Law & Ethics

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Ethical Considerations for Virtual Reality

The lesson will help students discuss and establish journalistic and ethical criteria for making technological decisions before deciding whether to adopt a new journalism tool.

Ethical Considerations for Profanity

This exercise will examine the relevant legal issues in using profanity and also help students create ethical solutions to guide their decision-making choices.

Eight Functions for Journalism Today and Tomorrow

In this lesson, students will learn about eight new approaches to journalism as developed by journalists Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel.

Ethical Dilemmas in Yearbook Production

This lesson will help students to develop “ethical fitness” by reacting to real situations in producing yearbook content.

Creating Put Up Guidelines to Counter Takedown Demands

In this lesson, students will learn about and create a series of Put Up standards, steps student media can take to attempt to avoid takedown demands.

Should Virtual Reality be a Reality in Scholastic Media?

This lesson focuses students on a hot new tool for journalism—virtual reality—and helps students and advisers decide how it might fit into their journalism program.

Creating Ethical Models and Staff Manual Procedures

In this lesson, students will create ethical guidelines for potential ethical situations.

Introducing students to takedown requests

Learn what takedown demands are, examine criteria needed to craft responses and develop guidelines for when a request occurs.

Making informed takedown decisions

Students will learn what takedown demands are, examine criteria needed to craft responses and develop guidelines for when a request occurs.

Creating open records requests, part 1

This lesson will help prepare students to do that and show them why it is an important part of the information gathering process.

Creating open records requests, part 2

An important part of journalistic coverage is knowing how to complete open records requests for supportive data that add depth and perspective to your school and local reporting. This lesson will help prepare your students to create open records requests, specifically by noting what records are legally excluded from such requests. Note: This lesson directly follows Open Records Part 1.

Understanding journalistic forum status

This lesson defines the three types of forums and outlines what each could mean for students. The lesson also enables student journalists to choose which forum best meets their needs and take steps to create that forum. This lesson works best when used before the Creating an Editorial Policy lesson and after the Mission Planning lessons.

Creating a Mission Statement for Student Media

Students create mission statements that go beyond generic wording. Instead, mission statements should help establish who student journalists are, their role, and purpose.

The importance of dissenting voices

Using examples from current events, such as protests at the University of Missouri, students will examine and discuss the impact of dissenting voices.

Examining states’ student free expression status

This lesson exposes students to the presence or absence of state student freedom of expression laws.

Protest songs and the First Amendment

This lesson allows students to explore songs of protest through research and presentation.

Creating ethical guidelines and procedure statements

In this lesson, students will analyze current policies and write guidelines and procedures.

SPLC media law presentation: Freedom of information

Students will learn about the importance of access to information as well as obtaining access to public records and meetings.

Law and ethics review and exam

Students will create questions covering the topics discussed during the law and ethics unit.

SPLC media law presentation: Reporter’s privilege

Students will be exposed to Reporter’s Privilege, its history and its application to scholastic journalists.

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