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Our right to comment
Our right to comment
Description
Since media organizations have moved to online formats, they have struggled with the practice of hosting online comments next to their content. Many news organizations require posters to meet specific standards, moderate the comments, and reserve the right to remove or delete comments and users. Some organizations even require each post be approved by a human before it can be live on their sites. More recently, NPR is the latest news organization to completely remove comments from their news sites. Has the ability to comment on news stories created a more or less informed culture?
Objectives
- Students will explore the best ways to interact with news media
- Students will define the roles of a media outlet
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 | Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. |
Length
60 minutes
Materials / resources
NPR story about taking comments away
Lesson step-by-step
- Have the students read the article linked above
- Break the students into groups of four and choose a current event. Have each group read the comments section of a different media outlet you assign them for the current event you have chosen.
- Have the students complete the worksheet.
- As a whole class, discuss the findings.
- As an editorial board, come up with guidelines for your own media. You can find model guidelines here.
Differentiation
During this activity, Editors who already have had discussions about comments could be exploring the policies that various student media have.
One group of students could also be using the time to look at ways that social media fills the role of the comments section for some media outlets.
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Analyzing how ‘facts’ are used by politicians
during the election cycle
Analyzing how “facts” are used by politicians during the election cycle
Description
Sometimes politicians misconstrue facts during debates and political ads. This lesson examines the “truthiness” of the ads running currently. Students will analyze one from the Democratic and one from the Republican party. Students could look at a TV ad, online ad or print ad.
Objectives
- Students will analyze the facts in political ads.
- Students will report their findings.
- Students will discuss what they find.
- Students will examine the factual nature of the information found in the ad.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.5 | Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter). |
Length
60 minutes
Materials / resources
Handout: Charting what you find — political ads and election coverage
Computer/internet access
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — introduction (5 minutes)
Teacher should survey students on how they get their breaking news on (is it through traditional news venues, online only, social media only, they don’t access, etc.). Tally what you find. Compare this to the following breakdown from the Knight Foundation’s study Free Speech on Campus: almost half of college-age students would access traditional news media to learn of national and international news. Approximately 25 percent use social media while 20 percent would access online-only news sources. How often are these places flooded with advertisements? How are you impacted by these advertisements? How do you know what is true and not-so-true?
Step 2 — Research (10 minutes)
Option 1: Separate students into pairs. Ask them to look at both the major party presidential websites. Have the students comb through the websites and fill out the chart included in this lesson. You may want to show the ads more than once.
Option 2: Project presidential campaign ads. Ask students to fill out the chart included in this lesson. You may want to show the ads more than once.
Step 3:— Research (15 minutes)
Ask students to verify the facts found in the ads. Remind them to log in where they verified the information.
Step 4 — Research part 2 (10 minutes)
Ask students to again verify the information, however this time, use PolitiFact.com to verify.
Step 5 — Feedback (10 minutes)
Students should compare what they learned about the information in the political advertisement. Which appeared to have the most information? Seeing the progression of the research, were the original contents correct? Was the the information first verified really true?
Also, ask students to examine how news media and citizens should deal with the inclusion of partial facts by candidates.
Step 6 — Large group discussion (5 minutes)
What surprised you the most? What was the best source for verification? How as a journalist should you use this exercise in your own reporting?
Step 7 — Assessment (5 minutes)
Have students fill out the reflection form. If time permits, have students share what they learned.
Differentiation
In assigning roles, you may want to give struggling readers the social media assignment.
Extension
You also could see previous breakdowns of “truth-o-meter” from Politifact.
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Model for ethical guidelines, process
Ethical guideline title
This would be the situation or ethical situation. For example, it could be how your student media would handle unnamed sources, takedown demands or sources wanting to read content before publication.
Ethical guidelines
This section would contain the recommended guideline or statement of ethical principle. For example, for unnamed sources it could be under what conditions your reporters would grant anonymity; for takedown demands it could be the consideration you would make in deciding to take down content, or not to do so.
Staff manual process
This section is essential. It would list the detailed process or procedure of how the guideline would be carried out. For example, with unnamed sources it could include:
• Not granting it until talking with editors
• The steps the reporter will take to verify information from an unnamed source
• Granting only to protect the source
• Making sure the source know the agreement and conditions
• and more
Resources
This would be articles online or elsewhere for rationale for the process and the guidelines. Generally, keep the number small unless there is a need for extensive sourcing.
