2013 Summer Adviser Update

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Dow JoneS newS FUnD SUMMER 2013 VolUme 54, nUmbeR 1

https://www.newsfund.orgcopyright © 2013 Dow Jones news Fund, Inc.

Inside

‘The Rock’ of Scholastic

Journalism

Adviser Update

Ed Sullivan leads CSPA into its 90th anniversaryBy Mary Kay Downes

An important anniversary in the world of scholastic journalism takes place in

2013 and 2014 as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) begins celebrating its 90th year as an organization that fosters both a passion for and knowledge of the princi-pals and history of scholastic

journalism.Organized at Columbia Uni-

versity in the fall of 1924, CSPA emerged out of several gather-ings of editors and staff mem-bers from secondary schools in the metropolitan New York area. As a result of these early meetings, a contest to evalu-ate student-edited newspapers and magazines was organized in February 1925. The results

were announced at a conven-tion held at Columbia on March 12-13, 1925, with 308 delegates in attendance. Those delegates voted to ask the university to continue the organization, adopted its official name, and established its journal, “The School Press Review.”

Conventions have continued each year since 1925 at Colum-bia.

Scholastic advocateEdmund Sullivan, a Columbia University graduate, is the executive director of the CSPA and has been at the helm since 1981. He is recognized as not only its leader, but as a legendary teacher and advo-cate of scholastic journalism.

“Talking with Ed Sullivan

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Footnotes

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THE ROCKContinued from page 1A

is similar to taking a master class in scholastic journal-ism — its past, present and future,” said katheen Zwiebel, past president of the colum-bia scholastic Press advis-ers association (csPaa) and chair of its committee

on stan-dards. “His perspective and wealth of knowledge from his 32 years as the leader of the csPa is an invaluable resource for all involved in student media.” “For decades, ed

has been a passionate pio-neer and crusader for scho-lastic journalists. He leads, teaches and inspires both students and advisers on a daily basis. ed sullivan truly is the national dean of scholastic journalism,” Zwiebel contin-ued. many others who appreci-ate the work of the associa-tion, including teachers, advis-ers and professionals in other arenas, echo and expand on Zwiebel’s remarks. “Few people know the stu-dent journalism industry with the depth that ed sullivan does,” said gold key recipi-ent Vicky wolfe, the former director of marketing for Herff Jones yearbooks and current vice-president and general manager of Herff Jones’ col-lege division. “His is not just institutional knowledge; it is industry knowledge. what is perhaps most impressive is that he can see the big picture without losing the details—a sign of a great journalist.

“His devotion to the association and more importantly, to student journalism as a whole is inspirational,” wolfe added. “I’m so impressed by his level of collabora-tion with all people and his interest in continued innovation and ideas. ed is csPa’s guiding light. I can’t imagine the associa-tion without him.”Adopting a causesullivan has been a jour-nalist and advocate for journalism since high school. as a high school newspaper editor, sullivan recalls being forced to watch as his high school principal burned an issue he had edited. He consid-ers that episode as having “seared” the First amend-ment into his conscious-ness. as a result, he has dedicated his working life to the cause of a free stu-dent press. Important and long last-ing relationships with both the founder of the csPa and his immediate predecessor were additional catalysts in sulli-van’s development and execu-tion of the vision for the csPa. “I had the distinct privilege of both knowing and working with csPa founder colonel Joseph murphy and his suc-cessor, and my predecessor, charles r. o’malley,” sullivan said. “they emphasized sev-eral core beliefs that I have tried to follow. “colonel murphy always talked about the ‘school press field,’ as he described the csPa’s audience, as ‘avoca-tional for the many and only vocational for the few whose talent it revealed.’ that was his way of not identifying the csPa as distinctly pre-profes-sional,” sullivan continued. “He never believed the school press field was the province of journalism education since the vast majority of student writers

and editors went on to other careers after high school or college.”CSPA servicesschools across the nation and abroad rely on the csPa to provide them valuable input on their media. since 1925, more than 125,000 newspapers, magazines and yearbooks have entered the annual critiques for evalua-tions, and more than 340,000 delegates have attended the annual conventions, confer-ences and workshops. services provided by the csPa include written critiques of student media as well as the planning and conducting of annual conferences and workshops. In addition, csPa publishes an online maga-zine, “student Press review,” a continuation of its printed journal, “the school Press review,” founded in 1925. encouraging solid writing and good journalistic practice has been the bedrock of the

csPa and its programs to support the student press. In addition, the focus of the organization has been and will continue to be on students. sullivan emphasized the impact of the csPa found-er and successor who executed their vision as the association grew. “murphy and o’malley inspired me to always encourage good writing as the foundation for the stu-dent press and to keep the student press for students, by students and containing news of students,” he said. “It was not to be an adjunct for professional media, or a propaganda vehicle for partisan points of view. the student press should be open to all students and they should be its focus.”CSPA honorsopportunities for recogni-tion from the csPa spur publication staffs to do their very best individual and

collectivework. the critique service offers detailed commentary on the submitted work, and awards bronze, silver and gold medalist ratings. separately, the crown awards conferred at the annu-al spring convention, which have no relation to the medal-ist critiques, are the highest recognition given by the csPa to student print or digital medi-um for overall excellence. Unique to csPa are the gold circle awards for indi-vidual excellence. gold circle awards were first given in 1984, but follow a long tradi-tion of the csPa awards for individual achievement by stu-dent editors. Presently there are 204 categories eligible for recognition. “csPa has tried to set high standards for excellence, based on keenly observing what the best student publica-tions were doing,” said sulli-

van with regard to the associ-ation’s awards programs. “we hold contests and plan events only to encourage students to do better in writing, editing and publishing their stories with words and images. we might be called ‘relentless optimists’ in our support for student editors.” the relationship of the association with columbia University is unique and adds value to awards and recog-nitions, according to many recipients. “columbia’s sponsorship of the csPa has lent its name and prestige to what student editors and faculty advisers do with their publications,” sullivan said. “columbia called them to reach for excel-lence, and their response over nine decades has been tremendous.”Press rightsUnder the direction of sulli-van, csPa has also been rec-ognized as a firm supporter of the First amendment and a free press. “In all the time I have known ed, I have come to respect him as a principled voice for all aspects of scho-lastic journalism,” said John bowen of the college of com-munication and Information at kent state University and Journalism education associ-ation scholastic Press rights commission chair. “through his leadership, ed has promoted journalism edu-cation as the bedrock of learn-ing citizens need for life in a democratic society, especially with the First amendment as the cornerstone of past, pres-ent and future of our country.” Vanessa shelton, execu-tive director of Quill and scroll supports this view and elabo-rated. “ed deserves praise for his abiding commitment to excellence in scholastic journalism,” she said. “He rec-ognizes the significant roles

For decades, Ed has been a passionate pioneer and crusader for scholastic journalists.

1984 — Ed Sulivan with CSPA Founder Colonel Joseph Murphy at the annual spring conven-tion.

1980 — Ed Sullivan and his predecessor, Charles R. O’Malley, at the1980 Gold Key din-ner held in conjunction with the 56th Annual Convention. Update photos courtesy of CSPA

THE ROCK

Mary Kay Downes, CJEhas advised the nationally award-winning Odyssey yearbook for the past 24 years at Chantilly (Va.) HS where she serves as English Department chair. Odyssey has received several NSPA Pacemaker and CSPA Crown awards and is in the NSPA Hall of Fame. A recipient of the CSPA Gold Key, NSPA Pioneer Award, JEA Medal of Merit, and VAJTA Douglas Freeman Award and Thomas Jefferson Awards for Lifetime Achievement, and SIPA’s Elizabeth Dickey Service award, Downes was named JEA National Yearbook Adviser of the Year in 2007. She teaches at summer workshops at Gettysburg College and Cal State-Hayward and judges yearbooks for NSPA, CSPA and state press organizations. She is past-president of the Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association and chair of its Honors Committee. She has written several articles on writing and motivation and presents at national conventions. She can be reached at [email protected].

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a quality scholastic journalism experience can have in the lives of students — from informing them of their constitutional rights and how to exercise them to developing literacy, critical thinking and writing skills. He is thoughtful and passionate about scholastic journalism, and is dedicated to its vitality.”Today’s trendssince one of the goals of the csPa is to recognize that journalism can be a means towards broader understanding of society and people, its value is even more important today and in the future, as there has been a decline of print journalism with papers closing and entire photography staffs being let go. sullivan has some insights as to what advisers, students and journalism programs can do to preserve the integrity of their work and their existence. “although newspapers may be dying, journalism is thriving,” he said. “For example, blogs and social media show how many opinions still want to be expressed and shared. students should be taught how to do that with care and responsibility.” He continued to elaborate about the importance of learning and utilizing digital

media. “today students and advisers must quickly learn to do digital journalism. school officials are cutting printing budgets to save a few dollars in the short term,” sullivan explained, “but those dollars were going to disappear sooner or later. People have rapidly changed their habits of news consumption and tablets and mobile devices are quickly becoming dominant. High school and college students are already digital natives, so it makes great sense to move there now.” From sullivan’s comments it is evident that the practice and knowledge of solid journalism practice emphasized from the very beginning of the csPa are just as important today. “student reporters, writers and editors need to embrace

the best practices of digital journalism,” he said. “Verify your facts, quote your sources, admit your mistakes, and be accountable to your readers and viewers. It’s not enough to say ‘leave it to Facebook’ or whatever the latest digital platform may be.” sullivan urged that we must continue to support and embrace student media.“to abandon student media is to leave individual students voiceless and on their own in a vast digital ocean. staffs can build a sturdy boat to cruise that ocean with great storytelling,” he said. “Printing on paper was just a means to the end of real storytelling. continue to tell good stories in whatever format pops up.”March 2014as the csPa looks forward to the march convention, plans are underway to celebrate the 90th anniversary. this national gathering of student editors and faculty advisers of newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, video productions and online media will be held at columbia University from wednesday, march 19, through Friday, march 21. “our early plans include a much greater emphasis on networking for both students and advisers as our primary goal,” sullivan said about the convention. “we will add adviser swap shops alongside the student ones. we will expand our successful panels of young journalists, recent

graduates now working in the digital arena, who came from student press backgrounds.“we will make one day of the program as a ‘hybrid’ event to permit virtual participation from csPa members

who can’t join us physically. there will be more special workshops to come.” csPa is fortunate to have a storied history of support for scholastic journalism and especially privileged to have had leadership that is committed to not only this history but to the future. both veteran advisers and those comparatively new to the profession acknowledge the value of sullivan’s work and expertise. nick Ferentinos, former csPaa president from 1990-94 said, “I’ve known and worked with ed for more than 30 years, and in that time, my admiration and respect for his vital contribution to journalism has only grown. ed is one of those for whom the expression ‘a gentleman and a scholar’ seems to have been invented. “His gracious interaction with everyone has earned him the reputation as one of the most congenial persons in our field,” Ferentinos continued. “and his remarkable intellect, astounding knowledge of history and articulate expression has won him the esteem of his colleagues around the country.” bretton Zinger, currently teaching and advising in the boston suburbs and former adviser of chantilly (Va.) Hs’s newspaper, literary magazine and broadcast program called sullivan “the rock of scholastic journalism.” “as executive director of the csPa, he has seen it all. He understands the journalism programs at all kinds of schools and by extension, teachers and advisers: public and private; large and small; east coast, west coast, midwest; new and well-established,” Zinger said. “csPa is a leader in scholastic journalism, and as its leader, ed sullivan knows where our profession has been and where it is going.”

2013 — CSPA Executive Director Ed Sullivan at Columbia University’s 2013 commencement ceremony.

2006 — Ed Sullivan leads, teaches and inspires both students and advisers on a daily basis.

2006 — Charles R. O’Malley joins Ed Sullivan at the Gold Key luncheon.

