Policies and Manuals

Giving Direction to

Building a stronger foundation for all student media provides direction to achieve the best ethical and legal and ethical guidelines; provides consistency

Our plan1. Discussion: ethical situations2. Practice and discussion: how to have an ethical

discussiono Hint: It’s right v right, not right v wrong – no definitive

answers; the process is often as important as the outcome

o Today’s focus is more ethical than legal, but…we are here to meet your needs

3. Overview: how to create a staff manual with ties to policy and ethical guidelines

4. Discussion/work session: how to get started/working on revisions of what you have

Can we talk?

• What ethical situations have you and your staff faced?

The problem• Not developing a proactive approach to problem-

solving

• Mixing policy and ethical, manual language

• Examples:o Byline styleo Editor selectiono Removal of editorso Size of senior images in yearbookso Editorial board makeupo Deadlines for contento Cutline content guidelines

Ethical issues• If question on the veracity of publication persists, the issue

will be brought to the editorial board, which must consider the following questions before publication of the piece:o Why is it a concern?o What is its journalistic purpose?o Is the information accurate and complete?o Are any important POVs omitted?o How would we feel if the story was about ourselves or someone we

know?o What are the consequences of publication?o Is there a logical explanation to anyone who challenges the issue?o Is it worth risking our credibility?o What are the alternatives?

Issues of ethics• All published material shall conform to objectively

reasonable journalistic and literary standards relevant to the particular publication for fact-checking, objectivity, use of anonymous sources and other ethical and/or stylistic matters

• XXXXXX will only publish content that is appropriate for the high school readership and conforms to high standards of journalistic integrity and ethical awareness of its readership

• Student editors make the decisions with the help of the adviser, assuming they meet the school and district’s guidelines, and fall within the laws of California and the ethics of journalism

Problematic wording• The primary goal is to deliver the news and provide

content deemed to be newsworthy, timely and ethical with regard to the XXXXX community

• The XXXX follows guidelines set by the SPLC Code of Ethics; another policy forbids anything inappropriate to the community

• As an open forum, The XXXXX sells advertisements for publicity and to pay for printing costs. We will refuse any advertisement which makes reference to illegal or controlled products, services, substances, or paraphernalia. We reserve the right to refuse any other advertisement deemed inappropriate to the community

Policy wording to avoid

Material not

generally acceptable

to this communit

yor significant

minority or the

majority of the

community.”

The XXXXXX adviser and/or editors have the right to deny

publication of any editorial, column, review or comment.

When questions of good taste arise, or those which surpass social norms of good taste and decency, they shall be resolved in consultation with the involved reporter(s), the managing editor, the executive editor and the advisers.

To create a wholesome school spirit and to support the best

traditions of the school

Wording like publication is “an open forum” but superintendent has final say, etc.

To promote and encourage school-sponsored activities; to serve as public relations media

Develop acceptable methods for preserving the constitutional provision for free speech.To promote cooperation among taxpayers, parents, the school and its students

Material that endorses any candidate for public office or takes a political stand on any issue.

Students make final decisions with help of adviser (or similar wording)

XXXXXX will only publish content that is appropriate for the high school readership and conforms to high standards of journalistic integrity and ethical awareness of its readership.

At all times the ethical standards of journalism shall be enforced

Conduct inconsistent with the shared values of a civilized society

An example• NJ system bans anonymous sources unless adviser

approves their use

• Because students used unnamed sources, students in a New Jersey school face a prior review policy making an adviser responsible for student use of unnamed sources

• The policy reads (in part): “Advisers are to “evaluate the credibility, motivation and bias of anonymous sources in accordance with generally accepted journalistic standards”

• What will the likely outcome be? Could this have been avoided?

Our thinking• How to model policies that are focused, simple,

meshed and understandable

• How our Foundations model works

• One document, but with three clearly separated sections, covering all student media in the school

Policy• We see two levels of policy: board- and media-

levels

• We envision five potential models built around this core concept:

• Designated public forum for student expression without prior review by school officials in which students make all final decisions of content

Ethical-manual• A good set of student-designed ethical guidelines is

worth its weight in gold

• But…not as a part of the policy where someone might try to use it as criteria for punishment

• Ethics should be Green Light statements and guidelines for credibility, not measures for discipline

• Where do ethics statements go? In an ethical guidelines manual, essentially a part of a strong staff manual

Red Light-Green Light Ethics

• Based on Roy Peter Clark/The Poynter Institute • Red Light ethics emphasize restraint and caution • Keeps things out of print and off the air• Sees journalists as too aggressive• Prescribes what journalists “ought not” do• Red Light says back off; Clark says Green Light calls for

“pinning it down”• Emphasize power and duty over caution and restraint• Considers “how to” rather than “ought not”• Focuses on opportunities rather than limits• Views Americans as too timid rather than too aggressive

An ethical process• What is at issue? What is the dilemma?• What are the different ways to look at what’s at

issue? xx––––––––––––––––––––––xx• Who are stakeholders? How are they helped?

