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Providing feedback QT59
Guideline:
Editors should conduct relationships with staff members in a fair and professional manner. By considering the program’s best interests above matters of personality, students will be able to work together in a positive and productive environment.
Social media post/question:
How can peer coaching may help staffers build positive relationships.
Stance:
Teaching students work together is paramount to building the teamwork aspect of student media. By implementing coaching, editors empower staffers by further owning their work.
Reasoning/suggestions:
Coaching asks journalists to use the skills they already know. In The Coaching Way, Chip Scanlon writes, “It’s valuable as well because it draws on two basic skills you as a journalist already possess: the ability to ask good questions and the ability to listen to the answers.”
By asking the editor to approach the story as a reader, Scanlon adds the editor must listen and have empathy. “The ability to identify with another person’s point of view and to communicate that understanding. It requires a range of other skills and qualities, too, such as flexibility, confidence, a willingness to experiment, a keen awareness of another’s situation, and a genuine desire to help someone else achieve his or her goals.” Using this in a student media also empowers the staffer and requires the editor not to take charge.
Scanlon addresses the benefits of coaching and shows the importance of learning:
“1. To make use of the knowledge and experience of the writer.
- To give the writer primary responsibility for the story.
- To provide an environment in which the writer can do the best possible job.
- To train the writer, so that editing will be unnecessary.”
By implementing this approach to editing, staffers should improve and editors can better question the content in the story.
Resources:
The Coaching Way, Chip Scanlon, Poynter (More resources at the bottom of the article)
Read MoreWork with students as they select
the proper platform for content QT58
Guideline:
Students should evaluate the best tool for the content it provides. Because of this, students should use processes for brainstorming and shaping the coverage that identifies how to best show the story.
Student media should consistently and purposefully brainstorm what story ideas might be relevant and valuable to their audience.
Students should not ignore those story ideas that might be sensitive or cause offense but instead should consider how to cover these issues in meaningful, sensitive ways.
Student media should also recognize while audiences are likely to seek out news that’s personally interesting to them, news media have an obligation to also provide those stories that meet a standard for public service.
Often, these stories will fall in the “watchdog” category and include political and institutional coverage. While the audience may not be intrinsically interested in these stories, journalists must use their best news judgment to provide a mix of what consumers want to know and need to know.
Stance:
Students should brainstorm the best platform for their content. Audiences also may vary based on the platform.
Reasoning/suggestions:
If students don’t use the best venue for the content, then the story may not be told as robustly as possible. They also need to understand, as suppliers and consumers of news, that digital platforms are not reliant on editors to help select content. According to The Platform Press: How Silicon Valley Reengineered Journalism by Emily Bell and Taylor Owen, “Platforms rely on algorithms to sort and target content. They have not wanted to invest in human editing, to avoid both cost and the perception that humans would be biased. However, the nuances of journalism require editorial judgment, so platforms will need to reconsider their approach.”
Because of this, students need to understand the ways social media caters to the individual.
Additionally, as media literate consumers as Bell and Owen write, students should understand, “greater transparency and accountability are required from platform companies. While news might reach more people than ever before, for the first time, the audience has no way of knowing how or why it reaches them, how data collected about them is used, or how their online behavior is being manipulated. And publishers are producing more content than ever, without knowing who it is reaching or how—they are at the mercy of the algorithm.”
In essence, consumers often unknowingly shape the news they receive.
Resources:
Journalism Needs the Right Skills to Survive, Poynter
The Platform Press: How Silicon Valley Reengineered Journalism, Columbia Journalism Review
Read MoreLimiting student emails QT57
Guideline and policy
The school can’t keep students from using email addresses they create for communications related to their student media.
Nothing in Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) or Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) overcomes the First Amendment protections students have nor the rights they have under state law.
Key points/action: Talk to the Student Press Law Center for guidance on how to respond to this.
Stance: Three points to note:
- The school is not required by CIPA or COPPA to prevent the use of these publication email address that don’t go through the official school Google email service. So long as the school can attest it’s taking appropriate measures to protect students from harm that could result via these emails (training them how to use them and how to respond to inappropriate messages, making a faculty member like the adviser accessible to the students if they have questions or problems, etc.), they will have complied with any legal obligations under those laws.
- There is no reason the school couldn’t give students on the publication staff a second email address connected to their publication role that operates under the same protocols as the students’ official school email address. This may not be a good option because of the access the school could have to publication-related messages, but it would be a way to satisfy the school’s concerns and get separate emails working more easily.
- Gmail is not the only option for free email accounts for your publication staff. If your students could work around this by creating new email addresses via another service that can be accessed from the school computers, that might be worth considering.
Reasoning/suggestions: The more challenging issue is whether the school can prevent students from accessing those email accounts on school-owned devices. Again, the SPLC is probably best able to advise you and your students,
Resource: Mark Goodman, Knight chair in Scholastic Journalism, Kent State University, September 2017.
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 MoreCelebrate and reflect: getting the most
out of conventions with your students
by Kristin Taylor
It’s April! For student journalists and their advisers, that means it’s time for another JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. As many of us head to San Francisco Thursday, it’s a good time to think about why we attend conventions and how to get the most out of our attendance.
First and foremost, I remind myself every year that these conventions are about student voice. We come together to learn from the experts, but the moments I always find most inspiring are centered around students.
Whether listening to Meghan Bobrowsky — last year’s National High School Journalist of the Year — speak during the Opening Ceremony, attending workshops led by students or judging write-off submissions from talented reporters, I know this convention will leave me feeling great about dedicating so many hours to the world of student journalism.
