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An activity for the first week of class or before the first staff meeting
By Erin Olson
In the first five days of class, a crucial window for building relationships with my new students, I did something that other educators might consider bold. I asked my students to Google me and make inferences about the year we would have together. Realizing this is something they were likely to do anyway, I wanted to witness firsthand how they searched, how they shared what they found, and if they believed the information they encountered.
In just a few minutes, students discovered a little bit about me, and I discovered a lot about their ability to effectively look for information online.
Eager journalism students filled the room, carrying their hopes and dreams with them as they settled into the dingy orange chairs. Chatter bursting with excitement rang in the ears of the staff members leading the workshop tracks.
Rick Green, executive editor and chief content officer of the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California, kicked off the workshop by asking staff and students where they were from, as every area of the country was represented in some way.
He asked the students why they were attending the conference.
Responses ranged from “We’re really excited to get different ideas from school and learn how to improve our newspaper.” to “If you have enthusiasm and trust in yourself, anything you’re putting out there, people are gonna listen.” Continue reading “Editor challenges students: get ‘fired up’”
Despite the cold and rain common in New York City this time of the year, 12 college photographers spent time exploring the city as part of the convention photo contest.
Gavin Britton accepts his camera donated by B&H Photo Video from Bradley Wilson. Britton had the image selected as class favorite on-site. Later, judges selected it for third place recognition.
And, for the first time, B&H Photo Video awarded a camera to the photographer who shot the class favorite image — Gavin Britton, a photographer at the University of Portland (Nancy Copic, adviser).
After the convention was over, a panel of 45 judges including college educators, professional photojournalists and scholastic educators judged the images selecting the top three for recognition.
Olivia Reid, University of Massachusetts (Boston) (Charles Henriques, adviser)
Laila Hazel, Southern University and A&M College (Jermaine Proshee, adviser)
Photo by Gavin Britton, University of Portland (Nancy Copic, adviser)
JUDGES: Meagan Abo, Emily Arnold, Judy Babb, Michelle Balmeo, Jane Blystone, Candace Bowen, Kelly Buckner, Pam Bunka, Elise Carlson, Cary Conover, Greg Cooper, Nancy Copic, Kathy Daly, Steven Dearinger, Mark Dolejs, Hunter Doughty, Al Drago, Evan Evenson, Dominick Ferreira, Leslie Fireman, Chris Gillon, Kelly Glasscock, Stephen Green, Tara Haelle, Whitney Huang, Bonnie Katzive, Debra Klevens, John Knaur, Todd Maisel, Erin Martin, Jim McNay, Jackie Mink, Shannon Oden, Lori Oglesbee, Michelle Martinez Rivera, Margaret Sorrows, Jacob Spotts, Matt Stamey, Elizabeth Strehl, Alison Strelitz, Justin Turner, Dustin Vickers, Hillary Warren, Carrie Webbenhurst, Mark Webber, Bretton Zinger
After the convention in Washington, D.C., 44 judges set to work looking over the 32 entries from 19 students in the on-site Shoot-out.
One judge wrote, “(The top images) were head and shoulders above the other entries. Absolutely stunning images.”
Indeed, perhaps for the first time in nearly 20 years, the top entry scored three times higher than any other entry. It was ranked by 77% of the judges and ranked first by 47% of them.
Wrote another judge: “(The top entry) tells a story and surroundings all relate to who the person is.”
The assignment included writing captions with the names of all identifiable people. Judges repeatedly said the quality (or absence) of captions reflected in their rankings.
Student news organizations have long experienced various forms of censorship.
Abstract
This qualitative pilot study (N=46) examines articles on college newspaper websites to explore how student news organizations cover issues of press freedom and censorship. The researchers used a grounded theory approach to explore common themes of coverage and potential differences between private and public institutions’ approach to such topics. The findings indicate there are four broad areas of interest: explanation of the role of journalism, industry challenges, censorship, and college-specific issues of press freedom and speech. This pilot study will serve to inform a larger content analysis.
