Diversity of sources
Ethics guidelines
Coverage and sources should reflect the school population and its various communities, including a wide range of sources who represent students and staff.
Staff manual process
Students should take care not only to represent diversity through their sources but also in the content they pursue. Additionally, students should avoid interviewing or photographing friends or relatives unless that individual is the best or only source.
Suggestions
• Students should keep a checklist in the newsroom to monitor the number of times a source has appeared in student media. The staff may determine, for example, that after three times, an individual should not be a source unless he/she is essential to the story.
• For each story, student journalists should seek a variety of primary and secondary sources, finding a mix that reflects society in general and provides for complete and thorough reporting.
• Coverage should give voice to those who might otherwise remain voiceless while creating context and aiding in comprehension.
• Student media should include sources who represent diverse racial, ethnic, economic, occupational, academic, geographical, political, gender and age populations.
• Students should interview, film and photograph an abundance of sources to select only the best quotes, audio, video and photos for each story.
Resources
Find Diverse Sources, The Poynter Institute
Integrate diversity into your reporting routine, Science Literacy Project
Ethical Testing Tips, Media Helping Media
Lesson: The Right Source, Journalism Education Association
Lesson: Discovering Your Diversity, Journalism Education Association
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Read MoreTreatment of sources
Ethical guidelines
Reporters should treat all sources as they would like to be treated: with respect and professionalism. Sources do not have to respond to questions or agree to be interviewed. Helping them to understand their information is essential to the story and will show others the importance and truth of the topic is the best way to get their information or story presented. Sources have rights – and responsibilities. Reporters can help make them aware of both.
If interviewing minors, be sure the source understands what is being asked, why it is asked, why the information is necessary and how it will be used. In some cases involving controversial or sensitive issues, parental consent might be a good option if accuracy is in question or if there’s any doubt the student is able to understand the potential results of answering.
Staff manual process
Part of the information-gathering process should be extensive training in interviewing, including professional handling of minors as well as reluctant sources. Student editors should develop a checklist for reporters.
Suggestions
- A sample post-information gathering checklist could include:
- Are these sources the most credible and reliable? Are they truly experts for this topic?
- Is the information is accurate and credible?
- Is the information contextually sound?
- Do facts support the lead?
- Does background material make the story complete?
- Is the story free of unattributed value judgments and statements of writer opinion?
- Does the story make sense?
- Does numerical data make sense?
- Interviewing
- Are sources fully and correctly identified?
- Do multiple sources bring a variety of viewpoints?
- Did the writer verify information with credible sources?
- Research
- Are the name and URL of an online site accurate?
- Is online information credible and up-to-date?
- Publication
- Is style consistently formatted?
- Is information properly attributed?
- If the story has an anecdotal, delayed lead, does it have a nut graf to help show the focus?
- Are terms used correctly?
- Do facts in the story match information reported across all platforms?
- Does the headline reflect story content?
Resources
Be Consistent in Getting Consent Where It Is Needed Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Interviewing Children: Guidelines for Journalists, Dart Center
Guidelines for Interviewing Juveniles, Radio Television Digital News Association
Additional Guidelines for Interviewing Juveniles, The Poynter Institute
Best Practices for Covering Children Younger Than 18, Associated Press
When It Is Acceptable to Use Children As Sources?, Columbia Journalism Review
Respect sources, National Public Radio
Transparency Steve Buttry
Audio: Understanding FERPA, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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Read MoreUnnamed sources
Ethical guidelines
Journalism is based on truth and accuracy. Using unnamed sources risks both of those standards. For that reason, students should seek sources willing to speak on the record. Unnamed sources should be used sparingly and only after students evaluate how the need for the information balances with the problems such sources create.
Occasionally, a source’s physical or mental health may be jeopardized by information on the record. In this instance, journalists should take every precaution to minimize harm to the source.
Staff manual process
Editors should train staff members on how to conduct proper interviews on the record. Poor interview techniques could lead to confusion between potential sources and reporters. Staff members should always identify themselves when working on behalf of student media. Reporters should be advised to use anonymous sources rarely.
Before agreeing to do so, they should ask the following questions:
• Why does the source want to remain unnamed? Is it possible he/she would be in danger if his/her name is revealed? What other problems could occur?
