidelines and procedures
Lesson Title
Ethical guidelines and procedure statements: Creating the foundation
Description
In this lesson, students will analyze current policies and write guidelines and procedures. Students will then analyze the others’ classwork and provide feedback. Students will be able to rewrite their contribution after the feedback is given. Students will also audit the publication’s diversity.
Objectives
- Students will analyze their board- or media-level policies.
- Students will construct guidelines and procedures.
- Students will examine these guidelines and procedures and revise after receiving feedback.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1 | Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2 | Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7 | Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8 | Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9 | Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9.B | Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. |
Length
300 minutes (6 50-minute classes)
Materials / resources
Resource: Editorial guidelines and policy statements, SPRC website
Resource: Working with a board approved policy, SPRC website
Lesson step-by-step
Day 1:
Materials / resources
Slideshow, Day 1: version 1 or Day 1: version 2 (See below for the version you should use.)
Teacher should have copies of either the board-level and/or media-level policies applicable to student media. (If no policy exists, students will work together to create a First-Amendment friendly one and use version 2 of the slideshow.)
If a board or media-level policy exists:
Step 1: Show slideshow (50 minutes)
Students should work through the slideshow using the Day 1: version 1. When prompted, teacher should disseminate board-level or media-level policy.
If no policy exists:
Step 1: Show slideshow (50 minutes)
Students should work through the slideshow using the Day 1: version 2. Students will create a media-level policy.
Day 1 Version 1
Day 1, Version 2
Day 2:
Resources
Slideshow: Day 2: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Handout: Foundations of journalism: Policy, procedure, guidelines
Resource: JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee’s Foundations: Editorial guidelines and policy statements
Rubric: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Computer lab (if possible) for Step 3
Step 1 — Slideshow (20 minutes)
Go through the slideshow with the students
Day 2 Slideshow
Step 2 — Work time (10 minutes)
If you already have job descriptions, make them available. Ask students what to add or modify from these descriptions.
If you don’t have job descriptions, ask students to create one for a general staffer, editor or adviser.
Step 3 — Small group work (20 minutes)
Hand out the following excerpts from JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism:
Editor-staff relationships
Staff conduct
Balance and objectivity
Academic dishonesty
Ownership of student content
Controversial coverage
News judgment and news values
Ask students to use the handout to draft guidelines or procedures (or both) about their assigned areas using the handout provided (one handout per topic). Also, encourage students to examine the resources listed (if computer lab or other Internet access is possible) and to peer edit each other’s work using the back of the handout.
Students should turn in what they have at the end of the class period. Teacher should not grade these. Teacher will need these for the application phase of the lesson.
Day 3: Diversity and sources
Resources:
Diversity audit
Copies of the publications (including online if available)
Handout: Foundations of Journalism: policies, ethics and staff manuals
Diversity Audit
For this lesson, students will need either Internet access or a copy of the school’s newspaper and yearbook. (Note: you could substitute any type of student media including broadcast, magazine, newsmagazine, etc.)
Step 1 — Class preparation (2 minutes)
Divide the class into groups of three. Explain to the class the groups will be completing a “diversity audit.” They will be using the handout titled “Diversity audit” to record their findings.
Step 2 — Evaluating the newspaper/newsmagazine (10 minutes)
The groups should first get a copy of the print or online publication. Divide the students up by the different pages/webpages. (For example, the first group of three should assess the first news page, the second should assess the second page, etc.) Ask students to record the information asked of them on the handout. Ask students to hold on to the publications until after the large group discussion.
Step 3 — Evaluating the yearbook (20 minutes)
Pass out copies of the most recent yearbook. Again, divide the students up by pages. This should take a longer because they may have more to comb through in order to find the information required. Ask students to hold on to the publications until after the large group discussion.
Step 4 — Reporting findings (10 minutes)
Ask students to tally their findings on the board using the Diversity audit pdf.
Step 5 — Large group discussion (5 minutes)
Post the percentage breakdown of the student body on the board. Ask students to look at the percentage of students used. Does the coverage reflect the makeup of the student body? Are any groups under or overrepresented?
Step 6 — Policy starter assignment (3 minutes)
Tell the students that now that they have examined the coverage, how should they craft a guideline or procedure on diversity of sources using the handout. They should bring a draft to the next class meeting. Everyone will draft a guideline or procedure on this topic.
Extension:
Teacher could expand this to as many student media platforms as they have. Teacher might need to add a day to lessons.
Day 4
Rubric: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Slideshow: Day 4: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Web resource and computer lab: JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism
Step 1 — Large-group discussion (10 minutes)
Ask students to share their homework from the previous class.
