Journalists as professional skeptics
by Kristin Taylor
Title:
Journalists as Professional Skeptics
Description
The first lesson explores ethical decision-making about what to publish and the importance of verification in that process. It is a case study that puts students in the role of an editor as they walk through a hypothetical story pitch and consequences of publishing an unverified story. The activity ends with a class reflection about best practices for verification and accountability. This lesson works best after teachers have already discussed how their schools are affected by state and federal laws (see SPLC First Amendment rights diagram) so students are familiar with their First Amendment rights as student journalists.
The second lesson builds on the activity from the day before by discussing the purpose of skepticism during the reporting process by looking at a real-life situation where a professional journalist was duped. It also examines the balance between healthy skepticism and unhealthy cynicism.
Objectives
- Students will be able to explain the role of the editor as coach and explore how an editor can coach reporters during the reporting process.
- Students will be able to identify red flags during the reporting process that suggest questionable sourcing and a need to verify information.
- Students will be able to describe the importance of verifying information before publishing a story through participating in a hypothetical role play surrounding an unverified news story.
- Students will be able to describe why it is important for journalists to be skeptical by reading and discussing a Rolling Stone article about a rape victim; the article turned out to be inaccurate.
- Students will be able to employ strategies for fact-checking and determining when a source has a fact wrong or lied.
- Students will reflect on how this may impact their own journalistic practice.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10 | By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3 | Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C | Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2 | Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4 | Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. |
Length
60 minutes
Materials / Resources
Whiteboard and markers
Teacher laptop and digital projector
Slideshow: “If You Were the Editor” (See the bottom of this lesson)
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Warm Up (5 minutes)
As students enter the classroom, the first slide from the PowerPoint “If you were the editor” projected on the board. Read the prompt and have them journal for five minutes:
SLIDE 1: “Sometimes students want to report on some really tough subjects. How should an editor respond to a story likely to cause community outrage or unrest? Why or why not? Journal for five minutes and then we will share our thoughts.”
Step 2: — Class Discussion (5 minutes)
Allow students to share their initial thoughts and then advance to the next slide. Ask a student to read the question and respond: “Why might editors be tempted to avoid certain stories?” Discuss briefly as a class. (Possible answers: fear of “getting in trouble,” complaints from parents, too controversial. Teacher may want to introduce two types of censorship: external, where someone outside of the staff censors, and self-censorship where the reporters themselves decide not to pursue a story out of fear of the consequences. This is not the same as using good news judgment to determine whether or not a story is worth covering.)
Step 3 — Small Group Activity (15 minutes)
Advance to the next slide, which lays out the case study. Have a student read it out loud and then break the class into groups of 4-5. Students have 10 minutes to discuss this scenario, using the discussion questions below.
SLIDE 2: The situation: You are an editor. One of your student reporters wants to do an article on a student who has been expelled from school. That expelled student is alleging misconduct on the part of one of the school administrators and claims she was expelled just to cover up what the administrator did. However, the administration says that, due to confidentiality agreements, they cannot comment on the situation at all.
Discuss these questions with your group, using your staff manual for guidance.
- Do you have any initial concerns about this story? Do you see any red flags? What questions would you initially ask the reporter about the story? (Possible discussion/responses: Is a student being expelled newsworthy when it’s primarily a private event? How can they verify this expulsion given that administrators cannot legally comment on confidential situations like this one? How can they verify the student’s allegation of misconduct? Are there public records or multiple reliable sources willing to go on the record? If not, students should be concerned about libel law.)
- Who are the stakeholders in this story? How will a story like this affect them? The school as a whole? Why is that important to consider? (Possible answers: the expelled student and his/her family, the school’s reputation)
- Would you feel tempted to not pursue this story? What information/sources would the reporter need and what steps would she need to take in order for you to feel comfortable with this story being written?
Step 4 — Class Discussion/Role Play (15 minutes)
After 10 minutes or once all groups have completed their initial discussion, advance to the next slide. Remind them that they are playing the role of the adviser. You can complete this part of the lesson through discussion or role play, with the student taking on the role of the editor and the adviser pretending to be the student reporter who is determined to write the story.
SLIDE 3: Questions to consider: How would you coach the reporter during
the process if …
- The reporter is persistent and tenacious but still can’t get any comment from any administrator about the expulsion? (These school leaders are unable to comment on personal information like this by lie, so they don’t really have a choice about commenting. You may want to tease out why this is so problematic — we will definitely only be getting one side of the story.)
- The reporter cannot verify that any misconduct took place, though the expelled student maintains it did? (Not being able to verify should stop good reporters and editors in their tracks. This scenario should be setting off lots of warning bells, but don’t give this away yet; the teacher will reveal consequences in the next slide.)
- Despite these problems, the reporter wants to publish the story? She promises she will frame any claims the expelled student makes with “allegedly” and make it clear she reached out for comment and administrators declines, citing confidentiality agreements. (While it’s good that the student would include a disclosure statement, students may not know that simply adding the word “allegedly” does not protect them from liability if they publish harmful, false information. This scenario should be setting off lots of warning bells, but don’t give this away yet; the teacher will reveal consequences in the next slide.)
