Meet and Greet on Friday

Today we decided we would dress business-like for our meet-and-greet with the faculty on Friday. Guys don't have to wear a tie, but don't wear your ratty t-shirt and sneakers. Girls don't need to wear heels, but don't wear anything revealing. This is your chance to get to know people you may soon be interviewing. You will need to introduce yourself as in "Hi, I'm Joe, and I'm a reporter." Or, "Hi, I'm Maria. I'm the news editor." They will probably tell you their names and their job. If they don't tell you their job, ask them. If you don't know what their job entails, ask them, "What does you job entail?" Most people are happy to talk about themselves. If you can't think of anything to talk about, tell them about the personality matrix and what animal you are.

Video Camera on the Way

Great news! I wrote a proposal on a website called Donors Choose in which teachers ask for things and the public can decide which projects to donate their money. I asked for a Sony camcorder, so we can start experimenting with online videos to go with our stories, and it got funded. It should arrive any day.

Maybe we can videotape some of our interviews, and when we publish the paper we will add a line saying, "View the entire interview online at (insert address)."

Ethics for High School Media

From Start the Press! How to Start a High School Newspaper
By Lauren Branas, Auburn University
Ethics are principles. In the field of journalism, ethics are vital not only to avoid lawsuits, but to maintain the credibility that will allow a paper to flourish. Readers must trust the paper. Therefore, the staff must adhere to a code of ethics in order to make the purpose of the paper clear.
The Society of Professional Journalists outlines a code of ethics at spj.org/ethics-code.asp.
Here is a brief outline from SPJ:
1. Seek truth and report it.
The truth is the most important aspect of a newspaper. Do everything in your
power to verify facts and report in a straightforward manner.
2. Minimize harm.
Be fair and cautious about what you print. If printing something will cause the
subject harm or pain, make sure printing the story is essential to the public. An
example is publishing a photograph portraying someone in emotional pain.
3. Act independently.
Don't give favors and don't take bribes. Try not to get in situations where there is
a conflict of interest. For example, if a reporter is personally involved with a
story, don't assign him/her to it.
4. Be accountable.
Take responsibility for any mistakes. For example, if a reporter gets a name of
fact wrong, run a correction as soon as the mistake is discovered.
Be clear to all staff members about what is expected ethically. Use common sense
and think things through before printing.

Your Teacher Is A Rock Star

Not only did I get you a beautiful, new, close-up lens for free, I convinced Samy's camera to fix our broken lens in exchange for a half-page ad. They are supposed to send us the ad by Monday. I picked up the lens yesterday afternoon.

We also need someone to write a paragraph thanking the people involved in getting us the new lens. I will get the guy's name from my husband and we can put something on the editorial page.

Another Easter Miracle*

Samy's Camera called yesterday and said the cost of fixing the broken lens is $87.50 including shipping. I told them to go ahead and asked if they would be willing to accept an advertisement in lieu of payment. I spoke to the manager of the repair department and he was very interested. He said the repair order would go out on Monday, and with any luck, it may be ready by Friday. He said he has Monday off, but that he will call me Tuesday to discuss the ad and suggested he may want to advertise in the future.


*Apologies to any of the devout I may have offended