The Latest Archives

Exposing the killing impact of Heroin

When Zach Anders wrote about the rise of heroin in his community, he faced prior review. However, the administrators did not kill the story and it later went on to earn several awards. He published this in his high school newspaper, Sitqayu at Henry M. Jackson High School, in Mill Creek, Wash. According to his…

Making a Difference:
Freshman capstone project
localizes national issue of gay rights

by Jane Blystone Ally O’ Reilly wanted her capstone journalism project for the year to make a difference. She knew that the national issue of gay rights needed localization in her school publication, Pine Whispers. Her adviser, Stephen Hanf, at R. J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was impressed that a freshman would…

JEA listed among key ethics and media law resources

JEA has been listed as a part of key media law and ethics resources by journalism degree.org titled 100 Key Ethics & Media Law Resources for Journalists. “Modern journalists, and anyone else working in the media, have thorny ethical issues to contend with,” Kara James wrote in a letter notifying JEA president Mark Newton of the compilation….

Making our words matter

by Tom Gayda Rights vs. responsibilities. Or, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. These are the phrases to keep in mind when living in a social media world. Putting the First Amendment in action is our right, but with that right is the need to be responsible. There are many things a person…

Teacher Appreciation Week
recommendation for principals

Dear Sir or Madam: Here’s a little suggestion for Teacher Appreciation Week gift-giving. It will make your journalism teacher happier. Besides it will make you and, most important, your students a lot happier. My suggestion: An open forum, no-prior-review policy where students, under the guidance of a trained journalism teacher, make the content decisions. All…

National scholastic journalism groups’ position on Neshaminy policy proposal

As the national organizations of journalism educators committed to the training of future journalists and the preparation of citizens for life in our democracy, we write to express our vigorous opposition to the proposed policy changes under consideration by the Neshaminy Board of School Directors that relate to school-sponsored student publications We find the proposed…

Read my lips: Students should exercise caution when producing lip sync videos

By Megan Fromm Sometimes, pop culture and reality align to provide the perfect anecdote for our weekly SPRC posts. This week, the timing of Jimmy Fallon and Emma Stone’s heated lip sync battle on the Tonight Show couldn’t have come at a better time. Earlier this week, the celebrities dueled over who could best move their mouth…

Guns in America: From schools to shooting ranges

In light of recent discussions nationwide on arming teachers and Second Amendment rights, the Urban Legend staff at Urban School of San Francisco researched and reported on student opinions of gun regulations. Read this PDF to see how they connected with a wide range of individuals to tell the story. Guns in America Adviser Beatrice…

Remembering James Tidwell

by Stan Zoller If you were to make a list of the amazing advisers who grace the walls of journalism scholastic education notoriety, odds are you would start rattling of the awards he or she has won. Pacemakers, Write-off winner, state JOY winners, Best of Show winners, etc. And the list would keep on going….

Students speak out about cancellation of SGA elections

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Series Students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC, spoke out when a faculty committee chose officers for the upcoming student government offices instead of holding an election. That misstep caught the attention of The Beacon staff who wrote about the injustice in several issues. By the end to the year,…

A newsroom guide for handling online comments

“The New York Times and The Washington Post have the two smartest teams of lawyers and editors in the world, and they’ve come to opposite conclusions. The Times is a review first/post later system and The Post is a post first/takedown later system. So there’s no industry standard or consensus.” – Frank LoMonte, Student Press…

Put Up recommendations

Developing a Put Up Policy Sometimes the best way to think about a Takedown Policy is to devise a system of proactive steps to avoid needing to take information down. Here are 10 steps to take before publishing: • Independently confirm information to be used for accuracy, context, perspective, truth and coherence • Determine whether…