Tattoos: Save your ink, student journalists
One of the few academic studies of body art, “Tattoos and Body Piercings in the United States: A National Data Set,” shows 24 percent of respondents had tattoos…and that was 2006. USA News & World Report said this fall parlors for such art are “one of America’s fastest growing categories of retail business, with nearly one tattoo shop opening each day.”
It’s a big deal, right? And, while the stats haven’t caught up with what’s happening to teens now, it’s a good bet kids are getting inked at a pretty speedy rate. Sometimes that’s legal, and sometimes it’s not, depending on their age, the state’s laws and possible parental consent.
So it sounds like a great topic for student media. What is legal and what isn’t? Need parental consent? Why students get tattoos? Safety and health issues? And… for a follow-up — long-term effects? Regrets those who got tattoos have? Pain and cost of removal? Employer reactions? Plenty to cover.
Not so, say at least some school administrators.
Recently, the Timberland High School principal in Wentzville, Mo., pulled first a spread with photos and text about tattoos. Later, he told The Wolf’s Howl staff to pull ads for a local tattoo parlor, a client with a full-year contract, meaning a loss of several hundred dollars.
His excuse, editor-in-chief Nikki McGee told the Student Press Law Center Web site reporter: This falls in the category of “drugs, alcohol and etc.” and thus is censorable. McGee told the SPLC she had yet to receive an answer to her request to define “etc.”
A Kentucky newspaper adviser shared his concern when his principal wanted to cut an article about teacher and student tattoos. The tattoo photos weren’t really the issue — the principal seemed more concerned about teachers who said they got theirs “with their husband’s gambling money” or in a trade for a beer. “I don’t see any possibility of this article causing a great disruption,” the adviser said to a listerv.
This concern with tattoos isn’t exactly new. In 2005, Oak Ridge (Tenn.) High School principal objected to photos of students with tattoos, partly, she said, because the girl’s parents didn’t know she had such body art.
Thus tattoos may be increasingly popular, and teens may want and even need to know more about them. At the moment, though, consider this topic along with sex and drugs as something to cover with care and professionalism. Be prepared to explain why it is an important topic and worth the ink….and then be prepared to call the SPLC.
Read MoreAnd the number keeps growing
As much as we don’t want to see it or accept it, the number of student media being restrained grows rapidly.
For instance:
• In Boonville, Mo, the superintendent stopped distribution of The Pirate Press reportedly because the paper had not been reviewed as it was supposed to be. Coverage in the local paper did not report reasons for the stoppage in its first article. Look for an update soon.
• In Arizona, former student journalists are pursuing legal action in an attempt to continue fighting censorship of their high school’s newspaper.
• In Oregon, an student editorial on a community project so angered a former school board member he threatened the adviser and administrators now require all articles, including editorials, to be bylined.
If you are aware of more instance like these, please let us know using this blog’s comments or contact the SPLC or JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission.
The more we know about censorship and its ally prior review, the more we help each other to fight them.
Read MoreSocial networking policies: Getting ahead of the curve
By Russell Hickey
When the Washington Post recently announced new rules for the use of social media by editors and staff, it was met with some criticism. Last week, Howard Kurtz chronicled the reactions – both negative and positive.
The full-text announcement sent to the Post staff was reprinted by paidContent.
The policy behind the guidelines is understandable – journalists should remember that they are always journalists and should do nothing that would undermine their credibility or question their impartiality. Unfortunately, social networking sites, like Twitter, are prone off-the-cuff, spur-of-the moment, out-of-context remarks. Even following or friending certain people or organizations could suggest a bias that can undermine a reporter.
For the high school journalism student, the consequences of social networking sites may not be top of mind. This could have dire consequences if an administrator is looking for a reason to reign in control of a high school publication.
To be certain, non-school sponsored social networking sites are outside the reach of school administrators. Careless use of social networking sites by newspaper editors and staff, however, could provide ammunition for administrators seeking reason for prior review. Thus, it is critical for student press advisors to get ahead of the curve and help encourage students to use some foresight.
The Student Press Law Center’s “Guide to Hazelwood” offers a “Fighting censorship checklist.” The first item on the checklist is to practice sound journalism – which includes avoiding any appearance of bias.