If you are a new adviser or have never attended a large journalism convention with students before, you might be wondering how best to make sure you and your students have a great experience. It wasn’t that long ago I was in your shoes, and I remember how overwhelming the convention felt at first.
For this blog, I’ve put together five tips gathered from my own experiences and the wisdom of my colleagues. I hope they will prove useful to a few of you out there planning to bring students for the first time.
- Make a plan. At least a day or two before we leave, I bring my students together to look through the convention program, download the EventMobi app and talk about how to make the most of our time. Students are often reluctant to go off on their own, but if they all go to the same workshops, we’ve missed an opportunity to learn as a staff. We talk about what our publications most need and make a plan to spread students out to attend a wide variety of workshops. We also talk through some of the other logistics of the trip, such as how travel will work, how we will communicate as a group (we use GroupMe), when we will be meeting up (we always sit together for ceremonies and awards as well as gathering to reflect each day) and what they can expect to do each night.
- Articulate a purpose. One of the best things I’ve started to do with my own students is to find a time to discuss why we are going and what we hope to learn. You can do this before you leave, but I think it’s most valuable to do as close to the start of the convention as possible. I’ve had these conversations at school, at the airport gate waiting for our plane, and even on the hotel lobby floor before giving them their room keys. My goal is to have them articulate their purpose before setting them loose so we can come back to that purpose throughout the trip. If they are stumped, I suggest this question: What can I learn about the power of student voice from this trip?
- Hold them accountable. Some students will dutifully attend every workshop and speaker without any prompting, but others need a bit more structure. I require them to select four workshops Friday and Saturday (unless they are participating in a write-off contest Friday, in which case they only required to attend two). I’ve experimented with a variety of accountability methods over the years, but the one that seems to work the best is also the most old-fashioned: a notebook. I discourage students who have laptops from bringing them. They are bulky and distracting. Instead, I ask everyone to practice their note-taking skills during the workshops they attend, recording questions, ideas and takeaways with paper and pen. This leads me to the next tip, which is…
- Reflect each day. Thursday’s reflection is usually a quick discussion of the keynote speakers and opening ceremony. Friday is our first rich discussion of their learning. We sit in a circle, and the students reflect on their experiences that day, using those handy notebooks to connect their learning to practical application on our publications. Since Saturday is so hectic and the awards ceremony even longer this year, I plan to have them journal their reflection in their notebooks after their last workshop so we can come back to them on Sunday. I like to reserve Saturday night for a celebratory group dinner. Our final reflection happens before we leave, which is usually Sunday morning. This circle allows them to share final thoughts and ideas and come back to the purpose they articulated before they left. It’s also important to reflect with the rest of your staff when you return from a trip like this, and those notebooks will be handy yet again.
- Celebrate as a group. Depending on your plans and budget, you may have shared time seeing the city or attending an event together. If this isn’t possible, however, I think it’s crucial to set aside at least one meal to enjoy as a group. We usually do this Saturday night. Restaurants near the convention that can accommodate large groups tend to book up fast, but if you haven’t made a reservation or want to keep the meal more affordable, you can order in and have a pizza party in a common area of your hotel. Many of my favorite memories from past conventions have come from these meals as students share funny stories, tell jokes and bond. And you never know what may happen — I took a group to Indianapolis right after the 2016 election, and as we were walking back from the restaurant, we realized we just a block ahead of a protest march. My students still call that trip “The Time We Led a Protest by Accident.”
On a final note, I want to encourage new advisers to attend advisee events (don’t miss the Thursday orientation in the afternoon and reception in the evening) and introduce yourself.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek advice from your colleagues, especially if something goes wrong. I cannot say enough about the wonderful people in our community who have steered me through a variety of issues — you are never far from someone who has been there and can help you solve any problem than arises.
I hope to see many of you in San Francisco as we celebrate the power of student voice.
Read More
How should student media
handle academic dishonesty? QT56
Dishonesty compromises the integrity and credibility of the student publication. The editorial board and/or adviser should address any instance of academic misconduct immediately.
Student editors should develop a clear process for handling academic dishonesty. Both media staff and school policies may dictate consequences for academic dishonesty. In addition to school consequences, other approaches could include removal or suspension from the media staff and publishing an apology.
Guidelines
Students should be honest in all stages of their work. Dishonesty is a serious offense and should not be tolerated. Dishonesty compromises the integrity and credibility of the student publication. The editorial board and/or adviser should address any instance of academic misconduct immediately.
Stance
Student editors should develop a clear process for handling academic dishonesty. Both media staff and school policies may dictate consequences for academic dishonesty. In addition to school consequences, other approaches could include removal or suspension from the media staff and publishing an apology.
Suggestions
In journalism, academic dishonesty is not limited to cheating and plagiarism. Issues especially relevant to student media include:
- Fabrication — inventing quotes or other content
- Non-contextual content — taking quotes, facts or other content out of their intended context in a way that misleads the audience
- Manipulation of photos, video and text — editing or altering content in a way to change its meaning or misrepresent reality
- Inadequate verification — failing to assure the veracity of information, quotes or facts for your story.
Resources
The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity, The Center for Academic Integrity
Journalism Department Code of Ethics and Conduct, San Francisco State University
The Medill Justice Project Ethics Book, Northwestern University
Our cheating culture: Plagiarism and fabrication are unacceptable in journalism, The Buttry Diary
Audio: Plagiarism, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
National Press Photographers Code of Ethics Audio: Creative Commons Licensing, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
Read More