Who owns student content?
Students were back wherever their classes meet after the first of January when questions began on JEA’s listserv about who owned publication content, specifically images, in student media.
Responses came, saying the school did; the publication did and student journalists did. Reasons and answers varied widely.
JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee several years ago, as well as the Student Press Law Center, published insight and options to guide decisions ownership decisions.
Read MoreA short wish list for Santa from your journalism students
by Cyndi Hyatt
Dear Santa,
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m not sure what the COVID-19 cases look like up at the North Pole, but I would hope that you, Mrs. Claus, the reindeer and the elves have been maintaining social distance and wearing your masks (unlike too many of my fellow Americans).
I imagine you have had to make some serious modifications to your workshop for toy making. Hey, if you are down to 50 percent capacity in the factory, we could all be in for a big letdown this year. (I’m thinking this could be a great story, though…)
But that’s not why I am writing you today.
This year has been terrible, as you well know, but I have a short wish list for this holiday that would cheer me (and a lot of my fellow journalists) up a lot. If you could even fill one of these asks I would be super-grateful. Some of my wishes may take a lot of creative thinking and maybe even strong-arming to make happen, but you’ve got a lot on your side: magic and clout.
Please know, Santa, that I am not a selfish person; everything I am asking for is not just for me – just trying to say I want to share the holiday goods. And what’s the worst you can do? Say no?
- I would like you to bring an end to the term “fake news” in 2021. Frankly, I am sick of hearing it and I’m not really sure what it means. I do know that it is language to demoralize and vilify honest student journalists like myself. What I do every day is based on the desire to tell a true story. I use a code of ethics and the First Amendment as my guides. I don’t lie or fabricate what I write. Sure, sometimes people don’t agree with what I have written, but by no means is it fake. Jeez! Can you do something about that term, Santa?
- Sometimes my principal wants to see what we students are writing or producing ahead of time because he is afraid it may make our school look bad. Can you please send him a copy of the Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism and a copy of the Tinker case? He’s a nice guy but he doesn’t know squat about what my rights and responsibilities as a student journalist. And maybe he will back off some once he actually reads these documents and realizes their importance.
- Do you have access to anything that opens people’s eyes and minds? If so, I would like you to give a vial (or whatever that may come in) to all the state legislators in the nine states that have active New Voices campaigns running. Maybe they can then be able to see the value of a protected free student press and know that with a trained and able adviser, student journalists can be trusted with First Amendment freedoms.
I said I would keep my list short, but I have one more wish…
- Can you score me an interview with President-elect Biden? That would make me soooo popular at school and may enhance my chances of winning Student Journalist of the Year.
Thanks, Santa, for reading my letter. Stay well – stay masked.
Sincerely,
Stu Dentpress
Freedom Grove, PA
PS – You may want to lay off those cookies and milk this year. Obesity is a risk factor for COVID-19.
Read MoreShould it stay or should it go?
by Teresa Scribner, CJE
After spending 17 years in the newspaper industry as a visual journalist, I feel like I have a solid grasp on leaving my personal beliefs at the door when I walk into a newsroom. For years, I bit my tongue on politics, religion and reality TV. Being able to compartmentalize has served me well – first in the industry and now as a teacher.
I’m four months into my ninth year of teaching, and it has taken years to teach my students how to set aside their personal beliefs when they are covering their peers. But what happens when the one thing you try to teach your students comes back to bite you in the worst way?
In 2020 P.C. (Pre-COVID), I had two alums from our school reach out to me asking if I could remove a story from our website. Both students cited their growth since high school and their fear of future employers seeing the stories during an Internet search. Both students acknowledged that the written stories were accurate, but now that they were college students, those stories were no longer an accurate portrayal of who they are today.
Just a few weeks ago, another student emailed asking if I could remove her photo from a graduation video that had been up since June. Why now? What was I to do?
Just a few weeks ago, another student emailed asking if I could remove her photo from a graduation video that had been up since June. Why now? What was I to do?
I’ve seen several teachers pose this same question in the journalism teachers group on Facebook. What do you do when former students want you to remove them from stories published long ago?
My first instinct was to trust my news judgement gut. The stories were accurate. My student journalists had provided solid, well-researched stories. We had media waivers on file for all of the students we used. All of our bases were covered.
And then my teacher’s light switched on. The story in question was about non-Black students using the n-word. What if my refusal to remove these stories cost my former students their dream job? What if they wanted to be on the Supreme Court, and these stories came up as they sat for their confirmation hearings? Would it be my fault if these kids couldn’t get a job?
Some of the responses on the Facebook page went with what would be best for the students, while others suggested editing the old stories to remove references or unflattering images. I ultimately decided to remove the student’s name from the story, even though it had been in the digisphere for more than six years. And if you do a search for the story, the student’s name will still pop up, although their name isn’t in the story anymore.
Why did I do it?
As for the other two students: one of them was a former staff member who didn’t want their byline on a story they deemed used “horrible language.” The other student claimed they did not give us permission to use their photo in a video, even though we had a copy of their media waiver on file. In both of these instances, I did not honor their requests.
The short answer is, “people change.” I knew this former student had gone on to become a star student in college and had even offered to come back to the school to run a program for students of color. When they first approached me, they insisted on talking on the phone and not over email so that they could sincerely express their regret in using the n-word. And I believed them.
