The Latest – Page 55

Online comments:
Allow anyone to post,
or monitor and approve first
An ethics lesson

Considering online comments: Allow anyone to comment to protect the forum or keep comments focused? by John Bowen Description Should online comments be allowed without review? Does doing so protect the forum concept? Students will examine the following questions: • What are the purposes of having comments for online and social media, for news as…

Taking your student media online:
Will students follow online news media?
An ethics lesson

Taking your student media online: Will audiences follow online news media? by John Bowen Description What should you consider before taking your student media online? This lesson will examine areas students should explore prior to transitioning to online. Students will work through the following questions: • Why should audiences follow you online? • What are…

Is print dead? An ethics lesson

Is print dead? by john Bowen Description Can students read the Constitution in its original form (cursive)? What could this mean for paper consumption? The JEA listserv recently had an extended discussion about whether print student media was dead, or at least in its death throes. Students will examine the following questions: • What are…

Getting your editorial policy
the right way

by Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE Part 1 of a 2-part blog on teacher plagiarism and copyright issues Teachers can be the world’s worst thieves without ever meaning to be. We’ve all done it — sometimes out of panicked need, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes because we think our classroom is some sort of copyright-free zone….

Noteworthy this week in support of student expression

With Constitution Day (Sept. 17) and its Congressional mandate to teach a lesson on constitutional issues, the press rights commission would like to highlight a couple of points: • NCTE released a statement, NCTE Beliefs about Students’ Right to Write, that could lead to lessons and discussion. • Fond du Lac High School in Wisconsin…

Fond du Lac gets new policy,
content in hands of students, adviser

Students at Wisconsin’s Fond du Lac High have a new editorial policy this fall after a spring and summer of working to reach compromise that would end prior review and restraint. Reporter Sharon Roznik wrote in the local fdlreporter the board of education would support guidelines that give the “final decision-making process for publication ‘lies with the editors-in-chief…

Facing ethical yearbook issues? Some thoughts

by Mary Kay Downes The very nature of a yearbook being the permanent record of the year presents numerous issues which primarily have to do with the permanency of the book. Yearbooks live forever! Often yearbooks are viewed as a public relations tool of the school, and the administration and/or community are reluctant to have…

Who owns student-produced content?

Scenario: Student journalists have just completed their first converged media assignments and are just about ready for publication across the various platforms. Several indicate they think their work is good enough to share with other groups.Can they legally or ethically do that with repercussion? By Mark Goodman The question of who owns the copyright of…

The R-Word and the WaPo

by Matt Schott August 22, the Washington Post editorial board decided to no longer use the term Redskins in its editorials (I believe it will live on in the sports and news sections). This is a decision that seems to be pretty roundly lauded, particularly by Native American groups who’ve been fighting for this change for…

Instead of removing students from the solution, administrators should empower them to figure it out

What’s best for students? We return to that essential question constantly as decision-makers in every realm of education. In the “yearbook yikes” dilemma featured in this month’s Ethical Educator column in School Administrator magazine, the solutions address what may be best for one student but fail to mention what’s best for many others. Where are the student editors…

Welcome back – here’s a look
at what to expect in the coming weeks

As we all head back to school, look for some new content in the next week: • An article focusing who who owns scholastic media content and choices to establish best approach for students • An article discussing points of questions involving yearbook ethics • A first look at a Policy Package to will help staffs decide what they…

Updates on scholastic issues across the nation

Several events in the world of scholastic journalism – and that affects it – occurred recently. Censorship issues have not taken a summer break: • Both good and bad news exist for two publications in NJ. First the good news. John Wodnick, the adviser of the Allendale , NJ newspaper, said. “Thought you should know– the censored…