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It is with great sadness that I note the passing of dr. stephen g-m shenton, professor emeritus of shippensburg University. It was to shippensburg

that a very young, inexperienced teacher and adviser went for his initial dip into the pool of scholastic journalism. while we spent just a week on campus, we were expected to do loads of work both prior to and after our time together. dr. shenton was a real task-master. steve and I formed a friendship that lasted over the years. He encouraged my involvement in the Pennsylvania school Press association where he and I both served terms as president. He followed our oldest son brandon’s journalism career and came to his graduation party. He shared news of his sons and my wife and I attended one of steve and diane’s wedding anniversary parties. when the Pa.

department of education proposed changes to the state school code that would have drastically altered student press rights, dr. shenton spent hours and hours researching, writing and testifying. eventually, those changes were not made. more recently he was resuming work on a book that would have chronicled that fight to maintain Pennsylvania student press rights. Perhaps that book will eventually get written but I’m not sure I have the desire, will-power or energy that marked his life. Hundreds of college and high school students’ lives have been touched by his work. He was my mentor, my comrade and my friend.

George Taylor Update Editor

Conestoga Hs senior Jenna spoont was named the 2013 national student Journalist of the year by the Journalism education association announced april 27 at the national spring conference in san Francisco.

spoont’s portfolio was judged at the Jea/nsPa (national scholastic Press association) spring conference from among 35 other states’ entries. spoont received the $3,000 sister rita Jeanne scholarship — named for former, long-time Jea treasurer — for her accomplishment. spoont was active in student media and an advocate of student journalism. she was the man-aging editor of the spoke, conestoga’s award winning newspaper, and a member of the morning announcements. she was an active member of the nsPa’s First amendment advocacy organi-zation, 45 words, as well as a former student board member of the Pa. school Press association. spoont plans on pursuing a career in journalism and will attend the school of media and Public affairs at george washington University this fall.

Student Journalist of the YearUpdate photo courtesy of The Spoke

FRIEND OF JOURNALISM — Dr. Stephen G-M Shenton receives the Pennsylvania School Press Association’s Friend of Journalism award at a 2003 luncheon. With Shen-ton are then Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Foun-dation Executive Director Janet Neidig, PNA NIE Director Susan Morgan, and then PSPA Executive Director George Taylor. Update photo courtesy of PSPA

My mentor, my comrade, my friend

Post your state, regional or national association’s activities in Adviser Roundup by dropping editor George Taylor ([email protected]) a line with your information. Photos with captions from events are welcome. Next deadline is Sept. 1.

ACES The American Copy Editors Society, in conjunction with 10 other journalism organizations, has released its first e-book, “Telling the

Truth and Nothing But.” The book is available now as a free download at rjionline.org and is designed for media professionals who are responding to incidents of plagiarism and fabrication. The book offers tools to help identify and address those incidents. Last September, ACES issued an invitation to several journalism organizations to develop resources for newsrooms to help combat plagiarism, obfuscation and fabrication. The issue was raised by Poynter Institute’s Craig Silverman in a Regret the Error blog. Silverman cited cases in which journalists and media groups with good reputations were guilty of plagiarizing, falsifying information, faking bylines and reporting inaccurate or unverified information. See Rich Holden’s related column on page A7 of this issue.

ROUNDUPSUMMER 2013

AEJMC Linda Florence Callahan, Ph.D., a faculty member at North Carolina A&T State University, is this year’s recipient of the Association for Education in

Journalism and Mass Communication’s Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award. Callahan was selected to receive the award because she is a strong advocate for diversity in journalism. She has encouraged, advised and supported under-represented students in journalism for more than three decades at five different universities. She is an active member of AEJMC and recently received recognition for outstanding service to the organization as well as outstanding service to the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Minorities. In 1997 she founded a regional workshop for high school students in Greensboro in partnership with the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association. The workshop continues to this day with Callahan taking the lead every year. Monica Hill, director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association in Chapel Hill, N.C., nominated Callahan because she believes Callahan is making an impact on young journalists through the workshop. The award is named after Robert P. Knight, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, who served as director of the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association from 1965 to 1992.

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DJNF PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Get it fast, but get it right

One of my prized posses-sions is a black-and-white photograph taken

50 years ago in the cavernous newsroom of the Columbia University graduate school of Journalism. it shows me as a 21-year-old student banging away on an Underwood type-writer with John Hohenberg — a street-smart newspaper-man turned legendary teacher — hovering over my desk. After all this time, i can’t recall what he was saying, or barking. But i suspect he was urging me on against deadline with one or both of his famed admonitions, which i have car-ried with me during a lifetime in journalism: “go with what you’ve got!” And, “When in doubt, leave out!” professor Hohenberg’s rules served as a constant reminder of the journalist’s obligation to be both timely and right — not an easy task when print still ruled and even more difficult in today’s digital world of instant communica-tions. in his 1995 memoir, “the pursuit of excellence,” Hohenberg wrote of his com-mitment in training future reporters to “hammer at the need for care and accuracy in the news.” in “the profession-al Journalist: A guide to Mod-ern reporting practice,” his classic textbook, he suggest-ed that the weak reporter “brushes off such mundane details as reading newspa-pers, checking names and addresses, asking questions about seemingly unimportant details, and taking careful notes when he can.” Journalistic accuracy — getting the basic facts of a story right — has always been

Richard J. Levineis president of the board of directors of the Dow Jones News Fund Inc. In five decades with Dow Jones & Co., he has served as vice president for news and staff development, executive editor of Dow Jones Newswires, vice president of information services, editorial director of electronic pub-lishing and Washington correspondent and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He can be reached at [email protected].

a major objective and challenge in newsrooms. But recent failings of pro-fessional journalists on this front, exacerbated by the mistakes of “citizen journalists” armed with social media, has given rise to new concerns about accuracy, or the lack thereof. the tragic shootings last december at sandy Hook ele-mentary school in Newtown, Conn., produced some shod-dy journalism. early reports erroneously identified ryan Lanza, the brother of the shooter, as the gunman. “Never before has more bad information been available to more people,” declared scott pelley, anchor and managing editor of the CBs evening News. And he took some of the blame himself. “i reported that Nancy Lanza was a teacher at the school and that her son had attacked her classroom,” he said. “it was a hell of a story, but it was dead wrong.” the Boston Marathon bombings in April produced more of the same. CNN cor-respondent John King report-ed prematurely and inaccu-rately that a suspect had been arrested, as did other major

news organizations. Nor was inaccurate reporting a monop-oly of the legacy media. As david Carr, the New York times’ media columnist, observed: “A crowd-sourced witch hunt took place on red-dit, identifying innocents as suspects, and twitter was alive with both misinformation and outrage at the mistakes,” A particularly embarrassing incident involved Howard Kurtz, for years one of the nation’s most prominent media reporters. Kurtz “parted company” from the daily Beast after he incorrectly reported that NBA player Jason Collins had failed to mention in a sports illustrated story, in which he came out as gay, that he had previously been engaged to a woman. “i screwed up,” Kurtz admitted on reliable sources, his CNN show. All of this is occurring in a period when media credibility

is eroding. Last year, the pew research Center for the people & the press released a new survey of credibility. “For the second time in a decade, the believability ratings for major news organizations have suf-fered broad-based

declines,” it said. “the falloff in credibility affects news organi-zations in most sectors: national newspapers such as the New York times and UsA today, all three cable news outlets, as well as the broad-cast tv networks and Npr.” Clearly, editors are sensitive to the problem. in an email to his staff after the Boston bombings, gerard Baker, edi-tor-in-chief of dow Jones and managing editor of the Wall street Journal, praised the accuracy of the Journal’s cov-erage. “i am especially gratified that our reporting of such a rapidly evolving story was at all times diligent, sober and rigorous,” he wrote. “As wild rumor and unreliable internet gossip quickly became head-line news, we stuck to the standards that serve our read-ers: proper sourcing, verified reporting and accurate and rigorous editing.”

At the Washington post, Martin Baron, the new execu-tive editor, told the National Journal, “You have to be will-ing to sacrifice traffic in favor of accuracy. “readers think these days that all information is available instantaneously, and the truth is that not all information is available instantaneously,” Baron added. “You actually need some time to check things out. they expect that you’re going to have it right away, but they’ll hold you accountable if you get it wrong.” indeed, accurate reporting is so critical to self-govern-ment that president Obama felt compelled to weigh in on the issue during and after the Boston story, first warning the news media to avoid the temptation to “jump to conclu-sions” and then offering praise for the overall effort. At this year’s White House Correspondents Association dinner, he said: “We also saw journalists at their best—espe-cially those who took the time to wade upstream through the torrent of digital rumors to chase down leads and verify facts and painstakingly put the pieces together to inform, and to educate, and to tell stories that demanded to be told.” Back in my reporting days in the ’60s and ’70s, with John Hohenberg’s lessons fresh in mind, i operated on the assumption that i should try to “get the story first, but first get it right.” in our internet-connected world, that approach still makes sense.

By RichaRd J. Levine

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The annual conference of the american copy editors society this

spring featured a major symposium called “telling the truth and nothing but—national summit to Fight Plagiarism and Fabrication.”Participants included more than 30 journalism organizations, companies and universities. among those participating in addition to aces were the american society of news editors, college media association, society of Professional Journalists, the los angeles times, omaha world-Herald and yahoo news. among the universities present were Florida, kansas, missouri and arizona. the group concluded that any definition of plagiarism needed to have its solution — attribution — as part of the equation. and it decided that given the broad background of the participants, one group — be it print, broadcast or multimedia — could not be singled out. another point was drawing a distinction between plagiarism and fabrication. the group concluded; “both are acts of deception. both are wrong, but fabrication is especially egregious.” It also raised the issue of reenactment or character creation. It noted that any such attempts “must be clearly and completely explained to the audience before it is presented.” It did note that in some cases sources need to be protected, “but pseudonyms should not be employed to identify them. a pseudonym amounts to

By riCh holDen DIRECTOR’S CHAIR‘Our ethical standards must be upheld’

Rich Holdenis executive director of the Dow Jones News Fund. Before he was named to that position in 1992, he was an editor for 19 years at The Wall Street Journal and The Asian Wall Street Journal. He was also a lecturer in residence for two years at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He can be reached at The Dow Jones News Fund at 609-452-2820 or at [email protected].

a fabricated name and thus raises the question: what else in this story may be made up?” broadcast journalism — with its tendency to rely on print media as its original source — raises other concerns. the summit panelists suggested, “the key to combating plagiarism in television and radio reporting is to generate original stories, looking for second-day ledes to pieces that may have originated elsewhere and providing clear, complete attribution for work derived from other sources.” what about phrases such as “sources said,” or “reportedly” or “according to authorities”? the panel had a straightforward response. they “are not enough. they do little to inform while giving journalists a false sense that they have fulfilled their obligation to the audience. attribution should serve to answer questions, not raise them.” turning to what it called “the wild, wild web,” the panel noted “the ease with which work can be copied and distributed.” It pointed to the growing use of “aggregation” and “curation,” a term that belongs in a museum, not in a news organization. the summit participants

agreed that this can be a difficult concept to grasp but determined, “Journalists working online should take special care to ensure that they do not infringe on another’s copyright. automatic aggregation, even with attribution, should never cross the boundaries of fair use and professional respect.” the effort to stop plagiarism and fabrication can’t begin and end at the industry level. as the summit participants made clear, “It must be coordinated with news literacy programs not only in colleges but also in secondary schools. students at all levels need to understand the importance of accurate, factual information, the value of sourcing and attribution and how news is gathered and disseminated .” the panel encouraged professional journalists to work with advice and students interested in scholastic journalism, saying, “young people need to be conscious of news literacy and dangers of plagiarism and fabrication. Journalists should seek ways — perhaps in regular classroom visits — to help high school and middle school students understand how news is gathered and delivered.” there, the offer is on the table. It’s up to the advisers to accept it.

a number of panel participants offered their own thoughts and observations on the topic. teresa schmedding is the deputy managing editor of the daily Herald media group and president of the american copy editors society. she said, “Plagiarism and fabrication undermine the credibility of all professional journalists. and readers need credible information more than ever with the cacophony of voices on the Internet, some of which are masquerading as journalism.” Paul cheung, the global interactive editor of the associated Press and president of the asian american Journalists association, had the following observation. “Questions about what is true and what is fabricated, and what is an original source or what might be plagiarized, have become vital to our craft. our ethical standards must be upheld and adopted as our way of communicating evolves.” I urge you to obtain a copy of this e-book. you and your students will find it interesting and informative and an excellent base from which to start a discussion on the topic. For more information, visit the aces website: www.copydesk.org/plagiarism/

National Summit to Fight Plagiarism and Fabrication”“ Both [plagiarism and fabrication] are acts of deception. Both are wrong, but

fabrication is especially egregious.

