The Latest – Page 48

Takedown requests

Ethical guidelines Journalists may be asked to remove online content for any number of reasons. Just because content is unpopular or controversial does not mean a media staff should comply with such requests. When journalists meet their goal of producing consistent, responsible journalism, they likely will choose to leave the content in question online…

Correcting errors

Ethical guidelines Mistakes happen. What matters is how student journalists handle such situations. Student editors should correct errors as quickly and visibly as possible. Sometimes this means correcting a print error on a website and then following up in the next issue. Staff manual process When a reader or viewer has identified an error,…

News judgment and news values

Ethical guidelines Student media should consistently and purposefully brainstorm what story ideas might be relevant and valuable to their audience. Students should not ignore those story ideas that might be sensitive or cause offense but instead should consider how to cover these issues in meaningful, sensitive ways. Student media should also recognize while audiences are…

Diversity of sources

Ethics guidelines Coverage and sources should reflect the school population and its various communities, including a wide range of sources who represent students and staff. Staff manual process Students should take care not only to represent diversity through their sources but also in the content they pursue. Additionally, students should avoid interviewing or photographing friends…

Allowing sources to preview content before publication

Ethical guidelines Sources do not have the right to review materials prior to publication. Allowing sources to preview content at any stage of production raises serious ethical and journalistic practice questions. Staff manual process Student editors should develop a position on prior review requests and ensure all staff understand the process for addressing such a…

Email and texting: digital information-gathering

Ethical guidelines Journalists should conduct interviews and gather information in person as often as possible. Because it is sometimes necessary to use electronic methods such as email and text messaging, students should make clear their identity and intentions openly and professionally before using these methods. Staff manual process Students should understand that face-to-face interviews offer the…

Verification

Ethical guidelines Journalists should approach their reporting and interviewing with a healthy dose of skepticism. This doesn’t mean they should trust no one, but it means they should be aware of potential conflicts of interest or barriers to receiving accurate information. Reporters should always verify, even if the information seems incredibly obvious and simplistic. Verifying…

Unnamed sources

Ethical guidelines Journalism is based on truth and accuracy. Using unnamed sources risks both of those standards. For that reason, students should seek sources willing to speak on the record. Unnamed sources should be used sparingly and only after students evaluate how the need for the information balances with the problems such sources create. Occasionally,…

Treatment of minors

Ethical guidelines All sources deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but there are special legal and ethical situations that apply to minors. In general, minors are anyone under the state’s legal age of adulthood, usually 18. This poses some special concerns because often a student who is a senior may no longer be…

Public records and public meetings

Ethical guidelines Journalists have a right and responsibility to access public records and attending public meetings as part of the information-gathering process. Open records laws typically presume that records created or maintained or meetings held by a government agency are open to the public unless they fall within a few specific exemptions written into the…

Working with a board-approved policy

Policy Staffs should include the district policy in their staff manuals if available. If not, they should work towards reaching agreement with the administration and school board for a policy all can agree makes the most educational sense. Three examples of these board policies are available, each with that same basic premise but…

Media-level editorial policies

Ethics guidelines Media-level editorial policies aren’t as much legal protection as the board-level policies, but they could show how students operate “in practice” and thus might be viewed as some protection. Thus they are a must for student media. JEA’s Model Editorial Policy is a good example because it adds discussion points such as…