Student journalists make ethical decisions daily, whether in advertising, design, information gathering or reporting. It is essential and ongoing.

A number of excellent resources exist for helping students, their advisers and those in their communities make those decisions. Administrators help students and their advisers with this task through positive reinforcement of journalism activities. One point is important to note: Ethics are only guidelines. They do not represent standards for punishment or discipline.

Administrators should follow two basic practices with student media:

School boards and student media
School boards, elected governing bodies of public schools in many states, set policies regulating school procedures. They do not manage day-to-day activity in schools, but can and do pass policies that may be counterproductive to an administrator’s view of student media.

Administrators should review school board policies that govern student free expression because they are charged with upholding school board and state code governance policies

Supporting student media with technology and budgeting

Just as the science lab requires specialized equipment such as microscopes and incubators, journalism classrooms need up-to-date digital cameras, computers and software.

Because journalism provides hands-on application of 21st-century skills, the classroom has unique needs in both setup and equipment. Administrators should allocate adequate funds to create the best learning environment.

The value of using social media

Mobile phones, tablets, laptop computers and other devices make it possible for teens to stay connected virtually every moment of their waking lives. As a result, much of the information they gain about their school, community and world at large comes from online sources – in particular, social media.

In the 2011 “Future of the First Amendment” survey of more than 12,000 high school students and 900 teachers sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, researcher Dr. Kenneth Dautrich found that nearly two-thirds of high school students obtain news and information from the Internet at least several times a week, while half use mobile devices such as iPhones and Blackberrys for the same purpose. More than three-quarters of high school students use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr at least several times a week for news and information – and nearly half spend some time seeking information about what is happening at school.

Internet access and safety
Today’s student journalists must learn to navigate and produce online media. The choice is clear — provide an educational environment in which students learn to use the Internet with adult facilitation, or leave students to educate themselves with no such guidance. Because the First Amendment protects Internet freedoms in much the same way it protects print media, it is essential for administrators to understand the boundaries of the law.

Understanding filters
The Children’s Internet Protection Act mandates filters in public schools, although many administrators are unaware CIPA also allows for their removal in certain situations. Use in journalism programs should be one of those exceptions because filters often block relevant research material and prohibit students from learning online responsibility.