Blend | Winter 2008

MONSTERCARTOONING ISSUE

blend FLAG CONTROVERSY!

THE

INSIDE: Getting involved in college • Work night fun • Elections & the law • more!

Minnesota student journalist discusses his First Amendment battle!

journalism starts right hereWinter 2008 Issue 2 Volume 2a publication from Ball State University distributed by the National Scholastic Press Association

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blendWinter 2008Issue 2 Volume 2

Ball State UniversityJournalism WorkshopsMuncie, IN 47306

SES DIRECTORBrian Hayes

EDITORTom Gayda

MANAGING EDITORKim Green

BLEND STAFFCandace Perkins Bowen

John BowenKathy CragheadRyan Gunterman

H.L. HallJim McGonnellAmy MorganSarah NicholsMark NewtonChad RummelWendy Wallace

ASST. DIRECTOR / BUSINESS MANAGERAdam Maksl

OFFICE STAFFAshley Cashen

Stephanie CopeJincy Gibson

Shelby MurphyBecky Rother

Blend Magazine is published by the Second-ary Eduction Services office at Ball State

University. Call 765-285-8900 for advertising information or questions. As well, you can

always e-mail the staff at [email protected].

FOR NSPALogan Aimone • executive director

Marc Wood • communications director Marisa Dobson • contest and critique coordinator

Mike Gesellchen • administrative assistant Michael Wright • business manager

Brian Hayes is the director of Secondary Education at Ball State University. He is a former adviser of student publications at Lawrence North High School in Indianapo-lis. Hayes has worked professionally for several newspapers.

inside blend

ON THE COVERCover illustration by Evan Mannweiler, junior at Indiana University. Evan’s interests include journalism and art. He has a twin brother, Eric, and practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Evan’s tips for creating a cartoon are on page 12!

3 • NSPA

4 • The Blender

6 • In the Business

9 • My Turn

10 • Best of Show Philadelphia

12 • Tips & Tricks

14 • Stand His Ground

18 • Juggling Act

22 • Night Shift

26 • The Law

28 • Diversity

Welcome back to another installment of Blend magazine. When we last published, we sought to inform you about such topics as journalism myths, media convergence, publication contests, careers in copyediting and scholastic journalism law. In this issue, we’re taking a significantly different look at journalism — the art of cartooning.

I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Wahl, a self-employed syndicated editorial cartoonist from the state of Washington. His job is something I have always wanted to do, but with a lack of any true artistic talent, it’s best I leave that to the professionals. Andy opened my eyes to many sides of the business I hadn’t really considered before. He was adamant about encouraging aspiring student journalists to gain as much experience as they can while they’re in high school and college, emphasizing that a little hard work now will pay off in dividends later. Andy himself is a testament to this age-old adage.

Evan Mannweiler, a student at Indiana University, continued the cartooning theme in creating his “How the make Cartoons” illustration. This spread provides even the novice cartoonist some great insight into the craft of cartooning.

I’m sure you’ll find the other information in this issue compelling as well. John Bowen adds some insight about political advertising and its place in student media. NSPA provided some examples and insight from the Best of Show competition in Philadelphia and H.L. Hall helps us get to know the recipient of the Student Press Law Center’s Courage in Student Journalism Award. Nonetheless, this issue has a little something for everyone. Enjoy!

welcome

blend onlineHave a story idea or want to network with other student journalists? Join the Blend Facebook group today! Unique content will be added to the group, giving you the chance to leave feedback and comment on what’s going on in the world of scholastic journalism. Plus, this is your best opportunity to have your own content appear in a future issue. See you online!

from nspayour journalism career

starts here.DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISMWe offer cutting-edge programs in journalism, public relations and advertising. Plus, students can gain experience in top-notch student media and organizations.www.bsu.edu/journalism

JOURNALISM WORKSHOPSOffering summer programs for students and advisers for more than 40 years, we’re here to help you gain the skills you need for a successful high school journalism program.www.bsujournalismworkshops.com

J-IDEASWe’re here to help you and your administrators develop a better understanding of your First Amendment freedoms. J-Ideas – making the First Amendment the first priority.www.jideas.orgBA

LL S

TATE

UN

IVER

SITY

art & journalism building

Hit your stride winter and springIt’s the second semester. By now you have worked out the

bugs from your production cycle, you’ve learned to handle the basics of layout, photography, editing, sales or maybe everything. You’ve been through some deadlines (maybe missed one or two) and probably made some mistakes -- hopefully you have learned from them, too. Basically, you’ve warmed up and stretched. It’s the second semester now, and you should be hitting your stride.

So what do you do for the rest of the year? How do you keep getting better and avoid the burnout and the boredom? These aren’t simple questions, but I want you to challenge yourself to push yourself as you continue toward the end of the school year. Here are some ways to do so.

•Kick it up a notch. Rework something from the past. Take a look at how you’ve covered student government elections or a spirit week or spring sports. What does the reader want to know and need to know? What ways can your newspaper, yearbook or other media serve the reader? Think about sidebars, alternate forms of storytelling and online enhancements.

•Improve on an idea from an exchange paper. Take inspiration from what your peers are producing. Leaf through Best of the High School Press and see what else has been done. Look over the pages of publications from your area, state or the country. Challenge yourself to take a cool idea and make it better and for your readers or viewers.