Step 2 — Recrafting (5 minutes)
Give students time to rewrite their homework if they would like. (Teacher will assess this based on same rubric given Day 2.)
Step 3 — Slideshow (5 minutes)
Show Slideshow: Day 4: Manuals, guidelines, procedures
Day 4 Slideshow
Step 4 — Group assignments (Remainder of the class)
(this may be pairs, depending on how many students you have). You may assign each group two of the topics below.
Ask students to use the handout to draft guidelines or procedures (or both) about their assigned areas using the handout provided (one handout per topic). Also, encourage students to examine the resources listed and questions provided in the resource: JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism (if computer lab or other Internet access is possible). Students should peer edit each other’s work using the back of the handout in whatever time remains in the class.
Students should turn in what they have at the end of the class period. Teacher should not grade these. Teacher will need these for the application phase of the lesson.
Treatment of sources
Recording sources during interviews
Allowing sources to preview content before publication
Emailing and texting digital information gathering
Verification
Unnamed sources
Treatment of minors
Public records and meetings
Handling links
Providing context
Advertising
Social media
Sponsored content
Use of profanity
Obituaries
Visual reporting
Guidelines for breaking news
Evaluating and critiquing content
Correcting errors
Takedown requests
Handling letters to the editor, online comments
Day 5
Resources
Class set of policies and guidelines as created by students (Teacher will need to create this packet from submitted student work.)
Handouts: Scenario practice Scenario key
Rubric: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Computer lab to access JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism
Step 1 — Preparation
Teacher should make copies of the ethical guidelines and procedures created for the entire class and should have the Foundations available.
Step 2 — Small groups (40 minutes)
Students should use the guidelines and go through the scenarios. They should:
- identify the area applicable and use the corresponding guideline or procedure as created by the class.
- look at JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism and go through the questions for each section.
- make notes on any discrepancies found while practicing these scenarios.
Step 4 — Feedback (10 minutes)
This step is intended to allow students to obtain feedback and change their guidelines and procedures as needed.
What worked and didn’t work about each policy or guideline? The group who created the policy or guideline should lead the discussion concerning this. Have someone from each group take notes.
Day 6
Resources
Class set of policies and guidelines as created by students (Teacher will need to create this packet from submitted student work.)
Slideshow: Scenario practice
Rubric: Ethical guidelines and procedures
Computer lab to access JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism
Step 1 — Preparation
Teacher should make copies of the ethical guidelines and procedures created for the entire class and should have the Foundations available.
Step 2 — Small groups (20 minutes)
Students should look as pairs four of the topics not already used in the scenarios using the JEA’s SPRC website: Foundations of Journalism as a resource. Teacher should divide the foundation points by the number of groups and assign the topics to each group. (For example, the first group will tackle the first five listed. The second group will address the next five, etc.) Students also could use the rubric if they need more guidance.
Step 3 — Large-group feedback (25 minutes)
Students should report back to the large group on the points they assessed.
What worked and didn’t work about each policy or guideline? The group who created the policy or guideline should lead the discussion concerning this. Have someone from each group take notes.
Step 4 — Assignment (5 minutes)
Students responsible for each segment of the policy or guideline should plan how they will revise any content. These will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow.
Teacher should remind students to reference the rubric provided.
Differentiation
As indicated, it’s important for students to evaluate what they have. If any item is missing or they would like to include one not listed above, students should craft the missing procedure or guideline.
User-generated content
Ethical guidelines
Journalists should treat user-generated content the same as any content they create in terms of accuracy, verification, credibility, reliability and usability.
Given its growing use by various forms of media, student journalists should develop guidelines on how, when and why it should be used.
Staff manual process
Student journalists should establish a plan to vet all information and images before publishing them. All journalists should be trained in the use of this plan.
Suggestions
Before your students publish information or images from anyone outside the staff:
• Independently verify and validate it
• Positively identify sources
• Verify sources what sources say with other trusted sources
• Check for copyright infringement
• Verify the location
Resources
How is User-generated Content Used in TV News, Neiman Lab
Guardian Launches Platform for User-generated Content, The Guardian
How Journalists Verify User-generated Content, Information on Social Media, The Poynter Institute
Ethics Guide: User-generated content (UGC) and Comments, Gatehouse Media (GHNewsroom.com)
Tools for Verifying and Assessing the Validity of Social Media and User-generated Content, Journalist’s Resource
How Storyful is Shaking Up News Reporting With User-generated Content, The Content Strategist
Accuracy and Accountability Checklist for Social Media, Mandy Jenkins at Zombie Journalism