The effort to stop plagiarism and

fabrication can’t begin and end at the industry level.

“”

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T H I S S T R U C Kf ancyt he horrific explosion

in the richmond Hill neighborhood in the south side of Indianapolis happened in the heart of our school district. It also happened three days before our deadline. I was out of town and didn’t hear about the explosion until the following morning, which was a sunday. I texted my editor to see what she was thinking. It turned out that one of our staffers, kaitlin Fallowfield, had gone to the evacuation site and had already started on a story. the editor, Jessica de la cruz, assembled the entire staff before school on monday to brainstorm other coverage ideas. I took the managing editor, andie reinhart, and the news editor, rachael samm, into a faculty meeting that morning so they could take notes. after that

meeting, Jessica, andie, and rachael decided the paper would devote two pages of coverage. they had about 48 hours to put it together. Ultimately, the kids did a tremendous job of covering an unexpected and tragic situation while on a tight deadline. when the paper came out that Friday, response from the school was overwhelmingly positive. everyone, it seemed, had a Journal in hand that day. one of my students told me someone in one of her classes called the issue “the best Journal ever.” Mike Klopfenstein, adviser, the Journal southport Hs

[email protected]

‘Best Journal ever’

my

The Dow Jones News Fund will spend $492,000 on grants and general operations to support its 2013 programs for paid summer internships

at professional news organizations for college students, digital training for journalism professors and workshops for high school students. The News Fund promotes careers in journalism for more than a half century by providing internships for college juniors, seniors and graduate students in business reporting, digital journalism, news editing and sports editing. To prepare students, it will operate eight residential training centers,

one more than last summer, on university campuses across the country. The budget also includes money for training programs in digital journalism for faculty at historically black colleges and universities and at

institutions with large Hispanic enrollments. “We are delighted that with the support of Dow Jones & Company and many other media companies we are able to offer these programs that are so critical to the future quality of American newsrooms,” said Richard J. Levine, president of the News Fund. The 2013 budget approved by the Dow Jones News Fund board of directors supports the following programs and activities: COLLEGE PROGRAMS will train students and recent graduates to work as business reporters, digital journalists and news and sports editors. The

News Fund allocated money for intern travel and operating costs as well as for $1,000 scholarships for those interns returning to school.HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT PROGRAMS include three newly funded workshops for a total of 28. Up to eight students will be awarded $1,000 college scholarships for the best writing, photography and multimedia package produced in the 2013 summer high school journalism workshops. CAREER INFORMATION - More than 6,000 high school journalism teachers, college professors and media professionals receive Adviser Update, the free quarterly newspaper on journalism education and major media issues published by the News Fund. For more details about current News Fund programs, visit https://www.newsfund.org/uploads/2013DJNFBudget436.htm

News Fund budgets $492,000 for 2013

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The clubfoot turned the wrong way at the end of baby summerall’s twisted

leg. a pediatrician said the boy would never walk unless surgery would be performed while the legs were flexible. so the man revered by the nFl for his kicking spent the first three months of his life with that kicking leg in a cast. Further, Pat’s name isn’t Pat, Patrick or anything else that starts with P. He claims nobody wanted him, not even his mother. so her sister took the toddler to be a playmate for her son nearly the same age. the cousin was mike. the aunt wanted the two Irish boys to be the mike and Pat show, so george allen

became Pat. In time the aunt tired of the extra boy. only one person cared enough for Pat’s welfare to give him a permanent home and unconditional support. grandmother, a retired teacher with a one-bedroom home, also had a radio, a love for books, and a heart for the stray child. with little responsibility and less companionship, Pat spent daylight hours playing any sport anybody in lake city, Fla., or the surrounding national forest

SummerallNobody could have predicted the life

the late sportscaster relates

Anne Whitt is a 1997-98 Dow Jones Special

Recognition Adviser, 1999 Florida Journalism Teacher of the Year and

2000 Distinguished Adviser in JEA’s National Yearbook Adviser of the

Year competition. In 2002 NSPA and JEA named her a Pioneer. In 2006

Florida Scholastic Press Association gave her its Medallion. Her column,

“Whitt and Wisdom,” may be read without membership at www.Walsworth.com. Go to Resources

and then Columns. With her family she also produces a community

publication. Whitt can be reached at [email protected].

Nov. 14-17, 2013 • Sheraton/Hynes Convention CenterFor more information: www.jea.org • nspa.studentpress.org

JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention

Boston

REGISTRATION FEESJEA or NSPA members*• $90 if received by Oct. 24, 2013• $100 when received Oct. 25, 2013, or later

Nonmembers*• $110 if received by Oct. 24, 2013• $120 when received Oct. 25, 2013, or later

Nonmember professionals* (not students oradvisers): $150*subject to change

Save money byregistering earlyand by joiningJEA and NSPA.

Learn more atboston.journalismconvention.org

By Anne G. Whitt

BOOK REVIEW had equipment to play. after-dark entertainment consisted of listening to grandmother’s reading or to grandmother’s radio. the phone call that led to the first radio job of delivering minutes of sports commentary was not meant for Pat. He just happened to be holding the phone when the call came for a team member to audition. Pat volunteered to go with the teammate and the walk-on got the job, not the scheduled auditioner. summerall says when he took hold of the copy, the years of listening to grandmother’s reading and her radio shows just clicked in. the sound and the cadence seemed to come effortlessly.

but every journalist knows succeeding for years on air means one has worked for years off air. summerall had the motivation and energy to give that necessary effort for a lifetime on the playing field and in the broadcaster seat.

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life is a series of startings-over

Ellen Austin is the News Fund’s 2012 Journalism Teacher of the Year. She is the director of journalism at the Harker School in San Jose, where she advises the yearbook, newspaper and online publications. She chairs the Student Press Law Center Steering Committee and is a JEA Northern California board member. She can be reached [email protected].

DJNF Teacher oF The Year

almost 30 years ago, I sat at a seminar table in a corporate training

room at the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company in st. louis, a newly-minted college graduate with a business degree, eager to embark on my sure-to-be–awesome marketing career. a smartly-dressed top executive stepped into the room to talk to our crop of rising young leaders-to-be. as he began to speak, I opened my leather portfolio, picked up my cross pen (a graduation gift) and started taking notes. His words would surely be inspirational, and surely would provide the key ticket to business success. what he said was instead surprising. He said, “life is a series of startings-over. you start something new and show up on the first day. then, somebody hands you a broom and says, ‘go sweep over there.’ so you go sweep. “that’s what a new job or new beginning is,” he said. “that’s what this new job is. you were in college, you got it all done, you got to the top where you know what to do … and then you get here. “Here, you’ll start sweeping and learning. and when you learn enough and get good at the things there are in this position, you’ll go after the next position. you’ll get it, then you’ll show up next day, ready for anything. “and then someone like me

will walk in, hand you a broom, and say, ‘go sweep.’” at the time, as a 23-year-old full of expectations and self-importance, I found his advice puzzling, maybe even off-topic. but as time has passed, his words have become prescient, a wise way to look at the work of a lifetime. embedded in his advice is the idea of a learning curve, the concept that each new position or skill will require incremental steps and sequences along the way to mastery. Implicit in that advice is a suggestion of patience and compassion with the process.For me, startings-over meant departing the career path with leather portfolios, cross pens, and corporate headquarters to pursue, first, photography and then, later, a teaching career. at every transition, I showed up to find that someone handed me (kindly) the metaphorical broom and said, “go sweep.” as teachers, we know the world of startings-over better than perhaps any other sector. every spring, we watch our hard work of the previous year walk out of our classrooms and eventually off our campuses. seniors especially stride across the campuses and quads, poised and assured, commanding those last months of high school. yet in just a few months, they will experience their own collegiate edition of, “welcome. Here’s the broom.” each successive fall brings

us a fresh calendar, a fresh start, fresh faces in the desks. we push the “do-over” button on our curriculum, and we revise, re-work, and re-envision what we have done before, knowing that we will revise and revisit it again the next year. as journalism advisers, this happens at micro levels with our publications, too. each issue of our print editions, each update to the website, each yearbook deadline submitted is a “starting over” point. It’s a chance to try again, to innovate, to correct, to re-think. oddly, however, this idea of seeing each part of the process as slowly-evolving and adapting is a concept with which the current crop of students I’m meeting now seems to struggle. lately, I’ve noticed that being comfortable with the ambiguity of process, or trying something right now, knowing that you need to do it again, and again, and again, seems to be a conceptual hurdle and source of frustration. no wonder. our students have grown up in the post-google world, where a tough conceptual question can be answered immediately by a handheld online search. at the same time, they are also coming of age with tremendous fear that putting a step wrong anyplace — on an assignment, in an online post to their friends, in their college app — could cause a domino effect of trouble. this is different than the

world of my childhood. the high-stakes, high-pressure fishbowl that more and more children grow up in can lead kids simply to avoid trying something which will not succeed on the first try. they want to skip the broom entirely, for fear that they might not sweep right. so they avoid the camera, or avoid trying a long feature, or avoid calling the senator’s office for an interview, for fear they might not do it right. recently, I sent my photographers off to take photos around the University of nevada (reno) campus at our northern california summer workshop, renovation. the designed activity in action photography involved photographing each other as they test-flew paper airplanes. It would require dozens of tries to get it “just right,” with a certainty that the first many attempts would not be successful action photos. but I quickly realized that rather than seeing the initial tries as “practice shots,” my campers were seeing them as “failures.” I stopped the exercise and brought the photographers over. we had a talk about the impossibility of taking good photos without taking thousands and thousands of “practice” photos. my metaphor to them was that many photos they take would be the equivalent of practicing scales for a musician, or doing pushups for an athlete.

By EllEn Austin

Go Sweep

we need to help our students even more with the challenge they face in trying and trying and trying again, even without a guaranteed outcome of success. I will try to remember that long-ago executive’s advice this fall as I leave my current job at a large public school to take a new journalism position as the director of journalism at a private school. I will hopefully bring the accumulated wisdom and experience acquired in my teaching career, especially the past six years at the job which brought me to california. but there’s one thing I know for sure as I walk into that office on the first day to begin a new adventure: Here’s the broom.

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The value and power of social media became evident in the coverage of the shooting of a former student

Journalism matters

Steve Hanf graduated from the University of Illinois School of Journalism and worked as a sportswriter at various daily newspapers for 13 years. He started his teaching career at R.J. Reynolds HS in 2010 and began advising the school paper last year. He can be reached at [email protected].