Now, will it earn them a spot on the Supreme Court? I don’t know. But I do feel better about my decision knowing this student had learned from their past behavior.
As for the other two students: one of them was a former staff member who didn’t want their byline on a story they deemed used “horrible language.” The other student claimed they did not give us permission to use their photo in a video, even though we had a copy of their media waiver on file. In both of these instances, I did not honor their requests.
Neither one of these students, in my opinion, had offered a compelling argument beyond their “I-don’t-like-it” approach.
Some may see this as unfair; why do it for some and not for others. For me, the answer was easy. These two students would still be able to get a job if someone were to ever see what it was they were complaining about. The student who wanted to be removed from the video had no complaints about being included in the virtual graduation video or in the yearbook.
I do not know if there is a right answer, but it may serve you well to think about having a policy in place.
A gem you probably missed
by Candace Bowen, MJE
As school was winding down in Spring 2020, media advisers scrambled to help students find photos – ANY photos – for the yearbook. Or tried to cover the pandemic locally on their new, we-don’t-know-quite-how-it-works-yet website. Or they just focused on helping their students finish the year.
For most, it wasn’t a time to thumb through magazines, even ones with topics of interest. And for just that reason, many probably missed a wonderful gift: “AASA School Administrator” magazine devoted the center section of its June 2020 issue – eight pages plus the editor’s “Starting Point” column – to student voices and their value in today’s schools.
The hard copy publication went to “20,000 individuals in school system administration, mostly superintendents, across the country,” editor Jay P. Goldman said in a letter to me for helping him connect with some writers. The issue is available online, too, and contains just the kind of information from administrators across the country that might help you convince YOURS that censoring and stifling student media is not the best way to go. Educationally sound reasons DO exist for having allowing students to make content decisions.
In his column, Goldman credits his career path to “a journalism elective course [he took] as an 11th grader taught by an outstanding teacher.” He notes that life doesn’t always run smoothly for student journalists, but the “real-world applications of effective communication and creative thinking skills [are] exactly what schools ought to be delivering these days.”
So what articles might you want to share with your administrators? “Giving Voice to Students Through Published Words,” by education writer Michelle R. Davis, contains plenty of great examples. She quotes Scott Kizner, who has been superintendent at several districts and testified in support of the Virginia New Voices legislation: “There are many times, let me tell you, that I wish the topic [the students were writing about] would go away, but you don’t get to pick and choose what is newsworthy to avoid difficult conversations.”
Kizner told Davis students often want to discuss tough issues often before adults are ready to do so. “You have to trust the students and the staff that has been given the responsibility for advising them, to help them learn and grow.”
Davis interviewed Roger Stock, superintendent of Rocklin Unified School District in California, who warned, “Censoring a story can boomerang back at you and be worse than the original story.” He added censoring “undermines the aim of an effective scholastic program: providing authentic learning and experiences in a real-world setting.”
“Censoring a story can boomerang back at you and be worse than the original story.” He added that censoring “undermines the aim of an effective scholastic program: providing authentic learning and experiences in a real-world setting.”–Roger Stock, superintendent of Rocklin Unified School District in California
Other parts of Davis’ article include examples of censorship and one superintendent saying he now takes a different approach and lets the students tell their stories. Another names the important skills students learn through journalism: “research and reflection, presentation and communication, development of voice and the ability to express ideas clearly.”
In “Amplifying Student Voice Through Their Publications,” Amy Besler described how poor the student media were in the first school to hire her as principal. She noted how she was able to hire “a brilliant, experienced journalist, with no teaching background” made a big difference in the program. “Before long, she had turned a rag-tag bunch of unwitting students into journalists who took the initiative to develop a fantastic online site….”
The former superintendent of Lordstown, Ohio, schools, Terry P. Armstrong, contributed “Student Journalism as a Route to Civic Engagement.” He said he worked with a new social studies teacher to encourage more student political involvement. That included hosting Democracy Day, which had Mary Beth Tinker as a speaker, and launching a student newspaper. Armstrong wrote he hopes “our students carry civic engagement with them into the future while protecting and promoting quality journalism for decades to come.”
As Goldman noted at the end of his column, “Perhaps there’s never been a more important moment for the exercise of voice. Educators ought to do what they can to flex their students’ muscles.”
And one way to do that might be to share some of these articles with administrators at your school. School Administrator, June 2020
NOTE: Jay Goldman is a recipient of JEA’s 2020 Friend of Scholastic Journalism Award, which goes to a professional journalist, professional media outlet or other individual or group making a significant contribution to scholastic journalism. He has also volunteered for the Washington, D.C. National High School Journalism Conventions, leading Break with a Pro, helping set up media experience tours, getting featured speakers and judging Write-offs at the 2019 convention. This award is usually presented at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention awards luncheon, although, with this year’s virtual convention, some of us may want to reach out to congratulate Goldman by email.
Read MoreHaving supportive administrators is not a fairytale
by Teresa Scribner, CJE, Cleveland STEM High School Seattle, Washington
Once upon a time, there were three administrators. These warriors stood for racial equality, social justice and making sure all students in their school felt safe, seen and heard. They were champions of student voice, advocates of the school’s journalism program and defenders of student press rights.
Read More