Prior review/restraint
Ethical guidelines
Students learn more when they make all publication choices. Prior review and restraint do not teach students to produce higher quality journalism.
The only way to teach students to take responsibility for their decisions is to give them the responsibility to make those decisions freely. No administrator has ever shown any educational value in prior review.
Continued democracy depends on students understanding all voices have a right to be heard and assuring all viewpoints have a say in their communities.
Staff manual process
The student editorial board should design an editorial policy that establishes student media as designated public forums for student expression where students make all final decisions of content.
The student editorial board should also study JEA and SPLC materials, statements and lessons to build educational arguments against prior review.
Resources
Prior review button on menu bar, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
JEA Board Statement on Prior Review, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Building a Climate of Trust Can Ease Prior Review, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Seeking a Cure for the Hazelwood Blues: A call to Action, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Audio: Panic Button, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
Audio: Eliminating Prior Review, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
Return to sitemap.
To return to Policy and Ethics main page, go here.
Read MoreIn case you missed something we’ve done …
In case you might have missed some of our key projects and materials, here is a quick and easy way to locate them. Materials range from access to the Panic Button to passing free expression legislation in your state.
Try P-R-O active measures
to avoid charges of ‘questionable’ reporting
by Stan Zoller
In his 1935 classic, “It Can’t Happen Here,” the late Sinclair Lewis wrote about a small-town newspaper editor, who, struggles with the efforts of a fascist leader’s administration censor his paper and ends up in a concentration camp. After escaping from the camp, he ends up in Canada, before leading a resistance movement in the United States.
And you thought your principal was annoying.
Like the thought that the United States would never have a fascist dictator, scholastic journalism educators should not be naïve that because their principal is a wonderful person or they’ve been teaching for decades, that it “can’t happen here.”
It can. It has. It will.
That’s just the nature of the beast.
No matter how many awards your students have won, honors you have received, as many advisers have found out, a change in administrators, a “questionable” story, or even the arrival of new adviser with limited experience can foster changes that lead to prior review and prior restraint.
There a plethora of resources for advisers who suddenly find their program facing prior review. Among the best (obviously) are those at JEASPRC.ORG, including the ‘Panic Button’ that gives you support from the Scholastic Press Rights Commission and the Student Press Law Center.
But is there a way to avoid prior review? Maybe. Obviously, there are administrators and even journalism educators who have their own agendas, so no whatever you try to do will not make a difference.
You can, however, take some steps that may counter concerns of district or building administrators.
The first, quite obviously, is to practice solid and fundamental journalism. Obviously.
Make sure your students (and we’re not talking rocket science here) have multiple sources who are accountable. Make sure all information is verifiable and that sources, no matter if they are experts in a specific area, teachers, staff or community leaders, are free of bias. Make sure your reporting is transparent and that you explain who your sources are or what organization or person is behind a specific web site. If your students tried to contact someone who did not return phone calls or email requests for interviews, make sure that is indicated in an article.
[pullquote]Make sure your students (and we’re not talking rocket science here) have multiple sources who are accountable. Make sure all information is verifiable and that sources, no matter if they are experts in a specific area, teachers, staff or community leaders, are free of bias. Make sure your reporting is transparent and that you explain who your sources are or what organization or person is behind a specific web site. If your students tried to contact someone who did not return phone calls or email requests for interviews, make sure that is indicated in an article.[/pullquote]
Again, this isn’t rocket science, but simple steps that could fall through the cracks, especially if a student does not meet all prescribed deadlines.
Another way to hopefully avoid the pain of prior review is to practice protocol. Randy Swikle, the godfather of protocol, put together an outstanding guide for stakeholders of student media. “Protocol for Free and Responsible Student News Media” was an offshoot of a conference by the same name in 2010. The book is available as a .PDF at Protocol for Free and Responsible Student News Media.
You’ll find that at the root of effective protocol is regular communication between your student media and the other stakeholders in your district and building. Don’t wait until there’s a “controversial story” that may appear in your media. Administrators don’t like surprises. Like any news consumer, administrators expect quality journalism with stories that are verifiable, independent and accountable.
The challenge is when there’s a story they “don’t like” because, as someone once told me, journalism is reporting about something that people don’t want people to know. It’s disturbing to hear more advisers say their principal expects student media to be a “PR piece” for the school, or worse, for the principal’s or superintendent’s personal agenda.
The key? Try Protocol…and remember the first three letters – P-R-O – as in proactive.
