A move by the leadership in the Iowa state senate to prohibit journalists from working on the floor has implications far beyond the Des Moines statehouse. Student journalists, whether at the collegiate or scholastic level, need to keep an eye open for similar moves. According to a report in the Cedar Rapids Gazette: “…Republican leaders in…

A divided nation faces book and curriculum censorship, plus moves to prohibit discussion of anti-racist ideas in schools Can you teach controversial books in your class? I always warn my students how dangerous question leads are and how a wrong answer can scare a reader away. But the question you just read is now my…

To many journalists, the “rush” of a breaking news story is like no other feeling as journalistic instincts kick in at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s an international, national, regional or local story, covering breaking news requires journalists to resort back to those A-game skills they learned as a student journalist. It also entails an…

Two Ohio high schools have now canceled fall productions of the same LGBTQ-themed play Two points. Two Ohio public school systems. The first point is about two student performances of ‘She Kills Monsters’ killed this fall. Students at Hillsboro High School in southwestern Ohio faced the news of the play’s cancellation after rehearsals had begun,…

Which journalistic change can best enhance free expression, ensure essential information and restore trust? The past two years brought concepts previously unfamiliar to scholastic journalism: asynchronous, hybrid and Covid. Students and advisers practiced new techniques: Zoom, safe distance, remote interviews and more created individually in schools nationwide. For some journalism programs it was a time…

Banned Books Week doesn’t need to be over yet  Free speech is free speech, whether it’s an article students want to publish about unsanitary bathrooms or a book for an English class that delves into a sensitive – but vital —  topic. We need to support everyone’s right to access or publish sometimes unpopular subjects. It’s…