By stEvE hAnf

News reports from the neighboring city that monday morning

were tragic, yet not terribly noteworthy from 25 miles away: two dead, two wounded in a domestic violence incident. the earth-shattering news came 10 hours later. the 18-year-old clinging to life following the shooting was a recent graduate of our high school. what transpired over the next 48 hours in terms of news coverage proved unquestioningly the value of scholastic media, the power of social media and one unrelenting fact that repeated itself unendingly in our heads: Journalism matters. newspapers matter. yearbooks matter. danielle Jameison graduated from r.J. reynolds Hs in 2011. she starred on the track team and was voted “most Intelligent” by her classmates in the black & gold yearbook’s senior superlatives. less than two years into her college career at Unc-chapel Hill, however, Jameison was in critical condition in a hospital in greensboro, n.c., from a gunshot wound Jan. 7. our high school athletic department’s twitter account first reported the news, and after confirming the story through local media outlets, we re-tweeted and posted that night to our Pine whispers’ Facebook account the information along with a story referencing the tragedy. several recent graduates

who had been friends with Jameison “liked” the link on Facebook, thankful to be in the know about the situation.tuesday morning, it was clear that our student newspaper – Pine whispers – needed an online story on an event that had shocked many of the upperclassmen in our school. the question of how best to pursue such a story remained: kids still had to be in class. I still had to teach. For starters, I reached out to the writers from the greensboro news & record whose bylines appeared in the tuesday morning story. I am in my third year of teaching and second year of advising after a 13-year journalism career, and I knew those reporters would be able to help us – especially if we had something to offer in return. of utmost importance to us was receiving updates from the police on Jameison’s condition. I asked for that in an email to the reporters, offering in exchange what they needed most: photos from the yearbook. the reporters were eager to make the trade, and by noon they had some great material. our 2010-11 yearbook had a classy senior portrait of Jameison, her senior quote — a poignant piece by c.s. lewis about faith in god – and an amazing “most Intelligent” photo in which Jameison had donned “nerd” glasses and was reading a book – upside down – in the media center. by 2 p.m., the news & record had let us know Jameison was still alive and also posted our photo online with an updated web story. meanwhile, my newspaper

class that day included a sophomore who volunteered to write the story for our website. He had an indoor track meet that night, which meant he would be seeing athletes and coaches who knew Jameison. at the meet, he snapped an iPhone photo of teammates donning purple ribbons as a show of “domestic violence awareness” and shared it with our followers on twitter. on Facebook, we reported Jameison was still hospitalized and a full story on the rJr reaction was to follow. at 10:30, reporter James tatter delivered the story to my inbox. beautifully written, filled with great quotes, it needed only minor edits before being posted on our website at 10:55. the only thing I added to the story came from the news & record again — police had announced at an evening press conference that the shooter was the mother. Following an argument that morning with her long-time boyfriend, she got a gun, shot and killed her 14-year-old son, shot and wounded her 18-year-old daughter, shot and wounded the boyfriend, and then killed herself. the newspaper shared the press release with us. while it added a great deal of authority and breaking news to the overall story, I added a brief paragraph on those details to tatter’s story near the lead and then focused on the tragic details toward the end. the story, after all, was supposed to be about danielle — who was improving — and the many fond memories

people at reynolds still shared of her. on twitter, that story got 13 re-tweets. It got seven likes on Facebook. our website had more than 100 hits in that hour leading up to midnight per google analytics. then came the tidal wave.wednesday morning, the news editor of the news & record sent me a note thanking us for our cooperation and mentioning this little tidbit: a story on its website talking about danielle’s condition being upgraded mentioned how fondly her high school remembered her — and linked to our website. “according to her high school newspaper, Pine whispers, she is recovering and receiving visitors in the hospital. read more in this piece by student journalist James tatter.” that day, Pinewhispers.com received 958 visits — 916 of them “unique.” the next day saw 337 unique visitors hit the site. In this first year of being online, our previous high total of 158 hits had come during Homecoming spirit week when we posted “Hippie day” photos. Further, the Facebook post reporting that tuesday night story ended up being seen by 652 people and shared by scores of them. the lesson in all of this was so simple, yet so powerful. what we do as scholastic media students and advisers does matter. we might not realize it when we are snapping that 50th senior superlative photo in

read Tatter’s story here: http://www.pinewhispers.com/2013/01/08/danielle-jameison-improves-after-shooting-friends-rally-behind-2011-grad/

See JoUrNaLISM MaTTerS on page 12a

T H I S S T R U C K

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f ancyGiving students a voice

april or when we are battling the intricacies of taking the high school paper online. but what we do makes a difference not only in our lives,

but also in the lives of people in our school and community and beyond. what we did spread awareness to classmates that a former friend was hurting. It helped stop the spread of unchecked rumor and innuendo by presenting

the hard facts of the story. and it allowed others with no connection to the reynolds community to get a personal glimpse into the life of a fun-loving young woman sitting on a table in the library with an upside-down book in her hands.

mattersContinued from page 11A

It was a relief to move on to lighter fare a few days later: deciding what size to make the Valentine’s day personal ad hearts in our upcoming February print edition. that’s a new idea for us this year. we hope it will make us a little money. we hope the student

body will get behind the idea and have fun with it. we hope, in this little and innocent way, we can make a difference in a few more lives. don’t wait for a tragedy at your school to realize just how much your publication matters.

I t was a year ago that marguerite sheffer, my aP

english language teacher, asked me for suggestions for the name of the school newspaper she wanted to start up. I honestly thought it was funny. How would ms. sheffer manage to teach me, a kid who has no journalistic skills at all, how to write a whole newspaper article? but with the help of her adviser, beatrice motamedi, ms. sheffer started drilling us on newspaper writing. after a week, we began publishing almost every day at castlecrier.tumblr.com. we also started putting together longer stories for the newspaper. and we felt ourselves changing — we weren’t just a normal aP class anymore; we were the staff of ye castle crier, running around the school, fact checking and getting interviews. our biggest achievement came when we published for the first time in december 2012. It was a beautiful moment. we published again in april and won ninth place for best in show at the nsPa/Jea national high school journalism convention. a new newspaper placed in the top 10. Journalism has opened up a whole new world and style of writing for me. through journalism, our class has managed to give our school and its students a voice, something we didn’t have or exercise before.

Jazmin Stensonstaff wriiter

ye castle criercastlemont Hs

Marguerite Sheffer,adviser Beatrice Motamedii, mentor

[email protected]

Note: Jazmin’s December article, “Art with Heart: Teachers with Tattoos,” won 3rd place for Feature Writing in the California Press Women’s 2013 High School Communications Contest on May 13.

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“there are a lot of alterna-tives available, and using a wordPress site is probably closer to a real-world experi-ence,” he said. “one thing that will be a relief is that (maybe) nsPa and IlPc judges will no longer criticize us in their critiques for having an hsj site. that never made any sense to me.” the site will shut down on sept.15. asne has worked to ease the transition of schools leaving my.hsj for other web hosts. to download content from your site, log into my.hsj.org. From the “account” drop down menu click on “dashboard” and you will find instructions for exporting your content in rss, csV and Html. you should then be able to export it to whatever new web host you’ve chosen. For the record, wiseman states that asne is not aban-doning its commitment to scholastic journalism. “the youth Journalism Initiative will continue to evolve and innovate in response to changes in the journalism profession, the educational environment, technological opportunities and audience needs,” she said. the hsj.org website will undergo a redesign for the fall, and the organization plans to continue programs including the reynolds Institute, the asne/mct campus High school newspaper service and some form of a rede-signed contest for students for journalistic writing, photogra-phy and video. still, student publications across the country face the daunting task of finding a new web host, figuring out how to

TechnologyMost of those involved in scholastic journal-ism were shocked in

the spring when the american society of newspaper editors (asne) announced it is ending free web hosting for student publications on its my.hsj.org website. launched a dozen years ago, the site has, according to the asne, helped over 5,000 schools get online. still, even when the site was new, the drag and drop template technology it employed was somewhat clunky. today, with Flash and Html5 enabled sites and cool free wordPress tem-plates proliferating across the Internet, the sites hosted by my.hsj.org have grown down-right antique-looking. le anne wiseman, direc-tor of the asne’s youth Journalism Initiative, acknowl-edged this, saying of the clos-ing, “…technology and times have changed since our ‘cut and paste’ system was built on a dotnetnuke platform. we see this change as an oppor-tunity for students to learn valuable 21st century skills by becoming knowledgeable about wordPress, web design and other evolving digital technologies as well as hon-ing their journalistic ethics and skills.” with grant funding ending and many other options for school website hosting avail-able, asne chose to close the site. mark webber, print journal-ism and online media instruc-tor at the Vidal m. trevino school of communications and Fine arts in laredo, texas, sees the situation as an opportunity as well,

Gary Cliteshas been technology columnist for Adviser Update for over a dozen years. He served for over a decade as president of the Maryland-DC Scholastic Press Association, received a Columbia Gold Key Award in 2008, and was a 2004 Distinguished Journalism Adviser in the DJNF National Journalism Teacher of the Year program. There is an archive of his articles on his web site, www.garyclites.com. He can be reached at [email protected].

ASNE ends free web hostingAlternatives for schools looking for a new web host

By Gary Clites

pay for an online presence, and designing all new web-sites. options for hosting on the Internet are nearly unlim-ited, but several options might fit the needs of publications struggling with the problem.

School Newspapers Online

sno (www.schoolnewspa-personline.com), as the site has commonly come to be called, jumped on the closure of my.hsj.org with both feet, offering big discounts to any school publication migrating from the asne site to theirs. a fairly new site devoted specifi-cally to hosting student pub-lications, sno offers modern well-designed wordPress templated sites. they charge $300 for an initial set-up fee including securing a domain name (schools currently operating an asne site can receive a $150 discount on the set-up fee until sept. 15), and $300 a year for standard hosting.

School newspapers online (www.schoolnewspapersonline.com)

edublogs (edublogs.org)

Interscholastic online news network (www.isonn.com)

Wordpress (http://wordpress.com) See AlTeRnATIVeS on page 16A

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Don Corrigan has served for more than

30 years as a professor of journalism at Webster University in St. Louis.

In addition to his teaching, he serves as editor and co-publisher of three suburban weeklies in St.

Louis. The college paper, The Webster University Journal, has

won “Best in State” several times during his advising tenure as

well as Pacemaker recognition. He can be reached at corrigan@

timesnewspapers.com..

Courts continue to chip away rightsPRESS RIGHTSBy Don Corrigan

See COURTS on page 16A

”“If papers refuse

to cover these topics, they are being cowardly.If administrators

remove stories like these, they are being

irresponsible.

Claire Salzman,Co-Editor-in-Chief

Kirkwood CallKirkwood HS

Herb Jones recalls when local and national news media came to his messenger Printing in suburban st.

