Insights

Hold the agenda: Truth and Balanced Reporting

When information changes rapidly, give the public balance and verification to act on by Stan Zoller, MJE During the onslaught of media coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing reporters have been doing is meticulously checking the facts surrounding the outbreak, especially data emanating from the White House. Student journalists need to follow the same…

Insights

Finding and using copyright-free artwork

by Susan McNulty, CJE, The Stampede and The Hoofbeat adviser, J.W. Mitchell High School, Trinity, Florida As scholastic journalism programs moved from classroom to homes this spring, students and advisers adjusted to a virtual newsroom. Just a few of the success stories of scholastic journalism across the country include Scarsdale High School’s Maroon, The Diamondback at the…

Insights

Basic lessons for teachers to use during online learning

by Lori Keekley, MJE Several members of the Scholastic Press Rights Committee developed some lessons for advisers to use with their journalism students. The lessons are intended to be asynchronous basic introductions. The goal is to introduce students to the content and provide resources they then can examine further. The lessons include information on the…

Insights

Resources for building lessons and ethics guidelines

Use these short resources to build lessons, ethics guidelines Forum status of student mediaIf you’re developing a new policy, the Scholastic Press Rights Committee recommends using language something like this: [Name of publication] is a designated public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without prior review from school officials. Prior review…

Insights

Cutting through the ‘New Normal’ of COVID-19

by John Bowen, MJE As the hours turn into days and the days turn into weeks, the amount of information piles up next to the growing stack of conflicting ideas and ways to deal with COVID-19. Will Chloroquine be the right type of medicine? How much time should people stay in homes? When, or if,…

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School buildings close due to COVID-19 and yearbook deadlines loom

by Susan McNulty, CJE The Stampede and The Hoofbeat adviser J.W. Mitchell High School, Trinity, Florida What a shock when COVID-19 escalated quickly from a virus in China to a threat that brought about a near total shutdown of life as we know it. And what is a yearbook adviser to do, when empty pages…

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Intense times require intense journalists: Best practices for reporting on COVID-19

by Stan Zoller, MJE The COVID-19 pandemic that is gripping the country, let alone the world, has had this simple impact on journalists – intense times require intense journalism. And that starts with all journalists and journalism educators. We’ve seen issues that have impacted students including school shootings and concussions in student athletes to name just a…

Insights

An activity for a dose of skepticism

by Lindsay Coppens, The Harbinger, Algonquin Regional High School, Northborough, Mass. Scholastic journalists, like all journalists, need to be skeptical. Not only of news they read and of sources they interview, but of themselves. Journalists should question everything, including each other. If student journalists aren’t willing to take a hard look with a discerning eye…

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Reporting controversy, issues student journalists can tell best

by John Bowen, MJE The above statement is a good reminder in 2020 of our social responsibility to report all aspects of teen issues – those with good, bad and impact – because our audiences have a right to know. These are stories student journalists can tell best. As journalists we do not actively protest,…

Insights

When students decide what is newsworthy

by Susan McNulty, CJE The Stampede and The Hoofbeat adviser J.W. Mitchell High School, Trinity, Florida Yesterday, my newspaper staff distributed the February issue of The Hoofbeat to the 2000+ students at our school. According to the staff, the issue was well received by the student body, based on the most reliable measure of teenage…

Insights

SNO has a nice post on rules for using photos you find online. Check it out.

I was reading SNO’s e-newsletter The SNO Report last week and came upon this nice guide for staffs. There’s a misconception by many that all photos online can be used if you site the source. Some pull photos from their local newspaper while others attribute photos they are using to “Courtesy of Google.” Unless you…

Insights

Yes Virginia, journalism still exists

by Stan Zoller, MJE More than a few years ago, I saw a sign on a colleague’s desk that read: “Tact: Being able to tell someone where to go in such a way that they actually look forward to the trip.” Heeding that advice, I’ve become a hell of a travel agent. Case in point. I…