Affected? Who benefits? Who loses?• Everyone has a voice. Everyone listens. Students

decide.• What alternatives exist? Which meet our purpose?• What are possible consequences of this decision?• Can students explain their decisions, or lack of

ones, to their audience and be satisfied?

Our alternative to NJ policy

• Ethical guidelinesJournalism is based on truth and accuracy. Using unnamed sources risks both of those standards. For that reason, students should seek sources willing to speak on the record. Unnamed sources should be used sparingly and only after students evaluate how the need for the information balances with the problems such sources create.

Staff manual procedure

• Editors should train staff members on how to conduct proper interviews on the record. Poor interview techniques could lead to confusion between potential sources and reporters. Staff members should always identify themselves when working on behalf of student media. Reporters should be advised to use anonymous sources rarely.

• Before agreeing to do so, they should ask the following questions:

• Why does the source want to remain unnamed? Is it possible he/she would be in danger if his/her name is revealed? What other problems could occur?

• How important is the story? How important is the information provided, and is there an alternative means for gathering it? Using an unnamed source hurts credibility and could risk legal action.

Staff manual procedure

• Students should consider what might happen if a court demands to know the source’s name. Most professional journalists would not reveal the name, and many have gone to jail instead of doing so. Would student reporters be willing to go that far? What legal protections exist in your state for protection of sources?

• What might the source have to gain from getting this information published? Some sources who want to be off the record have ulterior motives that could harm someone else.

• If students decide the information is vital and the source has a solid reason for remaining unnamed, who besides the reporter should know the identity? Many staffs decide the editor should know to assess the credibility of the source, but not the adviser in order to protect the adviser’s professional position at the school.

Resources• Legal Protections For Journalists’ Sources And Informa

tion, Student Press Law Center

• Position Paper on Anonymity of Sources, Society of Professional Journalists

• Use of Unnamed Sources, National Public Radio

• Lesson: Exploring the Issues with Anonymous Sources, Journalism Education Association

• Unnamed Sources, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute

Our goals• Simplify policy language at board-level and media-level

• Focus policy statements on legal concerns

• Separate ethical and manual language from policy

• Mesh ethical and manual points so they support and define each other

• Reinforce ethical and manual language as workable alternatives to restrictive policies

• Enable the Foundation package as Green Light philosophy

JEA Adviser Code of Ethics

• Model standards of professional journalistic conduct to students, administrators and others• Empower students to make decisions of style, structure and content by creating a learning atmosphere where students will actively practice critical thinking and decision-making• Encourage students to seek out points of view and to explore a variety of information sources in their decision-making• Support and defend a free, robust and active forum for student expression without prior review or restraint• Emphasize the importance of accuracy, balance and clarity in all aspects of news gathering and reporting

Adviser Code of Ethics• Show trust in students as they carry out their responsibilities by encouraging and supporting them in a caring, learning environment• Remain informed on press rights and responsibilities• Advise, not act as censors or decision-makers• Display professional and personal integrity in situations which might be construed as potential conflicts of interest• Support free expression for others in local and larger communities• Model effective communications skills by continuously updating knowledge of media education

Media tasks• Outline goals and mission for your student media.• Train your editors and staff in legal principles across

platforms.• Create policies, procedures and guidelines with your

students.• Ensure board- and/or media-level policies are in place.• Train editors and staff in ethical principles across

platforms.• Establish, for online or print, a content verification

process.• Clarify who owns the content.• Develop guidelines for handling takedown demands.• All these are part of developing a foundation of good

journalistic practices, beginning with editorial policies.

LinksFoundations model:http://jeasprc.org/buildingfoundations/ SPRC site:http://jeasprc.org

• CC credit to Dayna Mason, bar magnet on a compass array, Sep. 20, 2007, front slide.

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

• No changes made other than cropping

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