Tweet 7: Know copyright guidelines to avoid issues
Use original work–don’t ‘borrow.’ Copyright violation is a quick way to unhealthy student media. #25HZLWD http://jeasprc.org/tweet-7-know-copyright-guidelines-to-avoid-issues/
Student publications are legally and ethically required to follow the same copyright laws as professional newspapers and websites. That generally means that unless you have permission to use someone else’s work (yes, even if you found it on the Internet), you shouldn’t use it.
Some exceptions, like “fair use,” mean you can use another person’s image or work in limited circumstances.
Learn more about copyright and fair use from the Student Press Law Center resources listed below:
• Who owns the copyright? It depends.
http://www.jeasprc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/sprc-owncopyrtpkg10.pdf
• Principals, advisers and students face misconceptions about who owns student
work
http://www.splc.org/news/report_detail.asp?id=1584&edition=54
• Copyright
and
fair
use
http://ww.splc.org/presentations/kyr‐copyright.pdf
• Back
to
school
checklist:
who
owns
what?
http://www.splc.org/wordpress/?cat=13
• Guide
to
copyright
law
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32
• Copyright
law
PowerPoint
www.splc.org/presentations/ppcopyrightlaw.pps
• copyright
High school students, teachers
report student media censorship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Twenty-five years after the Supreme Court limited First Amendment protections for high school student journalists, a survey of students and media advisers attending a national journalism convention suggests that censorship in their schools is a common occurrence.
Of the 4,540 students and teachers who attended the National High School Journalism Convention in San Antonio, Tex., Nov. 15-18, 2012, 500 students and 78 advisers responded to survey questions asking about their experiences with censorship of student media.
Significant numbers of both students (42 percent) and advisers (41 percent) said school officials had told them not to publish or air something. Fifty-four percent of students reported a school official reviews the content of their student news medium before it is published or aired. And 58 percent of advisers said someone other than students had the final authority to determine the content of the student media they advise.
Read MoreTweet3: Strong editorial polices
speed you to the Hazelwood cure
Once you have established yourselves as forums, the next step is to design clear and concise policies that protect student final decision-making for your media, and that help protect the school system and community from harm. The best policy can protect you from many illnesses, including Hazelwood, and will go a long way to speed you to the Hazelwood Cure. A bad policy can be worse than the plague..
Many models of policies exist. It is important for you to have a consistent policy across all your student media.
In addition to information below, a myriad of other support on policies exists on the SPLC website and on JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission site.
Resources for developing sound policies
• JEA statement on prior review
• Steps for developing edit policies
• Double-edged sword of policies
• SPLC model editorial policy
• Press Rights Commission PowerPoint on edit policies
• JEA model edit policy
• First Amendment Schools sample policies and information
• Good policies establish credibility
A Teacher’s Kit for curing Hazelwood
by Megan Fromm
January 13, 2013, we commemorate a bittersweet milestone in scholastic publications history: the 1988 Supreme Court ruling in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. This decision institutionalized censorship in most public schools in America, and our students have been publishing in its shadow ever since.
This month, JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission seeks to re-engage teachers, students, administrators and local media in a discussion about Hazelwood’s deleterious effects on civic education and scholastic journalism. Similarly, the Student Press Law Center’s “Cure Hazelwood” campaign is aimed at making the public aware of Hazelwood’s ill effects on our nation’s schools. Together, we hope to encourage administrators and policymakers to reconsider a stifling decision that has long plagued our education system.
We hope you will use, during the coming weeks, our Teacher Kit with resources, lesson plans, and calls to action to energize your students and staffs to learn more about—and ultimately take action against— Hazelwood.
Read MoreHazelwood anniversary a good opportunity
for reflective thought, appropriate action
With Jan. 13, the 25th anniversary of the Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier decision, less than two weeks away, now is a good time to begin to plan how you and your students will note the event.
The Student Press Law Center has created two ways:
• One is a website that will provide resources, “horror stories” and more about the impact of Hazelwood on all students, not just on journalists.
• The second is a fact sheet about the 25th anniversary, with information and links students might find helpful in formulating news and oped pieces about the impact the decision has created.
JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission will also join with the SPLC through a parallel series of teaching materials, activities and stories available in early January. Also look for Hazelwood-related tweets and the hashtag #25HZLWD from the commission and 45words, among others. We invite you to follow along with the materials and to join us with your involvement.
For sobering view of Hazelwood’s impact, check out Hazelwood’s 25th anniversary: ‘Educating ‘ a generation of sheep by David Cuillier.
Read More