Before advancing to the next slide, tell students that, ultimately, the editorial board DID decide to go ahead and publish. Ask them how they feel and if they have any predictions about the outcome.
Step 5 — Assessment (20 minutes)
Advance to the next slide and have a student read what happens next:
Slide 4: Aftermath: The reporter publishes her story, and the administration is very upset. The administrator accused of misconduct contacts the adviser and you as the editor and says it was irresponsible for you to let it be published, as it is one-sided and libelous. She says she is considering shutting down the paper entirely given this situation.
Another source comes forward and tells you that she heard the expelled student made the entire story about the misconduct up. Upon further questioning, the expelled student admits it was a lie.
- What processes along the way could have prevented this from happening? (Potential responses: Looking for any kind of firsthand verification of the misconduct beyond the initial source; doing follow-up interviews with the source and asking for some kind of evidence of these accusations; stopping the story when verification became impossible.)
- Who should respond to these developments, and how should that person or persons respond? How do you rebuild public trust? (Potential Responses: If students have an error correction policy established, they should look at now to see what steps they need to follow. Since this is such an extreme case and could cause a libel lawsuit, students should also consider more public responses, such as writing a letter to the community with a transparent accounting of what happened. Reading this blog about how one staff dealt with a recent editorial mistake might also be helpful.)
Either in small groups or as a whole class, discuss how students feel about this situation and brainstorm responses to the two questions.
Advance to the final slide (SLIDE 5) and ask students to write an individual email to you describing what they learned from the activity and how they better understand the importance of verification before publishing a story.
Differentiation
Students with writing challenges could talk to the teacher in person rather than send an email describing what they learned.
Additional Resources:
Ask these 10 questions to make good ethical decisions
SPLC First Amendment rights diagram
“They need the freedom to make mistakes, too,” Lindsay Coppens, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Day 2
Length
60 minutes
Materials:
Whiteboard and markers
Teacher laptop and digital projector
Student laptops
Paper slips with story scenario
“Columbia School of Journalism report on Rolling Stone’s ‘A Rape on Campus’”
“How a teacher prepared her students to take on the adults and win.”
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Warm up (5 minutes)
Projected on the board:
skeptic |ˈskeptik| noun: a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions.
Given the “You be the editor” activity we did last class, why do you think some say a journalist’s primary job is to be a professional skeptic?
Students share thoughts on this warm-up question. Potential follow-up questions:
- How would yesterday’s activity have gone differently if the student journalist and editors had been more skeptical? (Possible answers: Students would have seen red flags such as lack of verification and stopped the story if it couldn’t be verified; students wouldn’t have been as likely to believe the accusing student.)
- Why is it dangerous to trust sources without verifying, even if you think there are trustworthy? (Possible answers: Sources lie sometimes because they are embarrassed or worried about getting in trouble, but even if they aren’t purposefully lying, they may be incorrect. They may not know the real story even if they think they do, or they may misremember something.)
- What would you do if you suspected a source was lying to you? (Possible answers: Attempt to verify the source’s story through other credible sources; discuss the situation with the editors and adviser; depending on the situation, the reporter might confront the source. If verification isn’t possible, do not use the information.)
- Is it possible to become too skeptical? What might the consequence of that be? (Possible answers: reporters may become cynical and think everyone is a liar rather than remembering the purpose of their work; reporters may continue to doubt even after reliable verification.)
Say, “Today we are going to be looking at a couple of cases where journalists either were or were not skeptical and the consequence of their choices.”
Step 2 — Small group activity (20 minutes)
Break students into groups of three or four and hand out a slip of paper with the following on it:
You are a reporter for a professional publication and have heard about how a nearby university is one of 86 schools under federal investigation due to being suspected of denying students their equal right to education by inadequately handling sexual-violence complaints. After doing some initial research, you find a student who says she was gang-raped by a group of male students at a fraternity party; she’s willing to be the subject of your story, but only if you change her name and don’t reveal her identity. She claims the university is trying to sweep the allegations under the rug, which fits the picture painted by what you have learned about the federal investigation. The school and the fraternity deny this student’s claims.
- Before you begin, do you have any personal biases you need to be aware of?
- How will you check out this source’s story? What evidence will you need to feel confident it’s accurate and honest?
- If you do find enough evidence, will you grant the source’s request to change her name to hide her identity? Look at your staff manual guidelines for using unnamed sources and be ready to justify why you would or would not be willing to proceed.
- Ethically, who else do you need to talk to before writing this story?
- What, if anything, would make you decide to not use this source?
Step 3 — Class discussion (35 minutes)
After 20 minutes of discussions, each group presents and compares its responses to the four questions. The teacher will then say, “This scenario you were working on was based on a real situation. In 2014, a reporter from Rolling Stone wrote a 9,000-word story about a rape victim she called “Jackie” at the University of Virginia, which was indeed being federally investigated. The problem? The story ended up being untrue. Other publications such as the Washington Post debunked “Jackie’s” story, and the reporter and Rolling Stone publisher later lost a multimillion dollar defamation suit brought by a UVA administrator. So let’s talk about what went wrong and the consequences of this situation.”
