Washington Post commentary takes Hazelwood to task

Given the spirit of the season with Senate Bill 6449, I thought I'd pass along this great piece that ran in the Washington Post a week ago. If only everyone in the professional media felt this way.

Writes Richard Just, deputy editor of the New Republic:

My own experiences have convinced me that today, the vast majority of students are unable to practice true journalism at their high school papers. For the past six summers, I have directed a program for about 20 high school journalists at Princeton University. All the students are talented writers and thoughtful intellectuals. Yet, by and large, they work for newspapers that are either explicitly censored or restrained by the looming threat of official disapproval -- newspapers that read more like school-sponsored news releases than true journalism. Many have been taught to write fluffy profiles of teachers and to celebrate the achievements of their sports teams; fewer have been encouraged to challenge, to criticize or to investigate. Perhaps the most important part of our program's curriculum is to help students unlearn the instincts they have acquired at their high school newspapers.

And then, the kicker -- an argument many of us have been making for years.

No high school principal would dream of telling the basketball team that it could run drills but not play games, or permit the drama club to rehearse but never to stage shows. Yet, thanks in part to Hazelwood, many high schools train their students in journalism without allowing them to truly practice it.

Bill assigned to K-12 committee; two more senators sign on

In what was an unexpected twist today, the Student Free Expression Bill -- SB6449 -- was assigned to the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee. It had been expected that the bill would be referred to the judiciary committee as it was last year.

The good news is that primary sponsor of the bill, Sen. Joe McDermott (D-Seattle), is on that committee, as is secondary sponsor Sen. Brian Weinstein (D-Mercer Island). Perhaps even better news is that the chair of that committee, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe (D-Seattle, pictured right), has been added today as a secondary sponsor, as has Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent).

High schools were stripped from the bill in the senate judiciary committee last year, so perhaps a change of venue bodes well for the bill being sent to the floor.

The members of that K-12 committee are as follows. Clicking on each senator's name will take you to a page where you can contact that senator. You can also look up your district's senator by clicking here.

Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee

• Rosemary McAuliffe - Chair (D-1st District, Seattle)
• Rodney Tom - Vice Chair (D-48th District, Bellevue)
• Curtis King - Ranking Minority Member (R-14th District, Yakima)
• Dale Brandland (R-42nd District, Bellingham)
• Tracey Eide (D-30th District, Federal Way)
• Mike Hewitt (R-16th District, Walla Walla)
• Steve Hobbs (D-44th District, Lake Stevens)
• Janéa Holmquist (R-13th District, Moses Lake)
• Claudia Kauffman (D-47th District, Kent)
• Joe McDermott (D-34th District, Seattle)
• Eric Oemig (D-45th District, Kirkland)
• Marilyn Rasmussen (D-2nd District, Eatonville)
• Brian Weinstein (D-41st District, Mercer Island)
• Joseph Zarelli (R-18th District, Ridgefield)
  

Coalition, Sen. McDermott announce new student press rights legislation

The arrival of the 2008 legislative session means the return of legislation aimed at affirming and protecting student free expression, as the Coalition for Responsible Student Expression and Sen. Joe McDermott (D - Seattle, pictured right) announced the introduction of Senate Bill 6449.

The bill is nearly identical to the one that was passed by the House of Representatives last year, HB 1307, before high schools were stripped from the bill in committee in the Senate.

“Gaining experience in real life journalism is an important part of the learning process,” McDermott said. “This puts students that much closer to success in their professional careers.”

Supporting the bill is the Coalition for Responsible Student Expression, made up of 16 organizations, including WJEA, and the sponsor of HB 1307, Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D - Des Moines).

“I worry about a generation growing up without an appreciation of their constitutional rights and how to exercise those rights and responsibilities,” Upthegrove said. “One of the best ways to develop an appreciation of constitutional rights is to model and apply those constitutional freedoms in the school environment. This is why I introduced legislation last year, and why I will be supporting Sen. McDermott’s bill this year.”

Also sponsoring the bill are senators Adam Kline and Brian Weinstein -- both vocal supporters of the bill last year as members of the judiciary committee -- and senators Ed Murray and Jean Kohl-Welles.

Related links:

• Student free-expression bill resubmitted in Wash. Senate (SPLC)
• Washington state Senate to reintroduce student expression bill (J-Ideas)
• SB 6449 Home Page
• SB 6449
  

Mission statement of Coalition for Responsible Student Expression

Here is the full text of the mission statement of the Coalition for Responsible Student Expression. The coalition is supporting the passage of Senate Bill 6449, the senate incarnation of a student free expression bill:

"The Washington Coalition for Responsible Student Expression believes that student journalists should strive for accuracy, fairness and balance in order to achieve and maintain credibility and to bring to the public, as Walter Lippmann said, “a view of reality upon which the citizen can act.”

"Student journalists also must be responsible to the laws that govern the press – such as libel, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement and obscenity – and should strive to maintain the highest standards of journalistic ethics. Also, their work must not materially and substantially disrupt the school day.