louis 25 years ago. they were covering the historic U.s. supreme court ruling on student press rights, the Hazelwood case. “we were really in on that case from the beginning to the end,” said Jones, the president of the company and a past mayor. “we printed the Hazelwood east Hs paper so, of course, we knew when some pages were removed and that there was a battle going on.” the pages that were held from the printing presses contained stories about high school students handling teen pregnancies and divorce in their families. In 1983, the spectrum was one of many high school papers that messenger Printing set copy for to ready the newspapers for printing. “when the Hazelwood case finally was decided in 1988, cbs news and local tV came to our press room on argonne drive for a backdrop for their coverage of the supreme court ruling,” Jones said. “we kept a low profile about our involvement, but the cameras were here to cover all the aspects of the case.” the Hazelwood decision has raised the ire of civil libertarians, student journalists and their advisers for a quarter-century now. Particularly alarming is the effort by some courts to apply the Hazelwood ruling to college media, from newspapers to yearbooks to websites. after the ruling, complaints of high school student censorship more than tripled at the student Press law center. In a recent editorial in the school newspaper at kirkwood Hs, just a few blocks from messenger Printing, claire salzman and staffers took issue with the 1988 high court’s 5-3 decision. salzman argued that many school administrators still believe that if papers don’t cover problems like drugs, alcoholism, bullying, birth control and crime, the controversial topics will simply go away. “nothing could be further from the truth,” wrote salzman. “Publications do not write about these topics to encourage them. no one wants a teenager to get pregnant or parents to get divorced, but it happens nonetheless. “If papers refuse to cover these topics, they are being cowardly. If administrators remove stories like these, they are being irresponsible.”‘Brutal censorship’ In the 1988 Hazelwood decision, Justice byron white wrote “that educators do not offend the First amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their

actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns...” In a harsh dissent, Justice william brennan wrote: “the case before us aptly illustrates how readily school officials (and courts) can camouflage viewpoint discrimination as the ‘mere’ protection of students from sensitive topics.” brennan accused the majority of approving “brutal censorship.” an outspoken critic of the Hazelwood decision, who also sees it as a lesson in censorship, rather than in freedom, is mary beth tinker. tinker has st. louis connections, as does her 1969 free speech case decided in favor of student rights. the case originated in a des moines, Iowa, school district. the 1969 tinker ruling by the U.s. supreme court was a triumph for free expression, in contrast to Hazelwood. It began when 13-year-old tinker and her brother wore black armbands to school in des moines. they wore the armbands in 1965 to protest the Vietnam war and to signal support for a christmas truce in southeast asia proposed by U.s. sen. robert F. kennedy. tinker and several other students were thrown out of school, resulting in a First amendment lawsuit on behalf of the students’ rights to

free speech. as the case made its way through the courts, the tinker family moved to kirkwood, then to University city. while she was still getting used to new faces, tinker was summoned to the supreme court in november 1968, where she listened to serious men in black robes discuss her case. “several months later, in February, we heard we won the case,” tinker said. “I think my mother got the call. It was nerve wracking when the press came to interview me, almost as nerve wracking as chemistry class. I was shy, so it was all pretty strange.” the high court voted 7-2 that wearing armbands at school to protest the war was constitutionally-protected speech. Justice abe Fortas noted: “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate.”Tinker to St. Louis on march 11 of this year, tinker returned to st. louis to talk about her case at an evening forum at the winifred moore auditorium at webster University. she also commented on the impact of the Hazelwood decision in 1988, when the U.s. supreme court rejected the logic of the tinker decision and

PIONEER — Mary Beth Tinker and her mother during one of many court hearings.

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thing was when kickstarter decided that we didn’t fit their criteria because we’re ‘educational,’” tinker said, so they re-worked their campaign with startsomegood, ultimately a successful venture, though a rollercoaster for a while. the crowdfunding site launched april 23 with 28 endorsing organizations promoting the campaign. “I think the low point was in the beginning week when we had only about $5,000 raised, out of the $50,000 we needed. I thought we’d never make it,” tinker said. the high point, of course, was June 1 at approximately 1:30 p.m. when the funds reached the tipping point. Frank lomonte, director of the student Press law center, which sponsors the tour as a special project, admitted he ignored other errands and chores “while I compulsively hit ‘refresh’ on my browser, watching that total creep up and up and up on saturday morning.” He also said he didn’t want to be “scooped on our own news by some stranger on twitter” so he had a tweet pre-written and his finger hovered over the button for what seemed like hours. “Pressing ‘tweet’ was never so sweet,” he said. tinker stressed the impor-tance of “journalism educators and students all across the country supporting us, from seattle to washington, d.c., including missouri, ohio, Pennsylvania and so many others in between.” tinker and Hiestand have

Those involved in scholastic media and student free expression

could hardly overlook the blogs and tweets last spring about the tinker tour. Its bright yellow bus logo with armband-wearing passengers was all over social media. It represented a dream — now a reality — of two who wanted to tell young people nationwide how important it is to speak up and use their voices. one of those two, mary beth tinker, as most readers of this column probably know, was a 13-year-old junior high student in 1965 when she and her brother John and friend chris eckhardt wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam war. the rest truly Is history as the supreme court in tinker v. des moines Independent community school district ruled neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” the other is mike Hiestand, former attorney with the student Press law center, now special projects attorney for sPlc and founder/president of Houstory Publishing and Zenger consulting, who says he spent years telling about mary beth. In his blog he wrote, “while the students would file into the room, eyes somewhat glazed over as they prepared to hear a lawyer talk, I would watch and feel the mood in the room change as I told mary beth’s real, simple — and powerful

Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE directs the Center for Scholastic Journalism and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association and is an assistant professor at Kent State University. She can be reached at School of JMC, 201B Franklin Hall, Kent, OH 44242 or by phone at 330-672-8297 or at [email protected].

MJE, chairs the JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission. He is an adjunct professor in journalism at Kent State University. He can be reached at School of JMC, 201B Franklin Hall, Kent, OH 44242 or by phone at 330-672-3666 or at [email protected].

John Bowen, MJE

‘A heck of an adventure’

PRESS RIGHTSBy CandaCe Perkins Bowen & John Bowen

— story.” “we both felt strongly about the dire condition of civics education, journalism and students’ rights in the country. so, we think it’s an important time for students to learn about their First amendment rights, and to practice using them in their lives,” tinker said. Hiestand describes the idea of touring the country so mary

beth can tell her story “a little bit like a disney movie.” but he admits he likes the magic of those movies. magic, however, wasn’t going to put them in a bus or an rV that could take them to schools, scholastic press events, conventions and other places where young people could hear the message. they needed funding. “the most frustrating

Tinker Tour to launch Sept. 17 in Philadelphia

ROCK STAR — Students at Ohio’s state convention called keynoter Mary Beth Tinker a “rock star” and gave her a standing ovation after she told about wearing a black armband in 1965. She encouraged them to also stand up for what they believe. Update photo by John Bowen

See TINKER TOUR on page 16A

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tiNKer tOUrContinued from page 15A

have been preparing for the tour. Although they’ve both done plenty of public speaking, they attended what tinker described as “a powerful workshop in New Mexico called ‘real speaking,’ to be really up to speed for the tour.” she has already tested

out what she learned by giving “a series of speeches to energetic middle school students in Washington, d.C., with the Junior National Young Leaders Conference programs.” As of this column’s deadline, June 7, the two think the tour will kick off from philadelphia on Constitution day, sept. 17, and then focus on the east Coast for a few

weeks. they say they plan to hit the Midwest during the fall, including the National Council for the social studies conference in st. Louis and then the National High school Journalism Convention (JeA/NspA) in Boston in November. in the spring, they say it’s likely they’ll be mostly in the south and on the West Coast. tinkertour.org is still the site to request a visit or check the

the price may seem steep to those use to operating free on the AsNe site, but is not that high compared to many commercial hosts. their sNO FLeX design system offers six basic templates for sites that can be customized in numer-ous ways. still, many users won’t make major changes which may lead sNO sites to have some of the sameness that was a problem on my.hsj.org.

Edublogsthough edublogs (edublogs.

org) was designed primarily as a site for student bloggers, its Wordpress templated sites work fine for hosting journal-istic websites as well, and the price is definitely right. the site offers very basic sites free, with an edublogs pro account which includes 10 gB of storage space available for only $39.95 a year which includes great network man-agement tools including online statistics. One great feature of edublogs is complete monitor-ing control of what comments show up on your site. the Wordpress blog allows you to post regular content to the site, while unlimited pages

allow you to post the contents of your print publication along with your dedicated website content. And, edublogs sites are super easy to use and manage. As an advantage over these other alternatives, edublogs offers dozens of distinctly different themes for your site, though they lack some of the bells and whistles of sites offered by other alter-natives. the many options guarantee that your site is unlikely to look like everyone else’s.

Interscholastic Online News Network

isONN (www.isonn.com) offers free website hosting

to student publications just as my.hsj.org did. started as a host for college journalism websites, isONN has reached out to secondary schools as a free host for high school sites. isONN offers three different Wordpress template themes for sites. Again, that might lead to a little sameness of the sites, but for a free host, the templates are attractive and very functional.

WordPressWordpress (http://wordpress.com) is the non-profit which created the modern website, and it can serve as the host for your content. Wordpress offers over 200 beautiful tem-

plates for your site. As a com-pletely open forum for content, it offers fewer controls than do those sites designed specifi-cally for schools, but if your school doesn’t suffer from the censorship many of us deal with, Wordpress may offer features you can use to advantage. the site offers templates that could easily be used to host both print content and material created specifi-cally for the web, and works easily with video content and other visuals. if censorship is not an issue at your school, Wordpress may be the free alternative for you.

ALterNAtivesContinued from page 13A

current itinerary. “My hope is the tinker tour will also help remind students and teachers of why a strong free press and free speech is a good and necessary thing — not just why Hazelwood is bad,” Hiestand said. “it is so encouraging to see students — and teachers — get truly revved up talking about free press when Mary Beth stops by for a visit. this gives both

put curbs on student free expression. in the morning, she spoke to high school journalism stu-dents at an ssp (sponsors of school publications of greater st. Louis) Convention at Webster. Almost 650 stu-dents cheered tinker at the convention as she quizzed them about the five free-doms guaranteed in the First Amendment. Mitch eden of ssp, who is journalism adviser at Kirkwood Hs in suburban st. Louis, was thrilled to see his students

Continued from page 14A

COUrts bus tour of schools all over the country and it will offi-cially start in philadelphia in september on Constitution day. “st. Louis worked out well and it’s kind of a model of what we want to do,” tinker said. “it is like a pep rally for the First Amendment. What could be better than that? the time has never been better to stand up for free speech and for high school journal-ism programs that are getting squeezed in tough budget times for school districts.” “i think the enthusiasm of the students in st. Louis shows how central journal-ism and newspapers can be

engaged in tinker’s First Amendment pep rally. “We’re elated to have tinker here because her fight rep-resented such a victory for student expression,” eden said. “it’s appropriate that she comes on the 25th anniver-sary of Hazelwood, which was such a dramatic reversal for student freedom.” “What is really alarming about the Hazelwood ruling is that the courts have continued to chip away at the rights of students ever since,” eden said. “When you take away the rights of young people to have a say, to have an opinion, to be involved; you are really encouraging them to opt out,

to not care, to not make any commitment to society.” eden and his ssp col-leagues arranged for tinker memento armbands to be given to students during the Monday morning rally and for members of the commu-nity who attend the evening session in Winifred Moore Auditorium. eden said he hoped the armbands stimu-lated discussion about free speech rights beyond the March 11 activities at Webster University in st. Louis. the st. Louis event was a sort of dry run for an upcom-ing “tinker tour.” if all goes as planned, the tinker tour will be a First Amendment

to high school curriculum,” tinker said she added. “students actu-ally use their freedoms that they learn about in civics. i tell young people they have rights, and if you don’t use them, you lose them.” Jan.13,1988, is now approximately 5,305 days past. the impact of that legacy will last from 1988 to whenever we say enough is enough and set about to create change and the Hazelwood Cure. shall we start now?

of us a chance to get into some places — and talk our talk — to audiences we might not otherwise reach. it’s also just going to be a heck of an adventure.” And it’s going to be a heck of a great experience for anyone who can join the tour for any event.

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Tips on writing editorials, commentaries

Steve Rowis currently a journalism instructor at East Carolina University. He was journalism education coordinator at Richmond Newspapers Inc. from 1992-2003, after working 24 years as a reporter and editor at The Richmond News Leader. He was assistant director of the DJNF’s Urban Journalism Workshop at Virginia Commonwealth University and chairman of the Virginia Press Association’s journalism education committee, and he has been an instructor at state, regional and national scholastic journalism conferences. He served as associate editor at CityView magazine in Knoxville, Tenn., 2004-05 and is doing freelance writing and editing from his home in Greenville, N.C. He can be reached at steverow_editor @hotmail.com.

