Restrictions
If you download a photo off the Internet to print in your publication, you should assume the material is …
copyright
Which guarantees the freedom of the press in the United States?
The First Amendment of the Constitution
Which Court case is this? 1969. You don’t lose your rights at the schoolhouse gate
Tinker v. Des Moines
Several students have started a petition to "encourage" Mr. Smythe to retire. This petition has started to gain some ground and now 126 people have signed it. The students who started the petition allege the teacher often sleeps in his study hall and often has to check the teacher's edition of the textbook to make sure he's correct. Several students — including the editor in chief — has signed the petition. You've been assigned the story. When you look into who has signed the petition, you find only 74 of the students on the list have had the teacher. Many students are eager to speak on the topic, and you've interviewed 15 of them already. Most have indicated Mr. Smythe only recently became a terrible teacher — but they are fed up with his sporadic attendance and inability to answer questions. You asked the administration for comment — to which you has a resounding "no comment" followed by "you can't publish this story." Deadline is tomorrow and Mr. Smythe is getting surgery today, so he is unavailable.
What do you do?
Answer:
Wait on the story.
Some items to consider:
• Could the attendance and sleep issue be linked to his health and surgery? The so-called filled flask could be anything — not necessarily alcohol.
• Right of reply: You should allow the teacher to comment on the allegations. Obviously, he is unavailable because of surgery. If you were able to get through to him, he’s probably been prescribed pain medication, which would indicate he is not in a clear state of mind to be interviewed.
Conflict of interest: The editor in chief has signed the petition as well.
Full robust story: Are you telling the full story? You need to get his side of the story.
Libel depending on the comments? If the information is false, you could be sued for libel.
What is "FAB" journalism?
Fair, accurate & balanced journalism
This the practice of passing off another’s work as your own is called ________________
plagiarism
What are the five freedoms of the First Amendment
speech, press, the right to petition, the right to assembly, religion
Which court case?
1988. The administration censored stories concerning teen pregnancy and the effects of divorce on children from a school-sponsored student newspaper.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
You get a letter to the editor from Sammy Senior about the same teacher. It states the following:
Dear editor,
I am angry that our administration has decided to keep Mr. Smythe as a teacher. I personally delivered a petition to our dear principal, Ms. Carol, who based on the noise from her office as I left, callously threw the petition in the trash when I left her office. I mean, couldn't she at least recycle it?
Mr. Smythe has been absent for seven school days of the last three weeks. I personally saw him take something that looked like a flask and put something in his coffee mug. When I told Ms. Carol this, she told me to "mind my own business."
It's time we take back our school, and stage a protest during lunch next Thursday. Bring your posters and signs. It's time to take back our school!
Yours in solidarity,
Sammy Senior
What do you do? Do you run the letter as is? With changes?
Libel: While it seems somewhat innocent, the allegation of the teacher taking out a flask and putting the contents in his coffee mug sound like alcohol. This is a red flag scenario.
Allegations — The student didn't see trash, she could have thrown something else away.
Substantial disruption: This could be an issue as well. This could be a “substantial disruption to the school day.”
Since the news organization can still be sued for a third party letter, you should return it with an explanation of why to the student. However, tell the writer he could fix the problems and resubmit.
How do you stay away from bias?
Answers will vary
What is the definition of libel?
false written defamation of character
Fill in the blank: Public school officials don’t have ___________ authority to censor student media
unlimited
Which court case is this?
2007. Student speech promoting drug use isn’t covered by First Amendment ("bong hits for Jesus man!").
Morse v. Frederick
Coming back from lunch, you walk by the bathroom and hear someone getting sick. When he leaves the bathroom, you ask if he is OK. He states he is. This "just happens" sometimes. You recognize the voice. It's Mark Brown from your English class. Instinctively, you ask him how often it happens and start interviewing him on what it's like to get sick right after eating. You're surprised how open he is about this, but you keep asking questions while secretly recording the entire conversation on your phone. (You don't want taking notes to become obtrusive to the interview.) Excitedly, you go back to class. You've found a way to localize your story on bulimia.
Any problems?
Did you identify yourself as a reporter? This student may not know he’s going on the record. This could be an invasion of privacy.
The information is also potentially libelous. How do you know the individual has bulimia? You should assume nothing, allege nothing.
Secret recording: This may be illegal in your state, and according to journalism ethics, it is unethical to record someone without his or her knowledge.
Can facts be copyrighted?
NO
What are the 3 factors considered in granting copyright?
Requirement 1: Originality
Requirement 2: Minimal Creativity
Requirement 3: Fixation
In order to be SUCCESSFULLY sued for libel, the person suing has to show what
the reporter/editor acted unreasonably
Which court case is this?
Circuit Court decision helped to establish school publications could be forums
Dean v. Utica
While photographing several athletes during Division 1 sports signing day the photographer astutely realizes Sam Slate is missing. The student publications have covered Sam's saga of college basketball team choice. In fact, the yearbook just sent off the coverage in the last deadline, which included an exclusive from Sam about all the basketball prospects clamoring to sign the stand-out player. On the way to the publications room, you run into the athletic director. You ask why Sam wasn't present at the signing — especially since you walked into school with Sam this morning. The AD seems a bit bewildered, but doesn't say anything. You take the photos to your editor.
The editor shrugs it off saying it is probably nothing. What should you do?
Trust your instincts and verify, verify, verify.
This would not be the first time a source possibly has lied to a student staffer. Find Sam and get his side of the story. (Maybe he went home sick and couldn’t attend.) Then, go back to your athletic director and even the schools Sam said he had offers from. Get to the truth.
What are the 4 elements to the SPJ code of ethics?
According to the Hazelwood case, what are 2 reasons (there are more than 2 possible) that an article can be censored?
Poorly written”, "Biased or Prejudiced”, “Unsuitable for immature audiences”, “Ungrammatical”, Material that would “associate the school with anything other than neutrality on matters of political controversy; Material “inconsistent with the shared values of a civilized social order”
The 3 roles of a free press are...
Creating an informed citizenry (“Marketplace of ideas”)
Watchdog
“Conscience of society”
Which court case?
1973. First Amendment doesn’t apply to unwanted sexual content.
Miller v. California
You learn your school board is hosting a community-wide discussion on school safety. You know this topic is important, so you contact a writer to come along. Although you know the photos may not be exceptional, you’re eager to cover this topic and photograph the participants and discussion. Upon entering, the school district lawyer states you may not take photos or take video of the event. The school lawyer cites FERPA laws and says, “After all, it’s not an official school board meeting.”
What do you do?
FERPA is about education records. Education records are defined as those records maintained by the institution that are directly related to a student.
Here, there are no records yet. When those records would be created, they would be in the possession of students. The records would not be, and could not be, education records, even if the camera had a flux capacitor and was capable of transmitting the pictures back in time so that there was even a record in existence to wrongly invoke FERPA about.
Furthermore, FERPA regulates the activities of school employees and agents. Nothing a non-employee student can do on his or her own can violate anyone’s FERPA rights, ever.
Name an ethical lapse & explain why it is problematic.
answers will vary