The Latest Archives

Avoiding Legal Problems, Step 1: Interview Notes Deadline

Student newspapers have two ways to avoid legal problems. Your students can never print anything controversial, creative or of interest to their readers, or you can teach your students how to write about controversy responsibly. This responsibility begins long before the story is printed. Having your editors check the interview notes of the reporters can…

It’s time to stand up

So with all of this recent hubbub surrounding President Obama’s speech about education, I’ve come to a conclusion: it has never been more important for teachers, journalism teachers in particular, to be adamant in making sure their voices are heard alongside and in opposition to those calling for speeches like the President – any President…

Digging for our credibility

In the ongoing discussion on the Obama education speech, one JEA member suggested the press provided too much of a platform for fringe opinions instead of balanced reporting. While that may be, I’d like to suggest something H. L. Hall always stresses as important: digging. All too often, in commercial media and in scholastic media…

Learning to check things out

There’s no political agenda here. Those leaning to the left and those leaning to the right both need to pay attention. This is about education and what we simply must be teaching our students about checking their facts and their sources. We used to teach students to be careful of what they used from the…

A Great Time of Reflection: two issues for discussion and reporting by student journalists

Two events are drawing a lot of commentary this week. They are also great starting points for classroom discussion and student media reporting beyond just giving opinions. One is whether the Associated Press should have published photos of a young Marine mortally injured along with a story about him and his mission. The other is…

Parents are the keys to saving J-programs

On Aug. 27th, I talked about the learning that is lost when J-programs are cancelled. But how do we save them or get them reinstated? Parents are the key. Administrators and school board members may not pay attention to teachers whose programs are threatened, but they certainly pay attention to parents. Parents of students in…

Needed: Student media which are public forums

The Journalism Education Association and The Center for Scholastic Journalism are looking for more schools who are public forums for student expression. Why? Because we have had several requests for numbers – and for schools in particular areas. So, if your school’s student media are public forums for student expression, let us know by going…

Tinker and McCluhan meet

It’s not often in the confines of my brain that the names Mary Beth Tinker and Marshall McLuhan bump into each other. However, after reading about the travails of the Palmer family in Texas though, the two ’60s luminaries kept cropping up in my thoughts. I don’t know if Pete Palmer and his parents even…

It’s a new year – spread your reporting wings against censorship

As school begins, I can’t help but be excited about the coming year for my students. Our newspaper, The Smoky Hill Express, has great plans to abandon the usual scholastic soft coverage of clubs and newsletter events and tackle more important news this year. In our budget are plans for features on alcohol sales to…

Credibility may mean less censorship

Although we’ve walked around the edges of this topic, no one has ever done good quantitative research on the correlation between credibility and censorship. Maybe it’s time someone did to prove my point…. If your students can use AP style and know the difference between a pica and a pronoun, do they have more freedom…

Spare the budget axe: Don’t cut skills-building journalism

Budget concerns are causing schools all over the country to cut one of the programs where students learn the most, journalism. Isn’t learning by students the primary goal of schools? Students in publication classes learn not only writing skills, they learn to work as a team to produce a publication. They learn to work with…

Pennsylvania paper reports students, school “seem pleased” with policy progress

A Pennsylvania newspaper is reporting students of The Spoke and school officials at Conestoga High School feel they are drawing closer to an agreement over what student media policies will be. Earlier this spring students and journalism educators raised concern over proposed changes in the policies which seemed to institute prior review. Today’s article can be…