Censorship strikes Playwickian again
by Jane Blystone
PA School Press Association president
Today was one of many days I have talked to students from Neshaminy High School in eastern Pa. over the past three years regarding censorship of their school newspaper, the Playwickian. Once again censorship is lifting its ugly head under different student editors and has now escalated to compelling students to write content the principal wants published, not stories students have agreed to write and publish.
The issue:
One student editor wanted to publish a story in this month’s issue about a pageant for guys in said school called Mr. R—— (the pejorative name for Native Americans) that took place in in March. The majority of the editorial board did not agree to using the pejorative term. As per a 2014 agreement after a national blowout about the pejorative term, students editors have the right to redact the term or not run the story. The student editor, who reported on the story was not satisfied that that word would be redacted, so took the issue up with the principal. The principal demanded it be run unredacted. The editors chose to post the story with the term redacted.
A result:
The adviser resigned effective at the end of this year because she refuses to force student journalists to print the word in their publication as the principal has directed (compelling content) and the website has been locked down today by the principal (censorship) as you can see here: http://playwickian.com/
How can you and your student journalists help? Simply write letters to these media outlets in their area supporting student rights to choose content and right to edit as per their printed policy.
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/
Here is the principal’s email as well.
RMCGEE@neshaminy.org
Also post thoughts and support on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #freetheplaywickian. Their Twitter acct. and Facebook acct. are not under auspice of the school but private accounts students own. If you go to these sites, you can also see what the students have posted about the incident. You can also post, share and retweet at these social media sites to support them.
https://www.facebook.com/playwickia/?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/search?q=The%20Playwickian&src=typd
Yes, they have contacted JEA SPRC, the SPLC and others. They are doing all the RIGHT things for support. Now I am asking you to help. These students are still fighting this many years-long battle to choose what they will and will not publish without interference from administration, as per our state code regarding Student Free Expression.
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JEA endorses legislation
for New Voices in 8 states
The Journalism Education Association, at its spring convention in Los Angeles, endorsed eight states’ efforts to pass legislation ensuring protection for student expression.
The states are:
“JEA is spot-on to endorse these states’ efforts to pass New Voices legislation,” JEA president Mark Newton said. “Student voice is absolutely essential in all aspects of education. And, it is absolutely essential to participating in a democracy. It is a civic duty to empower — and defend — each freedom in the First Amendment. I am glad to see so many states see the plethora of values of responsible student freedom of expression.”
The eight are part of the New Voices movement, a project of the Student Press Law Center.
According to its website, New Voices hopes such legislation “will restore the Tinker standard of student expression in America’s high schools. That standard protects student speech unless it is libelous, an invasion of privacy or creates a ‘clear and present danger’ of a ‘material and substantial disruption’ of the school.”
[pullquote]When we teach responsible expression to students, and empower them to use it without fear of review or restraint, we will see positive benefits for decades and decades. It’s not only an educational sound best practice, but a civic one as well. – JEA President Mark Newton[/pullquote]
States already having state protection for student expression are:
- California
- Massachusetts
- Colorado
- Arkansas
- Kansas
- North Dakota
- Iowa
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania Code
- Washington Code
“When we teach responsible expression to students, and empower them to use it without fear of review or restraint,” Newton said, “we will see positive benefits for decades and decades. It’s not only an educational sound best practice, but a civic one as well.”
JEA is the largest scholastic journalism organization for teachers and advisers, educating teachers how to educate students. Among its programs and outreach, JEA provides training around the country at national conventions and institutes, offers national certification for teaching high school journalism and monitor and actively defend First Amendment and scholastic press rights issues across the country.
New Voices USA is a student-powered grassroots movement to give young people the legally protected right to gather information and share ideas about issues of public concern. New Voices works with advocates in law, education, journalism and civics to make schools and colleges more welcoming places for student voices.
JEA and the SPLC encourage other states to press for similar legislation, and would also endorse legislation that would do so.
Students and advisers interested for more information can contact the SPLC at 202-785-5450 or JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Committee.
For more information about starting state legislation, check this SPLC resource, this resource and this JEA resource.
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