The Latest – Page 42

Apply for First Amendment recognition

Applications are now available for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award (FAPFA). In its 16th year, FAPFA recognition is designed to identify and recognize high schools that actively support and protect First Amendment rights of their students and teachers. The honor focuses on press freedoms. The application can be completed by using a SurveyGizmo form. Deadline for submission…

Celebrate Free Speech Week,
show it means something real

Free Speech Week starts Monday, Oct. 19 and continues through Oct. 25. Let’s show the nation it means something to scholastic journalism, its students and advisers. According to information from the its website, Free Speech Week (FSW) is a yearly event to raise public awareness of the importance of free speech in our democracy- and to celebrate that…

Diverse thinking, open eyes key
to pursuing Hazelwood legislation

by Stan Zoller, MJE Ah, fall. Football, the World Series, Homecoming, and Halloween are all traditions and events synonymous with autumn. There seems, however, to be another occurrence that becomes front and enter as the leaves change color: Drives for legislation that gives scholastic journalists that opportunity to practice uninhibited free and responsible journalism. Call…

Student journalists report on Genius Girl story that goes viral

The student journalists at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology knew the story that was going viral in the public media about a student from their school needed to be told from the inside by the people who knew the real story. The story of the ‘Genius Girl’ from TJHSST moved through public media…

From mission to manual: Fitting the pieces into a strong Foundation

Part 4 of a series on pieces of the journalism puzzle: fitting the pieces into a strong foundation The four pieces soft the journalistic puzzle – mission statement, editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual – complement each other in a way to show student participants and community members what they can expect. Taken together, they…

Points to avoid in mission statements

Part 3 of a series on pieces of the journalism puzzle: mission pieces to omit by John Bowen As with any guiding statement, unclear, undefineable or imprecise wording can lead to misinterpretation of intended principles. Thus, we would suggest mission statements do not include these terms: Entertain(ment). To make this a major point of your mission…

Careful preparation creates
strong mission statements

Part 2 of a series on pieces of the journalism puzzle: Mission Statements by Candace and John Bowen A mission statement defines your student media, shows your audience what’s important to you and helps them see why you do what you do. It’s not easy to write an effective one. When JEA’s Scholastic Press…

Build a strong foundation by locking in
pieces of the puzzle called journalism

Part 1 of a series on fitting the pieces of the journalism puzzle: Knowing where to start by Candace and John Bowen Preparing student media for a new year often begins with design- and theme-planning. For a good number this includes summer workshops for training in reporting platforms, visual reporting approaches and the latest in apps…

News literacy resource: Using NewsWhip in the classroom

Teaching news and media literacy requires a seemingly endless set of contemporary resources. As media changes, examples become outdated, and students move on to the next technology. A primary goal of news literacy education is to help students see how media operates and its effects on society—in other words, what does the “system” of media look…

Apply for First Amendment Press Freedom Award recognition

by John Bowen With the recognition and celebration of Constitution Day, applications are now available for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award (FAPFA). In its 16th year, the recognition is designed to identify and recognize high schools that actively support and protect First Amendment rights of their students and teachers. The honor focuses on press freedoms….

Illinois civics law reinforces
value of journalism education

by Stan Zoller, MJE The successful passage and subsequent signing by Illinois governor Bruce Rauner of legislation that mandates a one-semester civic education course for high school students provides more than ‘just another’ social science course. It re-enforces the importance of journalism education. Throughout the process, The Illinois Task Force on Civic Education cited the…

Students making content decisions – 1
Administrative review – 0

by Candace Perkins Bowen Even media staffs that have been the well-respected voice of a large, diverse student body sometimes run into problems with administrators. And sometimes a few tweaks of the editorial policy or staff manual could get them through the rough spots and apparently back on track to publish what they know their…