Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /var/www/vhosts/jea.org/staging.jea.org/wp-content/plugins/bb-plugin/classes/class-fl-builder-loop.php on line 363

Internet filters: What do they really block?

by John Bowen “For speech class, senior Dave Jennings needed to find information about Nirvana and Kurt Cobain,” Maggie Beckwith, senior reporter for the Lakewood Times, began her story on the effects of Internet filtering. “I was trying to go to the Rolling Stone magazine web site to get lyrics” Jennings said. “I couldn’t get…

Internet filters: More than annoying

by John Bowen To raise awareness of overly restrictive blocking in schools and school libraries of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools, The American Association of School Librarians has designated Wednesday, Sept. 24 as Banned Websites Awareness Day. AASL asked school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly…

5 Important points you might have missed this week

With all the attention to Constitution Day and its lessons this week (which are usable any time), you might have missed other points of information: • Friday, Sept. 19, the SPLC released information about reprinting its articles. For more information, go here. • The same day Evelyn Lauer posted commentary to Huffington Post on the…

JEA-SPRC, SPLC condemn Neshaminy school district for
punishing newspaper editor, adviser
in ongoing fight over ‘Redskins’ name

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Student Press Law Center and Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Commission condemned the actions of the Neshaminy School District in Pennsylvania Wednesday, following the District’s retaliatory and illegal actions calculated to punish thePlaywickian student newspaper, its editors and its adviser. In response to an editorial board decision not to print the…

It’s ironic

by John Bowen It’s ironic that Sept. 17, a day mandated to honor the Constitution of the United States, also this year marks the 2-day suspension of Neshaminy adviser Tara Huber for what the board of education calls insubordination. The board suspended her without pay for failing to stop students from defying its directive. Her crime: She…

Linking news literacy and scholastic journalism

by Megan Fromm This weekend, JEA President Mark Newton, board member Stan Zoller and I all participated in the “Because News Matters” summit on news literacy in Chicago. Hosted by the McCormick Foundation, the Poynter Institute, and other partners, the summit was an opportunity to bring together key stakeholders interested in news literacy education. As…

In case you missed something we’ve done …

In case you might have missed some of our key projects and materials, here is a quick and easy way to locate them. Materials range from access to the Panic Button to passing free expression legislation in your state.

Try P-R-O active measures
to avoid charges of ‘questionable’ reporting

by Stan Zoller In his 1935 classic, “It Can’t Happen Here,” the late Sinclair Lewis wrote about a small-town newspaper editor, who, struggles with the efforts of a fascist leader’s administration censor his paper and ends up in a concentration camp. After escaping from the camp, he ends up in Canada, before leading a resistance…

Going online? Consider these points before you decide

by John Bowen Scholastic journalism educators over the summer devoted a lot of time and discussion about whether print is dying and whether their programs should switch to digital first or digital only. Before advisers and students make a decision to move totally online, think about and discuss these points:

How much information is enough for a story? An ethics lesson

How much information is enough for a story? by John Bowen Description Students will explore the following questions: What makes a good headline? What makes a good infographic? What makes a good multimedia package? Is the practice of “All you need to know about X” bad for journalism? In working on those questions, students will…

The Playwickian v. Neshaminy School Board:
What is freedom of the student press
and how does a staff make and defend editorial decisions?
A lesson in freedom

The Playwickian vs. Neshaminy School Board – What is freedom of the student press and how does a staff make and defend editorial decisions? by Cindi Hyatt Description This lesson is intended to promote discussion of what the First Amendment defines as free speech and press.  Students need to recognize that the First Amendment is…

Constitution Day lessons and activities, 2014

by Lori Keekley The Scholastic Press Rights Commission works to provide information and resources on legal and ethical issues to journalism students, teachers and administrators. SPRC members also work to promote the First Amendment rights of students across the nation, and is a commission of the Journalism Education Association. We designed our Constitution Day lesson…