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Censored news is fake news
Censored news is fake news.
Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, wrote that in Fake News, Real Solutions recently. He said the first wave of responses to fake news does not cure the underlying problem.
We agree wholeheartedly.
LoMonte blamed part of the problem on an educational system that tells students across the country to “publish only news that flatters government officials and reflects favorably on government policies.”
Censored news is fake news.
Such censored news at least partly stems from the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court’s Hazelwood decision.
LoMonte suggested the way to fight the fake news epidemic is to ensure educational institutions inoculate their students and don’t spread the virus.
That inoculation comes from more freedom, not less; more journalistic responsibility, not less; and from solid practice of ethical journalism.
As journalism groups strive to fight fake news in many ways, let’s begin in our schools by identifying at least four types of fake news:
• Information meant to deceive
• Information generated through sloppy and incomplete reporting
• Information not clearly identified as sponsored news
• Information spread by censored media
Follow JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee and others over the next several months as we examine the issue of fake news, identify the problems it creates and seek solutions so scholastic journalism can lead in the fight against fake news and its impact.
Noteable resources:
• Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning
• Students have ‘dismaying’ inability to tell fake news from real, study shows
• A guide to spotting fake news
• The dangers of crying wolf with ‘post-truth’
• How to spot fake news
• A savvy news consumer’s guide: How not to get duped
• Many Americans believe fake news is sowing confusion
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Bill of Rights Day, Dec. 15
Dec.15, 2016, is Bill of Rights Day and a good time to deepen students’ knowledge about intricacies of our government as seen through the first ten amendments.
Such discussions would also be timely and relevant given the political events of an election year and the change associated with a new presidency.
In a 1941 proclamation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped the fifteenth day of December to be “a day of mobilization for freedom and for human rights, a day of remembrance of the democratic and peaceful action by which these rights were gained, a day of reassessment of their present meaning and their living worth.”
Here are links to some of what is available:
• National Constitution Center, Bill of Rights Day
Has a section of educational resources and a great “Do-Now discussion question: “Not all the amendment James Madison proposed made it into the final Bill of Rights. Is there anything missing from the Bill of Rights you would have included?”
http://constitutioncenter.org/learn/civic-calendar/bill-of-rights-day
• Bill of Rights Institute
With mission words of engage, educate and empower, the Institute provides information for students, teachers and supporters. The site features five lesson plans games and videos on Constitutional principles.
http://constitutioncenter.org/learn/civic-calendar/bill-of-rights-day
• Bill of Rights Day/United States Courts
This site offers resources for teachers, students and judges. The materials, reports the site, as meant to inform, involve and insire citizens to apapreciate and exercise the Bill of Rights.
http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/annual-observances/bill-rights-day
• US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Bill of Rights Day
Provides materials available for immigrants tolearn about and prepare for the naturalization process. Good to see if your students could pass the naturalization test.
https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite
• 15 facts about the Bill of Rights
Interesting background information for further discussion and use.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/72155/15-facts-about-bill-rights
What our tech-savvy kids don’t know
by Candace Bowen, MJE
They may be digital natives with instincts that allow them to use the latest app and easily share photos and video on social media platforms, but when it comes to evaluating information they access on the web, those from middle school through college aren’t nearly as knowledgeable as some might think.
In fact, they can’t tell an ad from a news story or hate group propaganda from factual material from a respected news outlet. In fact, the Stanford History Education Group described students’ reasoning ability when it comes to Internet information as “bleak.”
The group’s 18-month project, “Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning,” looked at “the ability to judge the credibility of information that floods young people’s smartphones, tablets and computers.”
From January 2015 to June 2016, the researchers developed and administered assessments to 7,804 students in 12 states, from inner-city LA to suburban Minneapolis, and at six different universities from those with tough admission standards to state schools that accept most applicants.
[pullquote]As the group’s recently released report states, “For every challenge facing this nation, there are scores of websites pretending to be something they are not. Ordinary people once relied on publishers, editors, and subject matter experts to vet the information they consumed. But on the unregulated Internet, all bets are off.”[/pullquote]
As the group’s recently released report states, “For every challenge facing this nation, there are scores of websites pretending to be something they are not. Ordinary people once relied on publishers, editors, and subject matter experts to vet the information they consumed. But on the unregulated Internet, all bets are off.”
To get an idea of just how much these students really know about the Internet, the researchers tested their understanding of a range of information that appears on social media and other Internet venues. For instance, they showed middle school students “sponsored content” and news articles to see if they could recognize an ad. They showed high school students studying about gun laws a chart from a gun owners’ political action committee to see if they would accept it at face value. And they showed college students a tweet to see if they might use it as an eventual source in an article.