WRITERS’ BLOCK

AN INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, I have judged Quill & scroll’s

writing competition, in the edi-torial category. though I never wrote editorials during my reporting and editing career, I’ve read a bazillion in both hometown papers and in papers published where I trav-el. For a brief moment well into my career, I entertained thoughts about becoming an editorial writer. what many students really want to do when they sign up for journalism or communica-tions classes is write long opinion pieces about anything under the sun. they think it is easy to sit down at the key-board and pontificate, lecture, exhibit superior knowledge, offer Important thoughts. In fact, it seems that many of today’s young journalists want to do little else. now that they are on the student publication staff, they think they have the liberty to give their opinion on anything, perhaps like chat-ting at the mall with best buds, only with a little more prestige attached. they are so wrong. most don’t have a clue about what goes into writing thoughtful opinion. writing opinion pieces and commentaries requires some seriously hard work, perhaps more than the fledgling opin-ion writer had bargained for. but the opinion page or pages, whether filled with staff editorials or signed opinion pieces or commentaries, should contain the most highly reasoned, highly researched and elegantly written words in the entire publication. these pieces should focus on topics of interest to students in the school community (not

endorsements for president) and should recognize not just the obvious points up for dis-cussion, but also some of the nuances as well. For advisers who are harassed by student journal-ists wanting to “vent” and use the publication to do so, I emphasize the 10 points for the composition of a sound editorial page or pages.

FRAME THE ISSUEknow what you area talking about. do plenty of research. you cannot write an intelligent opinion on an issue without knowing what the issue is and what the facts are about the issue – all facts from all sides. “Framing the issue” is similar to “staying focused” in other kinds of writing. you zero in on the issue and stay focused, not straying outside the frame. and you must do research on the issue; you cannot close the door, sit down at the key-board and write whatever comes into your head. edito-rial writers cannot be loose cannons; they should be laser beams.

TAKE A STANDdon’t beat around the bush; don’t be wishy-washy; don’t hide behind “on the one hand,. . . on the other hand,. . .” you must state what you really think about an issue, and you must not be afraid to take an unpopular stand if that is what you really think. If all the school is in an uproar about a new policy, but your research shows that the rea-son behind the policy makes sense, you should say so.

BE LOGICALbe practical. be reasonable. be common-sense. while this is a form of persuasive writ-ing, your arguments still must make sense. don’t follow a convoluted direction in your

argument, and don’t twist logic, or you will be left strand-ed off the path of reason. this requires the writer to consider the consequences of his or her suggestions.

NO “I”savoid using “In my opinion,” “It seems to me,” “I think.” editori-als or commentaries are understood to be the writer’s opinion, so you don’t get to hide behind those cautious phrases.

QUOTESresearch is essential, the structure of the editorial is not the same as news or feature stories, so quoting other peo-ple is unnecessary. you might quote from a report, if you are using that report to support your argument, or if you are trying to put the report in a bad light. and remember that edito-rials represent the views of the editorial staff or senior editors and are unsigned; columns and commentaries include the byline of the writer.

CRITICISM AND PRAISEcriticize what should be criti-cized but don’t be mean-spirit-ed. Praise what should be praised, but don’t by gushy. you can criticize a policy change. you can point out what you perceive to be the faults or shortcomings of a pol-icy. you can use satire effec-tively to criticize or make a point, but good satire is difficult to execute well, and if you are too cynical, your readers will leave you, regardless of whether they agree with what you are trying to say. like-wise, be careful about calling something the greatest thing since sliced bread, because your praise might be mis-placed.

OFFER A SOLUTIONdon’t just say a policy or pro-gram is wrong. say why it is

wrong, offer a suggestion on ways to improve it, or suggest a practical, workable alterna-tive. think constructive criti-cism. one effective method is by raising questions: “Has the school board ever considered . . . ?”

OPPOSING VIEWIf you are writing about a mat-ter in controversy, know what all sides are saying about the matter before you take a stand (in other words, do the research). If you are taking a stand, you can even give the other side credit for an occa-sional reasonable argument, if appropriate, but you still must steer the reader to your side.

BEST WRITINGeditorial writing must be ele-gant, perhaps the most ele-gant in the paper. no conver-sational english, and no snark. this does not mean being intellectual; simplicity still rules, and clarity is essen-tial.

AN OPPORTUNITYdon’t squander the opportunity to educate, to inform, to illuminate. If you do the necessary research into your topic, you will be in good position to help your readers understand an issue by bringing to their attention facts they might not know. no matter how persuasive you are, they still might not agree with you, but at least they will be better informed. the choice of topics is important — the issues should be about your school, your school’s students, young people in general, education (local issues and in general) —anything that has a direct impact on your readers and their lives.

RESPONSIBILITYremember that you are writ-ing from a position of respon-

By Steve Row

sibility. you are the voice of the leadership of the publica-tion. you are not writing to be liked. you must both lead the reader and serve the reader.

FINAL REMINDEReditorials and commentaries and columns in scholastic publications should focus on local issues. don’t let a student write on illegal immigration; don’t permit a student to write on stem cell research—at least not for publication. each school, school district and school board has its own issues, its own controversies. these issues, well researched, can become the subject of an editorial, column or commentary.

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.I4 Page18a SUMMER 2013 adVIser UPdate

As the multicultural chair for Journalism education association, it has been

rewarding and disappointing at the same time. the multicultural commission began back in the early 1990s when walterene swanston was invited to do diversity training with the Jea board. soon after the training, President ken siver created the multicultural commission with steve o’donoghue as chair. It has now been over 20 years since that first step in placing diversity in the forefront of publications, staffs and advisers. over the years, Jea and nsPa have seen a slow increase of students of color at the national conventions. the unfortunate fact is that many students of color are hampered in attending a national conference by finances. a large number of these students are located in schools where journalism programs are a luxury, therefore not seen as an essential learning tool. there are also schools in many inner city environments and rural settings that struggle with difficult economic conditions. when the conventions go to areas that have these challenges, Jea and nsPa try to encourage student attendance through scholarships and grants from businesses and media groups. the overwhelming problem, however, is trying to keep an existing journalism program in place or to even start such a program in a school. the outreach Program of the multicultural commission was implement-ed to try to meet the needs of advisers in schools with a high minority population and/or advisers of color who may need help with their publications or staffs. the commission has also tried to locate, help and train new advisers who may not have the support or background in teaching journalism. over the years, the outreach Program has seen many phases to accommodate changes to better serve advisers. since the early 1990s, there has been progress in encouraging diversity in

staffs and in their publications. staffs seem to try harder to make themselves reflective of their student body. what the students’ produce also include insightful perspectives on issues of diversity within their school community. but more is always better where diversity is concerned. the more people focus on diversity, the less of an issue it should become. maybe some day, diversity will be just a word meaning “variety” instead of “difference.” Jea has also tried to recognize those who demonstrate a commitment to cultural awareness and encourage a multicultural approach by creating the diversity award. It honors those who promote diversity in the scholastic media and who have taken steps to break down walls of misunderstanding and ignorance. workshops, seminars and speakers on diversity have also increased throughout the years at national conventions. although there have been great strides made towards forwarding the cause of diversity, it still lags behind and is overshadowed by other issues that may arise. However, if one looks at diversity closely, it is the core of what makes a person who he or she is. It is why you are different than everybody else. It is why you are you, and there’s nobody like you. so why is it so difficult for others to accept who you are? that’s the million-

dollar question. that’s the roadblock to overcome. we need to change the way people think. we need to change people’s perspectives. that is why we need to keep pushing, to keep focusing, to keep pressing diversity. there is still so much to be done. there are numerous great ideas to be implemented. there are many new and upcoming advisers who can continue the fight for diversity. but without speaking up and doing something, nothing will be accomplished. advisers, there is something you can do. write a story. submit to adviser Update or cJet. mentor a new adviser. Include diversity in your curriculum. share your experiences. share your ideas. conduct a workshop. run for office. Volunteer to be on a committee.

ask questions. seek answers. only when you do something, will something get done. as my retirement from public school teaching begins, it is with some hesitation that I relinquish my role as Jea multicultural commission chair. However, there comes a time when all things must end, and now this is my time. there is still much progress to be made in the area of diversity. as journalism advisers, we need to keep the diversity conversation going so students do not become complacent and ignore the importance of acknowledging the diversity that makes us who we are, americans. If anything, our country is becoming more diverse as time passes. It has been my desire through public school teaching, yearbook and newspaper advising, and serving on the Jea board to help change perspectives. life is enriched by the lives of those who walk different paths. It is only by getting to know others that we get to know ourselves. thank you adviser Update for giving me a voice to forward the cause of diversity. thank you Jea for being my support and my journalistic mentor. thank you all who have made my life richer by being my friend and my colleague.

Norma Sumarnap Kneese

taught English, speech, reading and journalism

at Snake River HS in Blackfoot, Idaho, for 26

years. She advised the school’s newspaper and

yearbook and was active in the Idaho Student Journalism

Association. She is CJE and MJE certified by JEA and

taught at numerous diversity workshops at the state and

national levels. She served as multicultural chair for JEA.

DIVERSITYQuest for diversity must continue

By Norma SumarNap KNeeSe

We need to change the way

people think. We need to

change people’s perspectives. That

is why we need to keep pushing, to keep focusing, to keep pressing

diversity.

“

”

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ROUNDUPContinued from page 4A

ASNEBecause technology and times have changed, as of Sept. 15, 2013, the American Society of News Editors will no longer host school news publications. ASNE’s my.hsj.org has been a free web-hosting service for school news organizations for 12 years. “We encourage you to continue your online news publication and we are here to help during this transition,” read an ASNE press release. ASNE will continue to offer resources for students and teachers at hsj.org and will still have a weekly contest for students to be recognized for great journalistic writing, photos and videos. For more information, visit hsj.org.

CSPAThe Columbia Scholastic Press Association has a new website.Created for CSPA by the Columbia University Web Services group, the new website uses responsive design to provide mobile-friendly features. Now the site will reformat automatically to be displayed correctly on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone. The site also features fresh navigation and a new design. All of the content from the CSPA’s prior website has been reformatted for the new site including forms and schedules for CSPA events and contest deadlines. Audio and video content is now supported much more effectively than in the past. The site is also easier for CSPA staff to update and maintain. The URL remains the same: http://cspa.columbia.edu.

KEMPASpring: Judges evaluated 16 applications for scholarships to graduating seniors from Kettle Moraine Press Association publications. Four winners will each receive money toward their first year at college. The winners are all from Illinois: Stephanie Drucker, Niles North HS; Megan Jones, Wheeling HS; Emily Jo Pahl, Grayslake North HS; and Rachel Tripp, Belvidere North HS. Congratulations!Fall: Fall Journalism Conference will be Friday, Oct. 11, at UW-Whitewater. More than 1,000 students and advisers attend this yearly event where they can choose from dozens of presentations at each of three time slots. Publication critiques and awards are handed out first thing in the morning. Sandy Jacoby is the long-time director of this event. KEMPA also holds its annual meeting at the luncheon where board members will be elected for next year.Contact: Linda Barrington, KEMPA

executive director, at [email protected].

NSPAThe National Scholastic Press Association has initiated a search for a new executive director, and hopes to identify one this summer. NSPA and its executive director, Logan Aimone, mutually agreed to part ways, announced NSPA Board President Albert Tims in June. Tims said that both in his role at NSPA, and previously as a high school adviser in Wenatchee, Wash., Aimone has made important and lasting contributions to scholastic journalism. In particular, Tims said, Aimone has been a strong leader in the area of First Amendment rights for high school and college journalists. Aimone was a Dow Jones News Fund

Special Recognition Adviser in 2002 and a Distinguished Adviser in 2005 when he taught at Wenatchee (Wash.) HS. NSPA’s Board of Directors has appointed three board members to serve as volunteer liaisons to key partner organizations during the transition. Ann Visser, a journalism teacher at Pella Community Schools in Iowa, will be liaison to the Journalism Education Association. Visser is a past president of JEA. Laura Widmer, a past president of College Media Association, will be liaison to that organization. Widmer is general manager of the Iowa State Daily. Tim Dorway, principal of Chanhassen (Minn.) HS, will be liaison to members of the Minnesota High School Press Association. Dorway is a former high school journalism teacher and adviser.

Tims said these appointments assure continuity during the leadership transition.

