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

March Issue Looks Great

Thanks to all for doing an outstanding job. Of course, it wasn't perfect. Here are some reminders.

Editors: Make sure you are working with the latest version of a story. A couple of you were using an early version when a revised version was available.

Also, I'd like to see more subheads. Not every story, but at least the top story on each page should have a subhead.

Photo Editor: Make sure there is a caption for every photo. If not, get enough info to write one.

Also, check each photo to see if it could be improved by cropping.

Editors: Some direction for your pages

I looked at your pages after all of you left today, and it wasn't pretty. Here are some suggestions:
Adam: Let's put Breigh's story and the Save the Peak photo on the front page. I'd also like to have Kathy's story on the drive to place Hollywood High on National Register of Historic Places on the front page. She is struggling with it, but I think she can finish it on Monday. We only need about 3-4 paragraphs. You can decide if you want to use the teachers picketing photo or not.
Kiara: Start by leaving space for the half page Robek's ad on the bottom of page 5. Then think of what artwork you have. There is a photo of Diandra Beckles and a photo from the Getty field trip in the emailbox. There's also some good photos on the school website of Teaching Academy students tutoring little kids. Go to Media Gallery and click on TCA. Put one good-sized photo and one story at the top of each page. You still need to place the Academic Decathlon story and I thought Sree took photos to go with that also. Kevin wrote a news brief on a bridge-building competition which is on the desktop of the computer next to Adam's computer.
If you don't have room for everything you can: A)hold the Teaching Academy story for the next issue; or, B)ask if anyone if they will take the half page ad (there is still a quarter page ad that needs placement).
Elizabeth: I know you can't do much until you get some more photos, but Ana's article needs more info on the Italian class field trip witnessing the Bocelli star. As for Kevin and Maria's articles, I think they should be combined into one story. Go to the W website and get a photo. We are trying to get more photos including one of the sign that says Trader Joe's Coming Soon and one of the loft building at Hollywood and Vine.
Breigh: Change the byline to Compiled by the Crimson Chronicle staff. When you place Josh's story, you will need the photos as a separate file. At the end of the horoscopes, write for entertainment purposes only. Has Chris and Fester been scanned?
Lissette:Your pages should be done on Monday, since they are the least time-sensitive. Remember to use the letter in the emailbox titled Congrats. Double-check the spelling on everything in Man on the Street. I saw three mistakes in the one on the right.