The class will go around the room reading one graf each until finished with this article: “Columbia School of Journalism report on Rolling Stone’s ‘A Rape on Campus’”
Discussion questions:
- What went wrong? What mistakes did this reporter make? (Possible answers: Main issue: The reporter relied on a single source. Reporter never got in touch with “Jackie’s” friends to verify her story; Reporter didn’t speak directly to “Randall/Ryan” to verify his statement; Editors did not disclose that reporter could not verify the existence of “Drew” and had not spoken to him; the reporter did not give the fraternity enough information about the story she was working on for them to adequately respond.)
- Who was harmed by this false story? (Possible answers: the members of the fraternity, the school administrator accused of not taking the allegation seriously, the reputation of Greek organizations, UVA administration and general reputation, Rolling Stone’s reputation, the reporter herself, students who really have been raped)
- What other consequences might this story have beyond the defamation lawsuit the reporter lost? (Make sure students talk about the damage to real rape victims and how much more difficult it will be to report a similar story in the future.)
Assessment: As a ticket-to-leave, students share a takeaway from this lesson; how will it impact their reporting in the future?
Extension: Now let’s look at a situation where reporters were skeptical despite a lot of pressure. Read this article and come prepared to discuss tomorrow: “How a teacher prepared her students to take on the adults and win.”
Additional Resources
Skeptical Knowing presentation
Using anonymous sources with care
Quick Hit: Using unnamed sources
Slideshow: If you were the editor
Read MoreWhat should go into an editorial policy?
What should not? QT3
Editorial policies are the foundations for your journalism program. Often short, these statements address forum status, who makes final decisions of content and prior review.
Think of it this way: a strong policy is prescriptive. It says what students will do. A policy is like a constitution and sets the legal framework for student media.
We strongly discourage the inclusion of ethical guidelines or procedures and process in policy documents because ethics and staff manual procedures are suggestive. That means topics like byline suggestions, font choices and how to handle unnamed sources should not be same document as policy. Topics, procedures and details do not have the same purpose as policy.
These points and other decisions about mission statement, forum status and editorial policy should be part of a Foundations Package that protects journalistically responsible student expression and anchors staff manuals.
Question: What should go into an editorial policy? What should not?
Editorial policies are the foundations for your journalism program. Often short, these statements address forum status, who makes final decisions of content and prior review.
We recommend this wording as a basic policy statement: “[NAME OF STUDENT MEDIA] are designated public forums for student expression in which students make all final content decisions without prior review from school officials.”
Other models could include more material and wording to explain the value of student decision-making, historical or educational reasoning.
[pullquote]Quick Tips are small tidbits of information designed to address specific legal or ethical concerns advisers and media staffs may have or have raised. These include a possible guideline, stance, rationale and resources for more information. This is the third in the series[/pullquote]
A guideline is a stance on an ethical topic. A guideline is more open to change by student staff to staff.
Beyond that, SPRC suggested models could include editorial guidelines (although we recommend several as ethical process and procedures) like:
- Role of student media
- Ownership of student content
- Handling death
- Advertising decisions
- Handling letters/comments
- Policy consistently applied across all platforms
A procedure is a way to do something. These might include how students answer the phone in the room or how they check out a camera. Procedures are how students carry out the policy and implement ethical guidelines. All are part of the staff manual but are clearly separated from policy so their roles are clearly distinct.
Stance:
Think of it this way: a strong policy is prescriptive. It says what students will do. A policy is like a constitution and sets the legal framework for student media.
We strongly discourage the inclusion of ethical guidelines or procedures and process from policy documents because ethics and staff manual procedures are suggestive. That means topics like byline suggestions, font choices and how to handle unnamed sources should not be same document as policy. Topics, procedures and details do not have the same purpose as policy.
Resources: The foundations of journalism: policies, ethics and staff manuals
JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Related: These points and other decisions about mission statement, forum status and editorial policy should be part of a Foundations Package that protects journalistically responsible student expression.
Read MoreModel for ethical guidelines, process
Ethical guideline title
This would be the situation or ethical situation. For example, it could be how your student media would handle unnamed sources, takedown demands or sources wanting to read content before publication.
Ethical guidelines
This section would contain the recommended guideline or statement of ethical principle. For example, for unnamed sources it could be under what conditions your reporters would grant anonymity; for takedown demands it could be the consideration you would make in deciding to take down content, or not to do so.
Staff manual process
This section is essential. It would list the detailed process or procedure of how the guideline would be carried out. For example, with unnamed sources it could include:
• Not granting it until talking with editors
• The steps the reporter will take to verify information from an unnamed source
• Granting only to protect the source
• Making sure the source know the agreement and conditions
• and more
Resources
This would be articles online or elsewhere for rationale for the process and the guidelines. Generally, keep the number small unless there is a need for extensive sourcing.
A class activity to learn
both law AND ethics
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)
Read More
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.