It's late - and my mind is still reveling in the story of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman's ability to uphold American democracy as journalists better than the government could in All the President's Men...or was it Woodward and Bernstein. Anyway on to the blog...
As we discussed ethics today with Steve Elliot, a few major thoughts came to mind - first of all, as teachers of journalism, it is important to learn and trust the process. In my first two years of advising, this is something that has both scared and reassured me. It has scared me, because this means that we really and truly need to learn the ethics and laws behind journalism - a big field. However, learning the basics, and slowly using the process to discern what to print, what not to print, and how to ethically report a story, will lead us to correctly advise our students.
Seek truth and report it as fully as possible
Act independently
Minimize harm
Be accountable
Two ideas to share with the group - it's been mentioned, but just as a reminder - the SPLC (Student Press Law Center) is a fantastic resource. We called them a few times to get advice on a story this year - one involved student athletes and minors. We were trying to decide whether to print a blurred student photo, or a photo of just a helmet. Needless to say, we went with the helmet so as not to incriminate anyone, even from the blurred student photo.
Another idea to make sure that students are not being biased in their reporting is to have students list out their top ten friends on a sheet of paper. Don't tell students why until after they have listed their top ten friends - once the papers have been collected, let them know that none of these names may show up as sources in their articles, then hang the lists on the wall. Students were frustrated with this, but also challenged in a great way, and I think in the end really appreciated it. Laurie Hanson from Stillwater High School gave me this idea last year, and it worked exactly as planned! Thanks Laurie!
I am looking forward to another week of incredible learning.
Andrea Krueger
Centennial High School
Circle Pines, Minnesota
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We've used the Student Press Law Center several times also to be sure everything is fine with a story.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a godsend to approach our previous jittery principals who think a potentially controversial story does not fit their mindset of some vague educational goal, and when I assure them, "a lawyer's looked at it" and show them a printout of the e-mail, well, that's the knock-out punch. Their axe is suddenly dulled.
That's a great idea Andrea has of creating the top 10 friend list. It's something I want to try this year. You may recall I brought up in the discussion of students "too eager" to do a story, which is a red flag I've learned to lower.
That is a great idea for the beginning of the year. I know of a few incidents that our paper ran an article involving conflict of interest. They could have been avoided or minimized with some understanding established at the start of the school year.
ReplyDeleteI love your practical tip on having students list their friends. I've never done anything like having students list their clubs or friends, and I think I need to. I also think you should share your kinesthetic introduction to peer editing and revision with everyone, Andrea.
ReplyDeleteBecky Gemmell
Escondido High School
Escondido, Calif.