Quill and ScrollWinners have been selected in two new Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists competitions for bloggers and for middle and junior high school students.• Leah Budson of Newton North HS, Newtonville, Mass., won first place in the inaugural Blogging Competition for her entry, “An Online World.”• Second-place winners (tied) were Kate Pellgrini of Castro Valley HS, Castro Valley, Calif., and Jordan Dawkins of Valley Christian HS, San Jose, Calif. • Alex Stearns-Bernhart of Henry W. Grady HS, Atlanta; Julia Poe of Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kan.;

and Jenna Wilson, Cherry Hill HS East, Cherry Hill, N.J., tied for third place. Quill and Scroll launched the Blogging Competition to address a growing content format used by scholastic journalists. View the winning entries at http://tinyurl.com/bubpjr4. To serve a seemingly larger pool of pre-high school journalists, Quill and Scroll offered a Writing and Photography Contest this year for middle and junior high school students. The winners are:• Feature writing - Diego Gallegos of Mesa Vista MS, Ojo Caliente, N.M.;• News, feature and sports photography – Brianna Capello, David Crockett MS, Richmond, Texas. Visit the Quill and Scroll website at quillandscroll.org for more information.

ABOVE: 2013 IndIAnA HIgH ScHOOl jOurnAlISt Of tHE YEAr fInAl-IStS: Grace Runkel, Floyd Central; Hannah Alani, Bloomington HS South; Abby Elston, Crown Point; Brandon Vickrey, Portage; Anna Boone, Floyd Central; Glenda Ritz, Indiana superintendent of public instruction; Collin Czilli, Portage HS; Micheala Sosby, Chesterton HS; Eric Mesarch, Portage; Samantha Strong, Lawrence Central; and Sam Beishuizen, Crown Point.

lEft: SjOY — Rachel McCarve, IHSPA Executive Board member, presents plaque to Micheala Sosby, Chesterton HS, IHSPA Student Journalist of the Year. Sosby received a $1,500 Hoosier State Press Association scholarship and $500 IHSPA scholarship.

Indiana First Amendment Symposium

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.I4 a SUMMER 2013 aDVISeR UPDate

address Service Requestedadviser Update is published by the Dow Jones news Fund andis provided freeof charge. to be placed on the mailing list, to request informa-tion about DJnF or to correct this label, contact:

Dow Jones news FundP.o. box 300Princeton, nJ 08543-0300609-452-2820

non-Profit org.US Postage

PaIDPrinceton, nJ

Permit no. 411

SUmmeR

13

newS FUnDaDVISeR UPDaten who are we?the Dow Jones news Fund, a nonprofit foun-dation supported by the Dow Jones Foundation and other newspaper companies, encourages young people to consider journalism careers.

n adviser Update’s missionadviser Update, a newsletter published by the Dow Jones news Fund for high school journalism teachers and publications advis-ers, is a free quarterly serving the inexperi-enced as well as the veteran. It will be the seminal free resource for these educators, a clearinghouse of practical, topical informa-tion.

n contacting the news Fundmail: P.o. box 300, Princeton, nJ 08543-0300Phone: 609-452-2820Fax: 609-520-5804e-mail: [email protected]

n news Fund staffRichard Holden, executive directorlinda Shockley, deputy director Diane cohn, director of finance

n contacting adviser UpdatePlease address all news items to george taylor, adviser Update editor.mail: 200 north lehigh St., tamaqua, Pa 18252Phone: 570-668-4451e-mail: [email protected]

n article submissions, story ideasadviser Update welcomes story ideas and articles from its readers. Some articles are reprints from other publications in the field of scholastic journalism. original articles should be between 400 and 600 words in length and on topics of importance or interest to Update’s targeted audience. articles can be sent to george taylor via e-mail (word, RtF or text file). color photos (high resolution jpegs) or PDF graphics are welcome. authors must include a paragraph biography and a color mug shot. copy and graphics can also be sent to the editor on cDs. writers are paid based on the depth of the article, accompa-nying artwork and placement in the publica-tion. Please address all news items to:george taylor, adviser Update editor.mail: 200 north lehigh St., tamaqua, Pa 18252Phone: 570-668-4451e-mail: [email protected]

n editorial reprints/permissions,subscriptions, back issuesto be placed on the adviser Update mailing list, to report a change of address, to order reprints of articles or to obtain permission to use any part of adviser Update, contact linda Shockley at the news Fund at 609-452-2820 or [email protected].

n web site servicesInformation about the news Fund, its services and programs and selected articles from adviser Update are available at the news Fund’s web site: https://www.newsfund.org.twitter.com/djnf

n Updategeorge taylor, editorkathleen Zwiebel, designmary kay Davis and elsa kerschner, production

Ryan Carygraduated with honors from Ohio University with degrees in journalism and history, and Kent State University with a master’s degree in history. He has worked in a variety of information roles spanning media, Fortune 100 financial services and global professional services environments. Cary is currently an assistant director in Ernst & Young’s knowledge organization, responsible for managing and improving online business development tools, and he occasionally contributes travel and entertainment pieces to The Facets Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected].

lessons to last a career

Little did I know that when I walked into georgia Dunn’s journalism class in the

autumn of my senior year of high school, I crossed a life-altering threshold. I never imagined that my meager aspiration to give southern ohio’s independent music scene the coverage I felt it had theretofore lacked in the Hurricane, wilmington HS’s newspaper, would eventually lead to professional writing and editing jobs for a handful of newspapers, much less a career in global busi-ness.

while mrs. Dunn’s training in writing, editing and informa-tion design would give anyone a professional edge regardless of his or her career, I learned other significant lessons in high school journalism that have served me well.

Never bury a lead. writ-ing for the Hurricane was the first time I learned to focus on pointed issues in a fact-based and diplomatic way, even if the stakes were relatively low — for example, a lack of spectator seat-ing during our high school base-ball team’s playoff run. as I’ve progressed in my career and the stakes have gotten higher, I’ve occasionally been asked to drop

leads lower, like soft-shoeing around poor business results. although it’s not always popular in the short-term, being willing to ask the tough questions up front and keep contentious issues vis-ible has provided me much more satisfying work experiences and outcomes than if I had taken another path.

Pay attention to emerging media technology. It’s an early indicator of bigger and broader change. I remember midway through my senior year when the Hurricane got its first digi-tal camera that could save five pictures directly to a floppy disk in the camera! How could things improve beyond that, right?

Shortly out of college only a few years later, I worked for a newspaper chain as it transi-tioned its publishing operation to a hub-and-spoke virtual copy desk and digital printing press model. In a broad sense, this is how my web team at ernst & young works today, not to men-tion how your family may deal with its holiday photos.

Highlight the people. never forget that there is a human ele-ment to almost everything, people love reading or hearing about other people and compelling

stories exist at the intersection of human choices and consequenc-es. I first witnessed this principle in a weighty (for the Hurricane) story about the decision to get a tattoo in high school, explored it further as a crime and politics reporter in southern ohio and still highlight it in business content to attract readers to industry intranet sites and tools.

Be someone with whom oth-ers want to work toward a com-mon goal. giving a classmate an album review at the Hurricane to pair with artwork and place in a respectable layout took some faith. after all, when you’re try-ing to sell the artistic integrity of underappreciated music to the masses, you don’t want to go wrong with the aesthetics. luck-ily, we had a pretty good crew of people who, despite having different interests and talents, respected each others’ work and wanted to put out the best pos-sible total product, so it became easy to trust them. and it was a lesson that’s been repeated time after time in my career: when it comes to working with aloof tech-nical experts or less skilled, but more flexible and team-oriented people, the latter will almost always produce a better result,

and I want to be in that crowd.I still keep in touch with people

from that year of the Hurricane. Some of them continued to pursue writing, several became teachers, perhaps in part because of mrs. Dunn’s defining influ-ence. one of them became the announcer for the Harlem globe-trotters. and I suppose that’s the final lesson I should pass on: High school journalism helps prepare you for any number of careers … but it’s still up to you to write the (unburied) lead for them.

By ryan Cary SCHOLASTIC PROFILE

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T H E S E S T R U C K

ourfancyConnecting

to readers via Social MediaFor what seemed like forever, scholastic journalism meant a school newspaper and yearbook, with perhaps a literary magazine thrown in, too. Eventually feature and news magazines joined the core, along with DVDs, podcasts, websites and social media. Social media, now embraced by most businesses and teenaged-Americans, is an important way for student media to stay connected with their target audience. Print papers have supposedly been dying for years now, and yearbook sales are decreasing. Some schools, however, have found ways to use social media to not only supplement those media, but to encourage readers to seek them out for the entire story. The scholastic media landscape is constantly changing. If you haven’t yet embraced social media, it just might be time to join in connecting with your readers in all ways possible.

BoRAH HS SEnAToR (MIRA CoSTA, CALIF.)

The Senator’s Facebook page is a fun, almost behind-the-scenes look at what the Senator staff is up to. Staff members share their successes, search out sources for future issues and remind students when issues are published. The page is fun and photo-filled.Adviser: Michelle Harmon

By Tom Gayda

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colUmbUS noRtH

StUDent meDIa

alUmnI(colUmbUS,

InD.)

Slightly different from the typical page

for delivering news, columbus north is one of many programs that

has developed a page for alumni of the program to help them stay involved

with their high school. this approach allows the

current staff to connect with alumni, possibly

cultivating sources for news and sources for

support.Advisers: Kim Green &

Rachel McCarver

wHItney HS DetaIlS yeaRbook

(RocklIn, calIF.)

Students at whitney chose a Facebook profile page instead of fan page for their yearbook,

Details. good thing — whitney Details sounds like a person’s name. their page does an amazing job

giving students various teases of the yearbook, as well as asking questions students can respond

to and perhaps have their answers appear in the yearbook. the profile also advertises upcoming events the staff will be at and seeks volunteers for coverage. the staff also successfully uses

Instagram @detailsyearbook.Adviser: Sarah Nichols

‘Social media ... is an important way

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noRtH centRal HS ncHS lIVe! (InDIanaPolIS, InD.)

I hate to use work from the school that employs me, however my students have done a strong job updating their Facebook presence on an almost daily basis. Info posted on Facebook is typically breaking news with a link to our website or another source. the page is effective. our superintendent and district often “share” the stories my students have posted. the staff also runs a variety of twitter accounts, the most successful being @nchslivecafe. our account lets kids know what the lunch menu is the following day.

Adviser: Tom Gayda

for student media to stay connected

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ScItUate HS ScItUatIon(ScItUate, maSS.)

One of the most cleverly-named student newspapers has a Facebook fan page heavy on photos. this staff uses regular photo uploads to keep the page fresh. School announcements and reminders to buy the print edition fill out this page that promotes reader interactivity.Adviser: Colleen Gacic Simpson

noRtH centRal HS ncHS lIVe! (InDIanaPolIS, InD.)

I hate to use work from the school that employs me, however my students have done a strong job updating their Facebook presence on an almost daily basis. Info posted on Facebook is typically breaking news with a link to our website or another source. the page is effective. our superintendent and district often “share” the stories my students have posted. the staff also runs a variety of twitter accounts, the most successful being @nchslivecafe. our account lets kids know what the lunch menu is the following day.

Adviser: Tom Gayda

mIRa coSta HS mUStang moRnIng newS (mIRa coSta, calIF.)

Facebook fan pages aren’t just for print publications. the mustang morning news’ page is heavy on links to its website as well as other sources. the page seems to be a great supplement to the program’s broadcast and website. this is a mighty triple-threat of information dissemination. Adviser: Michael Hernandez

for student media to stay connected

with their target audience.’

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HARRISonVILLE HS WILDCAT nEWS

(HARRISonVILLE,Mo.)

The Wildcat news page is heavy on breaking news

and updates. What the page lacks in photos it makes up for in regular

updates and reminders. There are lots of links to the

staff’s website and a nice focus on updating readers

on the records of the sports teams.