It behooves students and advisers to think through these issues and potentially adverse impact that careless use of social media could have on their student publication. A well-thought out policy for the use of social networking sites by newspaper editors and staff can be a critical demonstration of credibility.
Russell has a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Missouri and a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas, where he completed the Media, Law and Policy Certificate Program. He currently is a Senior Claims Specialist for AXIS Pro, a Errors & Omissions Insurance provider for media companies.
Read MoreFighting off prior review
With examples of administrator censorship running rampant around the country, I thought it might be informative and helpful for other teachers, who may run into similar situations, to speak with a teacher who just successfully fought off censorship from the higher-ups at her school.
Konnie Krislock has been teaching journalism since the late 1960s and has been the adviser of the Evolution at the Orange County High School of the Arts since it began publishing in May 2006. The Evolution’s first issue of the year featured a couple of stories its administration found objectionable.
How Krislock handled the situation provides a pretty good template for how to handle censorship, particularly in a state that has anti-Hazelwood protections.
According to Krislock, the Evolution was able to get coverage in a major metro, the Orange County Register, as well as quick feeback from the SPLC. Krislock was able to use friends at Cal State Fullerton, a major state organization (CNPA) as well as enlist the office of a prominent state politician – state senator Leland Yee – to help her get word out and fight the administration’s attempted censorship. As I’ve found in my five years as an adviser, if administrator’s hate anything, it is bad press and people calling the school complaining about damn near anything.
“Get the word out about what is happening to people in the know,” Krislock said. “I really know everyone and this got covered fast and well. It didn’t hurt that my EIC had been a summer intern with the OCRegister and that the writer realized he knew her. I also know Cal State Fullerton’s communications dean (I used to teach adjunct there) and belong to CNPA, whose lawyer was a resource. I would tell everyone to get connected.”
Most interesting, and appalling, to me was the reaction of Krislock’s students to the situation. If you’ve ever taught in a school where this sort of censorship is permissible, it has a particularly pernicious effect on students.
“They were scared,” Krislock said. “Most said they were less likely to take assignments on Evolution after the grilling the editors got from administrators. Everyone was intimidated. Just today my editor started to shy away from a story on swine flu because she said ‘we’ve done enough controversy right now.'”
While administrators often intend to block some sort of news they find will draw unwanted attention to their school, crushing student enthusiasm and creativity for their work on the newspaper is the unwanted result. What advisers must do is work to counteract the effect the administration’s intrusion might have. Fortunately for the students at OCHSA, they’ve got one who’s willing to do the heavy lifting.
“I believe this is the ONE high school subject that teaches student everything they need to know about life,” Krislock said. “My quote in the SPLC article is totally accurate. This is my life’s passion: my adoration of high school students and their RIGHT to express themselves and their ideas in a public forum with an adviser who is knowledgeable and who cares about them and their opinions.”
Read MoreWhat Values? We ask again, and point to ethics lesson plans that could lead to answers
We continue to raise the question, borrowed partially from a recent ethics workshop at Kent State University: What Values?
What value is there in prior review by anyone outside the student media staff? Even if administrators can claim some sort of legal allowance stating they can, what are the ethical and educational values indicating they should? Who gains? Who is harmed? What elements of the school mission are fulfilled? How does the action serve truth and accuracy?
Along this line is a relatively new upshot on prior review (maybe not new, but certainly new to this timeframe): The superintendent as publisher; the principal as editor and the adviser as assistant adviser.
The students: certainly not getting a journalism education.
We would again ask: What is the educational value? How does this address the greater good? Who benefits? Who is harmed? What are students learning about the values of a school system that removes them from the process of critical thinking and decision making – and also puts their teacher and principal in legal harm’s way?
What values – educational or otherwise – are at play?
Speaking of What Values, those teachers interested in lesson plans to address journalism ethics and discussions on online ethics have a free source.
The plans are available for high schools to supplement Kent State-Poynter What Values? workshop Sept. 17. Download materials at the workshop site by scrolling down to the lesson plan button. You can also follow the discussions on online journalism ethics from the workshop.
Read More