• How important is the story? How important is the information provided, and is there an alternative means for gathering it? Using an unnamed source hurts credibility and could risk legal action.
• Students should consider what might happen if a court demands to know the source’s name. Most professional journalists would not reveal the name, and many have gone to jail instead of doing so. Would student reporters be willing to go that far? What legal protections exist in your state for protection of sources?
• What might the source have to gain from getting this information published? Some sources who want to be off the record have ulterior motives that could harm someone else.
• If students decide the information is vital and the source has a solid reason for remaining unnamed, who, besides the reporter, should know the identity? Many staffs decide the editor should know to assess the credibility of the source, but not the adviser in order to protect the adviser’s professional position at the school.
Resources
Legal Protections For Journalists’ Sources And Information, Student Press Law Center
Position Paper on Anonymity of Sources, Society of Professional Journalists
Use of Unnamed Sources, National Public Radio
Lesson: Exploring the Issues with Anonymous Sources, Journalism Education Association
Unnamed Sources, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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Read MoreMedia-level editorial policies
Ethics guidelines
Media-level e
ditorial policies aren’t as much legal protection as the board-level policies, but they could show how students operate “in practice” and thus might be viewed as some protection. Thus they are a must for student media. JEA’s Model Editorial Policy is a good example because it adds discussion points such as letters to the editor, handling coverage of death and advertising.
Any of the board-level policy models can be adapted for use at the media level. All policies, including the JEA model, stress student media as designated public forums in which students make all content decisions without prior review by school officials.
The JEA model includes detailed language and provides direction for process and principles. It expands on the Student Press Law Center’s Model Guidelines for High School Media, with the kind of situations student media face, which makes it preferable at the level of the individual medium.
Ethical guidelines and staff manual procedures should be separate sections from either board-level or student media-level policies. This way student editors can update their staff manuals to meet changing needs and situations.
Staff manual process
A school without policies can cause confusion and misunderstanding for readers and participants. Media-level editorial policies should be direct, clear and understandable to people of all ages. These policies reinforce ethical guidelines, and a staff manual rooted in ethical approaches outlines their implementation on a daily basis.
Media-level editorial policies should be reviewed and endorsed yearly to keep them current as the active framework for student media. Any student media policy established without the input of its student practitioners is both a missed opportunity and a recipe for mistakes. By evaluating the inclusion of these policies, students will better understand their mission and expectations.
When finished, media-level policies should be shared with school and outside communities so all parties understand the principles and processes the journalism program follows.
Suggestions
Even if staffs incorporate the JEA model editorial policy as a framework, students should work to establish clear guidelines for their decision-making.
In creating the ideal forum statement, consistent for all student media at either media or board level, staffs should include: “[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.”
Such a media-level policy, board-approved or in practice, would be designed to protect all parties in case of legal issues
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Read MoreAdviser responsibilities
Ethical guidelines
The role of the adviser in student-run media incorporates teacher, coach, counselor, listener and devil’s advocate but not doer.
Students learn best when they are empowered to make their own decisions with support from the adviser on the sideline. A clear understanding of the adviser’s role helps students take ownership of their work and the program overall.
Staff manual process
The adviser position should have a job description, just as staff members do. Outlining what the adviser will and won’t do makes all parties aware of the student-centered environment, helps students and parents understand the leadership structure of the editorial board and prevents tasks from going unassigned.
Suggestions
Possible considerations for advisers to address include:
• Making reporting assignments and setting deadlines
• Evaluating student work (editing and providing feedback versus grading)
• Providing work periods outside class time, such as deadline nights, and determining parameters for these sessions
• Teaching about financial considerations and offering guidance on budgetary matters
• Acting as a liaison with service professionals
• Handling disciplinary issues in accordance with school policies and contractual obligations
• Planning instruction and curriculum
• Selecting staff members
• Clarifying student responsibilities adviser will not complete (such as conducting interviews, finishing work in progress, shooting photos, selling ads, changing stories, correcting errors, making final content decisions).
Resources
JEA Standards for Journalism Educators, Journalism Education Association
JEA Adviser Code of Ethics JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Audio: 10 Tips for Dealing With Censorship, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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