Perhaps even more intriguing – especially for education nerds – are the sample questions the report contains, along with a rubric for each and sample responses that show mastery (the student answers correctly and provides coherent reasoning for the response), emerging (the student answers correctly but provides limited or incoherent reasoning) and beginning (the student answers incorrectly).
The results the group reports are indeed bleak, but this shows the kind of media literacy journalism teachers might be able to help promote. Much of it deals with concepts we teach all the time: “Question Authority.” And of course there’s “verify” and “be transparent.” At least we hope our students would do better on this group’s assessment.
Also, the report ends with “Next Steps,” which include a promise to pilot lesson plans to use with these assessments and an awareness of the problem that is far worse than the researchers originally thought.
“Many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there. Our work shows the opposite,” the researchers say. They hope to produce web videos to show how digital literacy is vital for a country like ours that relies on an informed electorate.
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Signing on as FAPFA candidate makes powerful symbolic statement
Confession: For the past 10 days, I’ve spent a good chunk of time glued to media coverage of President-elect Trump, reading about his meetings with prospective leaders and reports of cabinet appointments, cries against Hamilton and SNL on Twitter and updates about the on-again, off-again New York Times meeting.
My nervousness mounts as we transition to a new president known for his attacks on news organizations, for bullying those who ask tough questions, for threats to “open up” libel laws, for ugly rants against those who hold steady to report on the record the actions of our leaders.
And while I’ve made sure to read, donate, sign petitions and facilitate respectful dialogue, I’ve also spent the past 10 days thinking about my journalism students. What can I do? What can we do? What can they do?
As is often the case, the greatest potential for impact is within the classroom. It’s clear to me that my own students’ efforts practicing, protecting and promoting their First Amendment rights matter more than ever.
Next week, Dec. 1, 2016, is the deadline for JEA’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award. I’m glad my students will apply, and here are three reasons I urge other scholastic media programs to do the same:
[1] The FAPFA process provides an important opportunity for students to revisit the core principles of their journalism program as they tell the stories of their school community through truthful and accurate reporting using a wide range of diverse, credible sources. The editors know their publication policies inside and out, but do the other staff members? Would every student on staff be able to answer the FAPFA questions accurately? Perhaps this an opportunity for editors to conduct a mini-lesson to educate or review with rookies some “What happens if …” scenarios.
[2] The possibility of recognition as a First Amendment school is another way to increase awareness in the school and throughout the community. Even if school administrators are supportive of students’ free expression rights both in theory and in practice, it’s likely there are community members who are less aware of what it means for students to make all content decisions free of administrative censorship. It’s another chance to spread the word about what the First Amendment means and why it matters.
Remember, 39 percent of Americans could not name even one of the five freedoms.
Can FAPFA recognition serve to make all stakeholders better understand the educational significance of providing students with an outlet for free expression and the long-term benefits of empowering students with the responsibility of the decision-making process?
Celebrating a school’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award recognition can play a role in the case for scholastic media curriculum development and the long game in protecting both First Amendment education and scholastic journalism specifically.
[3] Signing on as a FAPFA candidate makes a powerful symbolic statement at a crucial time.
My own students have protection from California Ed Code 48907, but they’ll still be using the opportunity JEA’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award provides. In other words, they’ll apply for the award because they can. It’s a chance to speak up and speak out for why that freedom of expression matters so much, and a chance to draw attention to states where students don’t have that right.
Discussing the questions on the first-round FAPFA form reminds students that not every student media program is lucky enough to operate in a student-led environment with journalists empowered by the critical thinking experience of their decision-making process. It puts things in perspective. It emboldens them to use the tools at their disposal, creatively and positively, to fight the good fight. It draws attention to the injustice in schools and states with administrative censorship and helps increase efforts toward press rights legislation.
Editors can proudly share their efforts in attempt to leverage that social currency and widen the scope of attention for First Amendment freedoms just when the New Voices movement — and new White House administration — need it most.
by Sarah Nichols, MJE
Read MoreWorthy of your attention
The following links could be sparks for coverage by student media, newsvalues for class discussion in your communities and/or journalism lessons.
Check out this Society of Professional Journalists’ resolutions:
• In support of enhanced protections for student journalists
• First Amendment Press Freedom Award deadline for school recognition coming up Dec. 1. This is Round 1 qualification to be eligible for Round 2.
• Southern Poverty Law Center requests reports of hate speech or actions aimed at racial harassment. The SPLC also says to first report these to local law enforcement.
• SPJ 2017 school essay contest on “Why is it important for a democratic society to have women involved in professional media and legal roles? What can be done to reverse the dearth of females in these professions?”
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