Law, Ethics & News Literacy

Law

The intersection of law and journalism makes an obvious beginning with the First Amendment’s establishment of the free press. On the free press, Thomas Jefferson once said, “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Over the years, the law has been a profound way to introduce journalism. It gives both new and returning studies alike a sense of confidence and uplifting power. Moreover, it makes journalism sound extremely impactful—and everyone finds it is when they dig deeper. When questions come to me relating to the law or I am interested in reading more, I seek the news page of the Society of Professional Journalists. I also follow updates from the Hawai‘i Scholastic Journalism Association to be informed of student press freedom pursuits. Before the pandemic, I had an opportunity to visit the Hawai‘i State Capitol to support a student journalism bill with my fellow editors. An eighth-grader at the time, I had little knowledge of the legal process to get a bill signed into law. Since then, through both coursework and personal reading, I have learned much more about that process (even in the context of journalism). It was rewarding to eventually see the Hawai‘i Student Journalism Protection Act signed into law in 2022. 

Ethics

Introducing the concept of ethical journalism to student journalists is necessary, though challenging. This year we were able to conquer that challenge through a read-aloud of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Staffers and editors took turns reading the bullet points under the four large principles and simplifying them into easy-to-understand terms when necessary. We all, then, shared the ones that particularly resonated with us and other ones which remain important, but are easy to forget about. One of these, for example, is the importance of providing context. Sometimes we are so engrossed in one part of our idea, that we forget what is surrounding the idea. The Code of Ethics emphasizes that we always know and report context accurately. When I am editing student pieces, this is one particular area I pay attention to, in addition to many others. Often, giving context means providing short, specific phrases for the reader where appropriate. We at Imua are also fortunate to get tips on ethics from visiting journalists. Recently, Ms. Lee Cataluna was able to inform us of some of her ethical considerations when writing. One of these considerations, for example, was her personal stake in an article. She explained how she ethically reported on an issue in a community other than the one she lived in. If the issue at hand resided in her own community, she would inherently have a stake in the article. In paying attention to this, I realized I can always do more to address ethics in my editing and own writing.

News Literacy

Even though Imua is just a high school newspaper, it remains critically important that we keep abreast with the news and current events. In today’s world, we must also be aware of the sources of our news, so I always encourage consultation of a media bias chart (like this one). Although it may seem insignificant at first, it plays a large role in how we should react and read a piece of news. Additionally, it can serve as a good “check” on our pitches and help us answer the question of whether or not our pitches are too biased. 

Last year, we also had everyone share a piece of news and photograph that was compelling to them. Although we suggested sources of the news, we were flexible and allowed staffers to explore. At times, though, I did raise questions about source credibility which sparked important class discussions, even on the sourcing of photographs. Other class discussions centered around individuals’ reflections on their chosen pieces and their vision of how that topic could apply to our school community. I prompted rather challenging questions about how we can connect topics in international news to our school community, which led to more student research into the current news media. 

It is also important that student journalists read the work of other student journalists. As a result, our class also discussed pieces from Best of SNO to understand and analyze the types and styles of student reporting across the country. In one of my presentations, I shared an article about AI in classrooms from Best of SNO which also made use of interactive graphics to advance the analysis. This served as a good inspiration for everyone on ways to integrate information into online content that goes beyond just writing. 

Lastly, in preparation for every pitch meeting, the editorial team always asks students to come in with approximately five ideas. We strongly encourage staffers, in coming up with pitches, to read about current news and events. Recently, I have noticed that the amount of current events coming in our pitch meetings has increased—a very positive sign. It is especially promising to see younger staffers connect deeply with the news media and already be thinking about who to interview in our community in connection to their ideas.