Curriculum material for the Foundations package from the Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Committee.

1. Manuals:
Policies
Law and Ethics Module

2. Define the following words:
Truth
Reliability
Patriot

3. Pair with another student
Compare your definitions with your neighbor’s.
Whose definitions are correct?
These terms have many interpretations.
It’s important to pay attention to wording.

4. The goal of today:
We will examine policies and create one of our
own.

5. Why wording matters:
Form a group of four.
For the following statements, identify any
problematic wording and explain why.

6. What if this were your policy?
1. Students will make all final decisions with
assistance from faculty adviser.

7. What if this were your policy?
1. Students will make all final decisions with
assistance from faculty adviser
This contradicts the concept of a free student
press. It’s a student publication.

8. What if this were your policy?
2. Student media will publish content only if
appropriate for all students. All coverage must
conform to the highest journalistic integrity
standards. Students must be aware of ethical
considerations with its readership.

9. What if this were your policy?
2. Student media will publish content only if
appropriate for all students. All coverage must
conform to the highest journalistic integrity
standards. Students must be aware of ethical
considerations with its readership.
● Who decides what is appropriate?
● What are standards of journalistic integrity
and ethical awareness? Who decides?

10. What if this were your policy?
3. To provide only reliable information and
establish an open free forum responsible
expression of student opinion. All materials
presented will be well-balanced, locally
researched and include coverage of issues of
broad student interest.

11. What if this were your policy?
3. To provide only reliable information and
establish an open free forum responsible
expression of student opinion. All materials
presented will be well-balanced, locally
researched and include coverage of issues of
broad student interest.
● What is responsible? Free forum?
● Who decides and why?
● What is well balanced?
● What does locally researched mean?

12. Examination
Now, look at your media-level policy.
● Can you identify problematic
words/phrasing?
● Is it too verbose?
● Does it include forum status?

13. Or this one?
The student media are designated forums for
student expression in which students make all
decisions of content without prior review from
school officials. The adviser will not act as a
censor, but will advise students. Students have
the final decision on all content.

14. Comparison
How does your policy compare to the
exemplar?
What questions do you have based on the
differences?
Should you change any wording in yours?