"At the same time, student journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know, and they should be accountable to their readers, listeners, or viewers.

"A free student press reflects the intellectual health of a vibrant, dynamic school. It helps create a respect for diversity, provides a voice for students, and establishes a link between students and school officials.

"This coalition of concerned organizations and individuals support the First Amendment rights of student journalists and a strong, robust student press, not only in Washington state but across the nation."

Members of the coalition:

• Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington
• American Civil Liberties Union of Washington
• Association for Women in Communications – Seattle Professional Chapter
• Dow Jones Newspaper Fund
• J-Ideas
• Journalism Education Association
• Kent State University Center for Scholastic Journalism
• Poynter Institute for Media Studies
• Society of Professional Journalists – Western Washington Professional Chapter
• Student Press Law Center
• University of Washington – Department of Communication
• Washington Community College Journalism Association
• Washington Journalism Education Association
• Washington News Council
• Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
• Washington Student Lobby
  

Staff management issues

Why can't people see that a student publication should be run similar to a business? It's odd, I've told my staff that if people are to take us seriously, we need to act seriously. For whatever reason, though, the staff, more specifically the Editorial Board doesn't seem to get that.

I was curious if any other staffs have experienced this problem, and what they've done to alleviate it. I know that, short of screaming at them, I'm out of ideas.

'Censoring students robs democracy'

Now, there's a headline we can all get behind. Joe Dennis, president of the Georgia Scholastic Press Association, wrote this column for the Atlanta Journal Constitution a couple of weeks ago in response to a principal's overzealous actions. (You may need to complete a free registration at the site to read it.) An excerpt:

In an era of No Child Left Behind and the standardization of education, the high school newspaper creates a rare forum where students can actually develop ideas and test their critical thinking skills. Writing a column in the newspaper requires students to thoughtfully craft their opinions, showcase them to the student body and be prepared for criticism of their viewpoints.

Instead of a lesson in critical thinking, the actions of Pitts showed East Coweta students that viewpoints different from the mainstream should not be tolerated. Instead of learning how to develop and express their viewpoints in a democracy, they learned that critical thinking is stifled if it differs from the authority's viewpoint.

It's an excellent piece citing many of the same arguments we use over and over again in justifying the educational value of journalism. And if you're curious, you can find the original columns that caused all the controversy here -- one is critical of the school, the other a satire piece. The AJC had its own response here.

SPLC names new executive director

This news is about a week old, but it bears reporting, even at this point: The Student Press Law Center named Frank Daniel LoMonte its new executive director. He replaces Mark Goodman, who is leaving at the end of the year.

LoMonte has experience as both a lawyer and a journalist, and has been a member of the SPLC's Attorney Referral Network.

"Frank's passion for student journalists and their rights of free expression came through loud and clear during the several interviews the board of directors held with him," Goodman said. "His work on his own college newspaper, his track record in civil liberties issues, his commitment to the issues central to the Student Press Law Center¹s mission and his strategic way of thinking are just what the SPLC needs as it develops plans for the future. I know the SPLC is in capable hands, with Frank LoMonte as executive director."

Passage of federal shield law not a boon for student journalists

Making the rounds today is news that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a federal shield law that will protect journalists from having to reveal confidential sources in most instances.

While this certainly is a major victory for the First Amendment and journalists in general, the law doesn't give student journalists around the country the same protection it gives their commercial counterparts. According to the Washington Post, the law restricts protection to "people who earn a significant portion of their livelihoods as journalists."

Washington passed its own shield law last May which is much broader in terms of its protection of journalists, but is a bit unclear with regards to student journalists. The RCW defines "news media" that are protected in this way:

"Any newspaper, magazine or other periodical, book publisher, news agency, wire service, radio or television station or network, cable or satellite station or network, or audio or audiovisual production company, or any entity that is in the regular business of news gathering and disseminating news or information to the public by any means, including, but not limited to, print, broadcast, photographic, mechanical, internet, or electronic distribution."

The implication is that it's protecting those who make a living collecting and disseminating news, but it's not nearly as explicit in that regard as the federal bill. Are student journalists in "regular business" of gathering and disseminating news? Sure, every three to four weeks. Would it stand up in court? Who knows.

The moral for student journalists? Be careful. It's likely that it will take a court case to decide whether this RCW applies to student journalists, so weigh with great caution whether you want to promise anonymity to a source. Here are two tips:

1. Ask yourself how far you're willing to go to protect your source. If you promise anonymity, you need to keep your promise. Will police agencies be running around trying to bully student journalists? Probably not. But it's happened before. You need to know that it's a possibility, and that you could end up in court. If that scares you, don't promise anonymity. That simple.
   
2. If you promise anonymity, don't reveal the source to ANYONE. Not your friends, not your editor, not your adviser. This is the practice of commercial journalists. Your friends and editors might not be as strong as you, since they didn't make the promise. And your adviser plays by different rules; they answer to their principal and school board, and might have a legal obligation to reveal information.
   

So there you have it. The water is still muddy, but today is a hugely awesome day for journalism.