Adviser: Brad Lewis

Tom GaydaTom Gayda directs the student media at North Central HS in Indianapolis. He is a former curriculum and development

commission chair and regional director for JEA. Gayda is a

past Indiana Adviser of the Year and Dow Jones Newspaper

Fund Special Recognition and Distinguished Adviser. He can be reached at tgayda@msdwt.

k12.in.us.

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T H I S S T R U C K

Covering Boston

Covering the boston marathon bombings posed an indescribable challenge for our student reporters and

the Register Forum, as the suspected perpetrators were graduates of cRlS and thus members of our community. However, the decision to cover the “cRlS Strong” rally and how much support cambridge Public Schools offered students and teachers in the wake of the tragedies was simple. we had to write about those silver linings, as they helped many of us begin to heal. they galvanized a stunned and horrified community. Student journalists also wrote about how boston sporting events memorialized the victims. one editor even seized the opportunity to examine how the news itself was covered. clearly our students were riveted to the news, but sometimes they were appalled by how reporters, in the rush to get the story first, sacrificed the truth. Journalism was playing out live, in their own backyards. literally. needless to say, I’m very proud of how my students covered the tragedy in our school newspaper. the front page was an uncharacteristic giant-sized photo of two cRlS sisters attending the rally, embracing each other, sporting “cRlS Strong” bracelets — and the picture said it all.

Steve Matteo, ed. m., adviser

the Register Forumcambridge Rindge and latin School

cambridge, [email protected]

617-308-3083

Close to home

f ancyEditor’s Note: Soon after the April bombing at the Boston Marathon and the subsequent police dragnet, we invited student media staffs to submit their coverage of the events. Response was good, especially from those schools in the Boston area. Of particular interest is the coverage submitted by adviser Steve Matteo from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, Mass., the school from which both bombing suspects graduated. Once again, students demonstrated thorough, responsible coverage of events outside the school walls. George Taylor Update Editor

my

See CLOSE TO HOME on page 3C

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Emphasis on community

Due to our vicinity to the bombing (the marathon

goes through newton itself), we covered the event in numerous ways. on the thursday after the bombing, we posted a column written by our opinions editor, Jared Perlo. the column responding to the event encourages students and community members to come together, provide help to those in need and not let acts of terror define the country. Link: http://thenewtonite.com/?p=23787. at the beginning of the week following the marathon bombing, we published five Q&a-style series of interviews. two of the series are interviews with seniors who ran the marathon, one is with a senior who had gone to watch her dad run, one is with a teacher who had gone to watch her mother-in-law run, and one is with a sophomore

A slice of the event

I had started the reporting for the story before the marathon happened. brookline borders boston, and the race course runs through our town.

we knew that there were two students running the 26.2 mile event, and we thought it could make a nice feature to post on our website. I interviewed ella macVeagh the week before the race, just as she was tapering down and carboloading. after I heard about the bombings, I checked in with her. she was okay, but didn’t want to be interviewed. However, sophie lev was happy to talk, so I interviewed both her and her mother. the article that came out was not an authoritative version of all that happened that day, but just one slice of it that was experienced by members of our school community. It was posted on the web april 25 and was printed in our may issue.

Aaron Sege, writing manager

the sagamorebrookline Hs

brookline, mass.

Marcella Anderson, [email protected]

who shadowed her father, wgbH ceo Jon abbott, on the april 20 when wgbH was providing on-site coverage of the search for the second suspect. Links: http://thenewtonite.com/?p=23826; http://

thenewtonite.com/?p=23831; http://thenewtonite.com/?p=23858; http://thenewtonite.com/?p=23867; and http://thenewtonite com/?p=23807. Instead of her weekly cartoon, Julia moss, our chief

cartoonist, drew a graphic thanking the police of newton, watertown and boston for their work in finding the second suspect. the caption reads: “because of the incredible work of local, state, and federal law enforcement

teams, boston and its surrounding areas are safe and back in action. thank you. graphic by Julia moss.” we published a mass interview where students from every grade were asked “How do you think that bostonians, boston and the boston marathon should react to the recent bombings?” Link: http://thenewtonite.com/?p=23973. last but not least, one of our sports editors, Jacob gurvis, wrote a feature about how sports teams bring people together in times of tragedy. Link: http://thenewtonite.com/?p=24053.

Leah Budson, editor in chiefthe newtonite

thenewtonite.comnewton north Hs

newton, mass.

Tom Fabian, [email protected].

[email protected]

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CLOSE TO HOMEContinued from page 1C

With the theme of “cambridge stands strong,” the register Forum, continued its

coverage of how much support the cambridge Public schools provided the community. columnist mae drucker examined how the news itself was covered. adviser steve matteo said, “we had to write about those silver linings, as they helped many of us begin to heal; they galvanized a stunned and horrified community.”

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Spontaneous reporting

Being in the San Francisco bay area, I’m not sure if or how we would have covered the bombings if one of my editors,

taylor westmont, hadn’t been in boston visiting colleges during the days immediately following the attack. She took it upon herself to do some spontaneous reporting, linking up with some college students from aragon/california and taking some shots, including a fortuitous shot of Senator elizabeth warren (D-ma) paying her respects. taylor returned to school the day of our final production deadline and the students decided to work it up and put it on the front page. olivia marcus helped craft the final article and shared the byline with taylor. I think the article does a nifty job of localizing a national story. I was proud of my students for choosing to take on what amounted to extra work that I was not expecting or pushing for out of a sense of duty to the publication. this also reminded me that photography and reporting are becoming inseparable. taylor will be attending tufts University this fall. olivia is going to the medill School of Journalism at northwestern University.

Scott Silton,adviser the aragon outlook

aragon HSSan mateo, calif.

[email protected]

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A localized view

After the bombings at the boston marathon, our local newspaper, via their Facebook page, published the names of northwest

Indiana residents who ran in the marathon and registered a finish time. one of the runners, monica Hall, is from our city. we found her phone number online and contacted her. She was more than happy to come in for an interview. Hall’s story and perspective provided the students with a localized view of the tragedy.

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Sports healing role

This is the back page column of the Viking. It was written the day after the boston marathon and published in print the following

week. It shows my take on how sports played such a key role in the healing process. as the columnist for the first high school sports magazine and as a former boston resident, I take a unique view on things. being a bruins fan and also having nearly 20 family members in the greater boston area, I took this event to heart and the emotion is shown through the column.

Affected by lockdown

The bomb attack at the boston marathon occurred a week and a half before the publication date of the april issue of the Harvard-westlake chronicle and on the other side of the

continent, but because we have so many recent graduates who attend college in the boston area, we had students who were affected by the event, including one former staff member who rushed a few blocks from his dorm to the finish line to take photos. and then, on the Friday before the paper came out, the citywide lockdown coincided with the new Student welcome weekends at Harvard, boston college and tufts, where some of our seniors were scheduled to tour campuses, so we had students stranded at the airport, or on campuses where events occurred. It turned out that we also had recent alumni who were among the news media covering the event. the story was reported by telephone, email and Facebook by senior michael Sugerman.

Kathleen Neumeyer,adviser the chronicle

Harvard-westlake SchoolStudio city, calif

[email protected]

Breaking news coverage

My broadcast journalism students covered this topic with a short video interview with our

cross country coach who ran the marathon and missed the bombing by 15 minutes. Since it was breaking news coverage, it’s shorter than our usual 90-second news stories with voice over and facts (which usually take two to three weeks to produce). In this case, the students produced this literally overnight. on our live show that aired the piece, anchors introduced the package with background facts about the bombing, which is

not included in this video. Johanna warshaw is the reporter and matt Stern is the photographer. View the news story at: http://mustangmorningnews. com/boston-marathon-bombing/

Ellen Austin, [email protected]

Melissa Deavers-Lowie, adviser

[email protected]

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Jonny Glazier, columnistthe Viking

Palo alto HSPalo alto, calif.

Brandon Vickrey, editor-in-chief & Nick Blue, news writer

the Pow wowPortage HSPortage, Ind.

manhattan beach, calif.www.mustangmorningnews.com

[email protected]

Michael Hernandez,adviser mustang morning news

mira costa HS

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A direct effect

Park spanish teacher Joy esboldt finished running the boston marathon shortly before the bombs exploded.

at the time of the explosion, esboldt was being treated in the medical tent, only a block away and watched as medics wheeled in blast victims. the echo covered this story because the incident at the boston marathon directly affected members of the Park community, both in st. louis Park and in boston at the time of the explosions. the article was also meant to report esboldt’s story as most students were not aware she was in boston at the time. In addition, after experiencing a number of deaths in the Park community recently, the impact of the bombings especially resonated among staff and students.

Lani Abelson, co-managing editorthe echo

st. louis Park Hsst. louis Park, minn.

Lori Keekley, [email protected]

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Celebrate with CSPA at our 90th convention

Columbia Scholastic Press Association March 19-21, 2014

http://cspa.columbia.edu

These are scenes from past conventions. CSPA held it’s fi rst convention on March 12-13, 1924. It took it’s fi rst offi cial convention in 1927. More than 340,000 delegates have attended our conventions, conferences and workshops.

CSPA is celebrating Attendance is open to student editors and faculty advisers to newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, video productions and online media from schools throughout the United States and Canada, as well as overseas schools following an American plan of education.

Convention delegates can choose from 350 or more sessions organized in sequences for newspaper — print and online, yearbook, magazine, photography, social media, law and ethics, video, advisers and digital media. All sequences will run simultaneously throughout the three days of the convention.

Free on-site critiques will be off ered throughout the three-day convention.

CSPA is also planning Student and Adviser Swap Shops throughout the 2014 Scholastic Convention. These will be off ered for newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and digital media.

For more information on registration and program content, please check the CSPA web site at:

The 90th Annual Spring Convention on Columbia University’s campus

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A coach’s story

This spread appears in our yearbook supplement. we had already finished and sent the bound book and the

supplement was due april 19. when we found out one of our teachers, our head track coach, was at the event cheering on his wife, we reallocated space and decided to cover it. our reporter, dagne milasiute conducted the interview with Jeff bliven, the teacher. when she returned, her eyes were red from tears. Jeff also broke down in the interview. I’ll admit I cried when I read the transcription. after dagne transcribed the entire interview, we realized there was no way we could tell the story better than Jeff had. So, we just edited and cleaned up some of his comments and ran it exactly as he told us. our lead photographer, Ian marynowski, took the portrait with Jeff and the text message he received. the photo of the debris from his hotel room and the photo of his wife (running in a Smoky Hill track team t-shirt) were provided by Jeff and were taken with his cell phone. our editor-in-chief, kara gruenberg, designed the page which uses the same layout we used for the aurora theater Shootings on page 20-21 of our book (we had students there, too). we thought that symmetry was important.

Carrie Faust, adviser Summit yearbook

Smoky Hill HSaurora, colo.

[email protected]

Home and abroad

0nline coverage: Patriot’s day is a state holiday in massachusetts and falls on the third monday in april

each year so schools across the state are out for april Vacation week. many students and teachers at Scituate HS were travelling both domestically and abroad, but were drawn to the coverage of the boston marathon bombing happening back home. at SHS a large group of students and teachers were midway through a two-week Spanish exchange trip when they heard the news of the event. Returning home at the end of the surreal week, students began processing the events in different ways as they heard stories of their friends and classmates, some who were at the marathon. From the attacks to the subsequent police action and lock-down of the boston metropolitan area, the week’s events were felt by those here and afar. Full coverage at http://www.scituation.net/opinions/2013/04/27/4249/ Print coverage: as time passed, covering the boston marathon bombing was no longer timely, but people were curious how the recent high profile cases across the country would be prosecuted and how the varying laws would play into sentences for those convicted. the news story in our may 21 issue was about the use of the death penalty and how the state of massachusetts does

not have the death penalty, but the accused bomber could potentially be put through the federal court system and that would change the likelihood.

Colleen Gacic Simpson,adviser the ScituationScituate HS

Scituate, [email protected]

2013 Summer Adviser Update

Documents

Transcript of 2013 Summer Adviser Update