Avoiding copyright issues and staying safe when using photos and other content
Having problems getting appropriate photos to accompany stories? What about possible copyright issues that could arise from using these photos? Here’s some information that may be useful. A great guide about uncertainty in using photos: When in doubt, don’t. Get written permission before using. With that said, there are times when Fair Use applies. For questions about using…
Read MoreNew Voices Laws may bring new challenges
As the pandemic lingers and school districts ping-pong back and forth between at-home learning, in-school learning and hybrid learning, one thing hasn’t changed. Laws governing student expression. Fourteen states already have laws that protect the First Amendment rights of student journalists and, reports the Student Press Law Center, laws have been introduced or reintroduced in…
Read MoreHighlighting some SPRC key and most-used posts
Press Rights Minute is one of several of our services buried in the SPRC vault. Press Rights Minute has a wealth of 60-second audio support on substantive, key journalistic, issues for advisers, students and administrators. The Panic Button is a way to reach out for SPRC and JEA legal and/or ethical advice. We are not…
Read MoreTeaching law and ethics so it MEANS something
by Candace Bowen, MJE Teaching law and ethics isn’t easy. Most beginning teachers have discovered the hard way that some methods just don’t work. JEA members taking the MJE certification test often have spent far too much time wrestling with the question that asked for a three-week lesson plan on the topic and not having…
Read MoreFor journalism teachers, context is essential to find accurate information
by John Bowen, MJE The 2020 election looms less than two months away, and conflicting, sensational and hateful information force themselves into the news, the rallies and, sadly, people’s fears. Looking for information to help protect your reporters and audience alike from mis- and dis- information? We have some suggestions: First, lessons and activities…
Read MoreBe proactive in educating your school administrators about student press rights
by Mitch Ziegler, MJE On a newspaper deadline night I was reading a story about a student’s trip to Jordan and the West Bank, which focused on her strong criticisms about how her family was treated by the Israelis who ran the border crossing. It was an opinion piece, which argued solely through description. Like…
Read MoreConstitution Day 2020
In a unique year featuring not only a world-wide pandemic but also mass protests, a presidential election and plenty of attempts at spreading misinformation, it’s as important as ever for students to understand their rights. Constitution Day, observed Sept. 17 each year, celebrates the signing of the United States Constitution, and provides a perfect opportunity…
Read MorePart 1: Riding out the storm to save stories only you can do best
Unfortunately, the pandemic is the perfect storm for high school media. Students have important stories only they can tell, but administrators really don’t want all these stories out there. On top of that, some admins are already finding ways to hamper reporting – or stop it altogether. Being aware of these tactics and knowing how…
Read MoreGagging students but not requiring masks
by Jan Ewell, MJE Hannah Watters, 15, suspended for five days, Wed. Aug. 5, for tweeting pictures of mostly maskless students in a crowded hallway at North Paulding High in Dallas, Ga, about an hour outside of Atlanta, is free to return to school Monday, Aug. 10. Friday, Aug. 7, she tweeted, “My school called…
Read MoreWorking to develop ethical fitness
It’s the perfect storm as Covid-19, questions of police brutality and subsequent violent protestor response mix into an already seething atmosphere of political unease. Each of these issues alone could deeply stress scholastic journalism’s ethical framework. Together, these and many other questions and incidents, will provide scholastic media students with challenges as they strive to…
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