Read MoreWelcome back – here’s a look
at what to expect in the coming weeks
As we all head back to school, look for some new content in the next week:
• An article focusing who who owns scholastic media content and choices to establish best approach for students
• An article discussing points of questions involving yearbook ethics
• A first look at a Policy Package to will help staffs decide what they want as the best editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual
• Continued access to our ongoing columns on journalism pedagogy, FOIA, broadcast legal and ethical issues, news literacy and more Making a Difference reporting
• Our annual Constitution Day lessons and activities
• In the meantime, check out these major points from the press rights commission:
• Takedown demands guidelines
• The Panic Button means of reporting censorship
• Our Press Rights Minute
• JEA’s position prior review
• JEA’s existing model editorial policy and support
• Online, photo and yearbook ethical statements
• First Amendment Press Freedom Award application
• A teacher’s kit for curing Hazelwood
• Our Foundations series for scholastic journalism
Something you would like us to report? Let us know.
Read MoreAnd the children shall lead them: Student journalists make a difference
by Jane Blystone
Scholastic journalists often make a difference in their school and community by publishing story packages that are live issues in their locale. However, when students choose not to publish something, they still a make a difference in their school, community and in the public media.
By majority vote of the editorial board of the Neshaminy High School, (Langhorne, Pa.) newspaper, the Playwickian voted in October not to publish the name of their school mascot in the paper. This decision has raised much awareness and controversy about a term they believe is racist and is the name of their school mascot (‘Redskins’ hereafter referred to as the “r” word.)
Late in October, I receive d a phone call from Playwickian editor Gillian McGoldrick, who wanted some support and direction from the Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Commission (www.jeasprc.org) regarding an editorial that her staff had published October 23 about the choice of the editorial board (14-7) not to use the name of their school mascot any longer in their student publication because it was a racist term. (See editorial.) In the same issue the seven students on the editorial board who dissented posted their opinion regarding the ‘r’ word.
The principal had demanded that they continue to use the term in their student publication. However, that was in direct opposition to Pennsylvania Code 12.9 regarding student freedom of expression: “(a) The right of public school students to freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United states and the Constitution of the Commonwealth. (b) Students shall have the right to express themselves unless the expression materially and substantially interferes with the educational process, threatens serious harm to the school or community, encourages unlawful activity or interferes with another individual’s rights.” ( Pa. Code 12.9)
During discussion, we talked about several things she needed to do as the editor. First, she needed to contact the Student Press Law Center (www.splc.org), who could help her with legal council and then go to the JEA Scholastic Press Rights blog and push the Panic Button (see button in menu bar at the top of this page), where she could explain her staff’s situation. Once she sent that button, we Scholastic Press Rights Commissioners moved into action. Tweets and Facebook posts were launched describing the situation and linking to Playwickian online pages. Student and adviser support came pouring in across the country as SPLC attorneys executive director Frank Lomonte and legal counsel Adam Goldstein moved into action to provide guidance to the students. Read the follow up story here.
Editors were called to a meeting of the principal, which was moved to an evening meeting so parents of staffers could attend. After the two-hour meeting and a 53-page directive from the principal about why they must continue to use the school mascot name, even though they believe it to be a racist term, the students published a November issue.
A firestorm of support for the students moved out into the area media including the The Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer. From there it went viral on Twitter and Facebook, ESPN, The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer as well as other national media outlets. Posts on their Twitter account and their Facebook pages also document opposing positions regarding not using the “r” word.
Students have engaged the Washington, D.C. law firm of Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz to represent them. The firm has informed the school district solicitor that the directive requiring students to use the “r” word in their publication is unconstitutional and that they will go to court if necessary.
Public media in the Neshaminy area are supporting the students by no longer using the “r” word in their publications when reporting on Neshaminy sports and the Bucks County Courier has called on the school board to intervene. “We call on the school board to act, to engage the community in a discussion, and to give students the validation and respect they deserve,” it said.
While student journalists at Neshaminy High School were forced to include the “r” word in their publications, cheerleaders in McCalla, Al. were punished for using the term “Trail of Tears “ on a banner they created for a football game in November. Dr. Stephen Nowlin, superintendent said he was disappointed that students at McAdory High School students used the term, considered offensive and insensitive to Native Americans. Although an apology was posted earlier by the principal on the school website, it no longer appears.
Editors of the Playwickian continue to educate the public on the Lenni Lenape Nation in Bucks County within their publication to demonstrate the impact of using the “r” word.
For her leadership in the process of removing the “r” word from her publication, 16 year-old editor-in-chief Gillian McGoldrick has been awarded the Widener University High School Leadership award that also carries a $20,000 scholarship if she chooses to attend Widener.
The battle continues and student journalists continue to make a difference. As one adult in the area shared with me earlier this week, “And children shall lead them” sums up the action of these responsible student journalists.
Read More