Most Recent Articles
What you don’t know COULD hurt you
by Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE
Recent applications for the First Amendment Press Freedom Award revealed some knowledge gaps. Perhaps it’s not surprising that school principals couldn’t define unprotected speech on the forms each school submitted. So often media advisers and student publication staff members have to do a little educating of their administrators.
But a sizable number of advisers and student editors, who also had to respond to the same question, didn’t know the answer either….
Read MoreWhat does your social media strategy say about your publication?
By Megan Fromm, CJE
Today’s student journalists are increasingly taking to social media to promote their work and network with other publications.
However, many scholastic publications do not have a social media strategy that is both ethical and effective.
We’ve covered the basics of an ethical social media policy, and I would encourage students to take this policy one step further by asking: what does your social media strategy say about your publication?
In other words, students should consider whether their social media strategy—across all platforms—reflects the kind of publication they aim to be. Of course, social media should be used both legally and ethically, but the totality of a publication’s social media presence should also represent the best of that publication.
Try this: Consider what might happen if a reader “met” your publication only through social media. Would they think your media is all sports, all the time? Would they believe your media was highly visual and interactive? Would they find easy ways to connect with or reach out to your staff and become part of the process?
Take, for example, what the Instagram and Facebook feeds of our presidential candidates currently convey about their campaigns. Taken together, these social media channels actual portray different or diverse sides of candidates that we might not otherwise experience via traditional, more journalistic platforms.
When used effectively, social media can help your audience see a side of your student media that often remains hidden. So, consider the various ways (beyond simply pushing content) that you can use these platforms: to connect with readers on a more personal level, to help your audience see the personalities and dynamics behind the scenes, or even to establish a level of authenticity in the process of journalism by bringing readers and viewers along for the ride.
Before posting, consider these questions:
- What part of the process can we share to help our audience become more invested?
- How can we show the personality of our staff and publication without being self-aggrandizing?
- Which social media platforms are best for communicating different messages?
Ferguson incident sparks youth summit documentaries
Living in St. Louis, Mo., during the past year has been very difficult, especially if your school is near Ferguson, Mo., the site of much violence and after the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen in that community.
Student journalists at Ritenour High School, have chronicled how the community has risen up to support local youth.
Jane Bannester, media adviser of KRHS Media, shared this, “Living in St. Louis, MO, Ritenour High School’s media program, KRHS Media, spent the last year documenting the effects of Ferguson on youth, and those effecting youth, in our community. Our work was able to highlight the impact on students, and follow the communities’ action to support the youth. By attending youth summits, our students interviewed and documented multiple voices of those who were engaging the issues of race, with hopes of change for our future.”
These two student-created documentaries at KRHS Media record the student leadership experiences which took place in the St. Louis during the past year.
Student Summit on Race 2015 stories can be accessed at these links:
1. “Gateway2Change Movement: Empowering St. Louis to Challenge Racial Divide” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOy2G7bl-EQ
2. “Gateway2Change Movement: Soldan/Parkway Sister Exchange” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfQTZXLoDPM
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Making points; not just giving them
by Stan Zoller, MJE
A recent series of posts on the JEA Listserv piqued my interest more than others.
The topic was news quizzes.
What intrigued me was the discussion about not the quality of the news quizzes, where they are available and how they are being used. There was also discussion about using them as a graded assignment as well as where teachers can find alternative quizzes to those posted by Candace Perkins Bowen.
Bowen, if you are not familiar with her, has done more for JEA than just write weekly news quizzes. She currently serves on the JEA Board as past president, having served as president from 1993 – 1997. She is currently associate professor of journalism and director of the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University. A little transparency is in order here; not only have I worked with Candace for a number of years on various projects, I am also a huge fan of the news quizzes.
But I don’t give them.
Instead I use them to generate class discussion. I know — it’s not rocket science. But rather than focus on what students know about the news, I use the news quizzes to find out how students found out about a specific news story, why the read the news story, what they thought of the story and what molded their opinion about a specific story.
[pullquote]I am often amazed by what stories resonate – or don’t – with college students. The awareness, or lack of, adds challenges to the discussion. Tease to a sports story and they’ll know it. A story about the Kardashians or Beyoncé and they’ll know it. A story about international affairs and you may get a series of blank stares.[/pullquote]
Like Bowen, I am often amazed by what stories resonate – or don’t – with college students. The awareness, or lack of, adds challenges to the discussion. Tease to a sports story and they’ll know it. A story about the Kardashians or Beyoncé and they’ll know it. A story about international affairs and you may get a series of blank stares.
For those stories that receive a lion’s share of coverage, there’s a good chance there will be some familiarity with the issue.
For example, late last semester and, unfortunately into this semester, a story that continues to rear its ugly head is the continued fatal aggressiveness by the Chicago Police Department toward young African-American males.
The ongoing investigation and release of new videos documenting excessive force by Chicago cops gives students a chance to do more than say something like “yeah, I saw the story” or “that really sucks.”
It gives them a chance to debate the nature of today’s journalism, with many ethical questions being raised and discussed.
Among some of the discussion points that have been raised and discussed include:
- Should broadcast media outlets have shown the entire video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald? Was it too sensitive for general television audiences?
- Was the repetitive showing of the McDonald video in both the long and short form essential to follow-up reporting, or has it been done to generate viewers and website hits?
- Is it more effective to have an African-American reporter assigned to the story? If so, can they be objective?
In addition to ethical issues, issues of legal matters can filter into the conversation. For example,
- Was the Chicago Police Department within its right to deny FOIA requests for release of the dash-cam video of the McDonald shooting within the realm of the law?
- Were the minutes of the Chicago City Council meeting when a $5 million settlement with McDonald’s family readily available after the meeting?
- Why was another FOI request required to have the audio on the dash came included?
- How much of the information posted on social media was verified?
These are just a few questions that could be asked from one news story, albeit a major one. Instead of just citing a topic, I find coverage of a specific story and use it as an example. Careful deconstruction of the stories in a news quiz can cover not only the journalistic fundamentals, but also ethic and legal issues.
Bowen goes above and beyond in providing news quizzes for JEA member students. Are there others out there? Sure. But odds are most are not ready for use in your classroom.
Using these news quizzes should do more than give points.
They should make points.
Read MoreDeveloping reporters
who are more than note-takers
by Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE
“Question authority” is my favorite button, something I have worn proudly on my jacket, a message to both students and administrators. True, questioning in a snarky or defiant way isn’t a good idea. My approach is more like “Make sure authority isn’t leaving out information we need to know.”
But that isn’t very catchy and definitely wouldn’t fit on a button.
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