Introduction
According to the Student Press Law Center, censorship is “any restrictions on your publication’s coverage or operations by anyone who works for the school or is acting on behalf of the school (like student government officials)” (Dean 2021, para. 1). Outright acts of censorship can be seen, for example, when in 2013, The Fauman at Florida A&M University was “suspended from publishing, its adviser removed and its staff told they must reapply for their positions” (Gregory 2013). In a case study of different college newsrooms, it was found that “that administrators who engage in censorship appear to do so when the newspaper publishes unflattering coverage of the university” (Matlock 2021, 97). Continue reading “RESEARCH: Student media coverage of censorship and press freedom”
Sifting through misinformation to get to the real story
CMA CONFAB: The midterm elections are on the horizon, and college journalists must grapple with reaching their audiences while sifting through misinformation along the campaign trail. This session aims to provide tips on how to navigate the political free-for-all while getting down to the issues.
ORGANIZER: Fredrick Batiste, College Media Association, vice president, member training
SPEAKER: Lynn Walsh, assistant director Trusting News
Court will consider whether painting made from photo is lawful
By Carolyn Schurr Levin and Gillian Vernick
Fair use is a term that is thrown around often — and often improperly. Students may say, “I can use that photo because I know the person who posted it,” or “this song was on TikTok so it’s fine to quote the lyrics.” In both of these examples, the students rely (incorrectly) on the woefully misunderstood concept of fair use.
On Oct. 12, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will have a chance to clarify the fair use doctrine when it hears the case of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. This will be the first time the Supreme Court considers a fair use defense applied to a photograph (although last year the Court decided Google v. Oracle, a fair use dispute concerning computer code).
‘Journalism hasn’t been sustainable for all voices and all people’
When Candace Perkins Bowen and Julie Dodd dreamed up the idea of the Teach-In, it was an idea to connect with local scholastic journalism teachers and to provide them with free sessions on timely topics.
‘This is—and has always been—a case about media accountability’
By Carolyn Schurr Levin
You may be tired of reading about Sarah Palin and her potentially “groundbreaking” libel case against The New York Times. However, so much has happened since our 2019 analysis of her case that I thought it was time for an update. I will focus on how the recent 2022 court resolution of this 2017 libel lawsuit impacts what student journalists do, and how best for campus media advisers to advise them.
First, a bit of background. On June 14, 2017, The New York Times published an editorial entitled “America’s Lethal Politics,” which stated that there was a connection between a 2010 advertisement by Palin’s political action committee and the 2011 Arizona mass shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Arizona, and others. The byline for the editorial was “By The Editorial Board.”
The New York Times changed the language of the editorial and published a correction two days later, on June 16, 2017, after readers noted there was no connection between the Palin advertisement and the Giffords shooting. The correction read, in full: “An editorial on Thursday about the shooting of Representative Steve Scalise incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords. In fact, no such link was established. The editorial also incorrectly described a map distributed by a political action committee before that shooting. It depicted electoral districts, not individual Democratic lawmakers, beneath stylized cross hairs.” But, The New York Times did not apologize to Palin. Continue reading “Legal analysis: Why Sarah Palin (still) matters for student journalists”
‘Disinformation, Dictators and The Undaunted: Covering the Ukraine/Russia War’
The class
The last-minute addition to the College Media Association Spring National College Media Convention was certainly on a timely topic: the conflict in Ukraine. The course description:
During this session you will first learn context and history for the current Russia/Ukraine conflict including a discussion about Putin, propaganda and power in Russia, and about Ukrainian revolution, civil war, Ukrainian culture and a comedian turned president. Then you will get inside information about what is happening in Ukraine right now, and you will get tips on how to make this global story relevant to your local university or college audience.
The speakers
Michael Finch, Bryan College, moderator
Roxy Lorino, Ukrainian-American film director
Andrew Nynka, editor of the Svboda and the Ukrainian Weekly