•Take a risk. Try something new. In the fall issue of Blend, I challenged student journalists to try digital media. Almost every story can be enhanced through some online component, even if it is just a poll or comments from readers

ad viewers. Start with the question “How can I best tell this story?” and work from there. Make this the year that your literary magazine includes original music performances or a poet reading his or her work aloud. Make this the year you add a photo slideshow from an event with audio captions. Make this the year you include the audio recording of an interview to accompany a printed story.

•Build a foundation. Set up next year’s staff for success. Most good programs evolved over years. As a senior or editor, you can lay some groundwork for your successors by breaking with traditions. As a student who will be returning, think about where you want to be next year and what you have to do to get there. Identify the roadblocks to your success and work to get them removed. Change happens incrementally, but it can happen.

At NSPA, we’re responding to changes in the landscape of student media. We’re revising our Guidebooks for newspaper, yearbook and magazine to reflect current trends and realities of digital production, comprehensive coverage and interactivity. We’ve added a Best of Show contest for Web sites at the Anaheim national convention. We’re bringing you this magazine to help you get better at what you do. We’ve identified areas where we can improve our programs at conventions and workshops in order to teach the skills that student journalists need for the 21st Century. We’re ready to hit our stride, too.

As you move toward the final months of school, push your fellow staff members to hit their stride. When contest time rolls around in June, I look forward to seeing the best student work ever.

from nspa

Logan Aimone is the executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association.

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ask kim

Each issue, veteran adviser Kim Green answers questions you submit. Need help with an issue or solution to a problem? Contact Kim at [email protected] with the subject “Ask Kim” or, visit our Facebook group and submit your question there!

Q: We’re starting to make plans to attend a summer workshop. Are there things to consider to pick the right one?

Kim: YAY! Summer workshops provide student journalists like you with the opportunity to branch out and try some-thing new, get a new perspective on your publication or polish your skills and/or your publication. In addition, attending a workshop exposes you to a whole network of kids just like you.

Many of my students have met kids, and adults, from around the country they stay in touch with beyond high school. Most important, workshops on college campuses give you a taste of college life, especially if you think you might want to major in journalism.

Getting acquainted with the nuts and bolts of a jour-nalism school can help you determine if it is a good fit. Consider all of this when deciding on a workshop.

In addition, be sure to research all the options. Pretend money is no object and look all over the country. Do a Web search. And don’t overlook the opportunities in your own backyard.

Not to generalize, but workshops basically have the same mission: Bring in the best instructors to provide the best educational experience to inspire student journalists to return to their schools empowered to make their publica-tions stand out. So that’s what you should be looking for as you narrow your choices.

1. Great instructors – Look for nationally-recognized pro-fessionals and advisers.

2. Educational experience – Look for computer lab availability and compatible software; call and ask if the brochures do not tout this; publications’ critique time is always valuable, too, so seek workshops that include staff meetings where an expert can help you pick out things about your publication you should keep, lose or reinvent

3. Empowerment – look for a balance of seat/instructional time and lab time; ask for syllabi of particular courses; these will help you find out what “product” you will end up taking with you at the conclusion of the workshop: an updated staff manual, a theme packet, a re-design of your

publication.

4. Stand out – Look for that “something different” experi-ence to give your publication an edge. I can pinpoint the exact moment our newsmagazine turned around; it was the year my editor attended a summer workshop that offered a re-design session focusing on story packaging and infographics. The result was amazing. Editors, by their own personal choice, still take the session each year, giv-ing the publication a new look every time.

5. Fun – Look for recreational opportunities; see if they are in line with your personality then get involved once you get there. I always say that creating a great product is the real fun of publications – and, yes, my kids roll their eyes, too – but I agree you have to take a break now and then. Seek out workshops that provide a well-rounded experi-ence with talent shows, scavenger hunts, Karaoke nights, dances, class competitions, etc.

As you can see, going to summer workshops is one of the best things you can do for your publication. It can also be a disappointment without attention to a few important details.

1. If you are going with several people from your staff, have a plan. What are your goals? What roles will every-one assume to meet your goals? Get it in writing!

2. Be open-minded. So many times, workshop attendees don’t get the most from the experience because they are not willing to change or to envision small changes to make their publications better. Avoid saying or even thinking “That’s not how we do it” OR “We could never do anything like that.” You may not be able to change it all, but you can and should change something for the better.

3. Include everyone on your staff who attends workshop in all you do. Workshops are fantastic bonding opportuni-ties and go a long way to establish the tenor of your staff and publication for the entire school year. You don’t have to love everyone, but you do have to work with them. Start at workshops!

Did you notice I didn’t mention the price of the workshop as a factor in your planning? Again, most workshops’ fees fall within the same range and nearly all offer scholar-ships.

And the experience itself? Well, it’s PRICELESS, of course!

Hope your summer workshop experience is all you want it to be!

Summer workshops are staff necessity

Kim Green directs the student publications at Columbus (Ind.) North High School. A 2006 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Distinguished Adviser of the Year, the publica-tions Green’s students create are consistent award winners.

the blender

journalism etiquette

A student journalist lives for his press pass. That powerful piece of lamination gives regular students incredible power. But with great power comes great responsibility.

While most student journalists rightfully use their press passes — to cover athletic events, walk the halls to conduct an inter-view or attend an important meeting — some students see their press pass as a golden ticket to crazy antics.

Hall wandering, trips to the vending machine and free admit-tance to an athletic event are just a few of the ways sketchy student journalists abuse their press passes.

Remember, when you abuse your press pass or any special privilege granted a student journalist, you cast yourself and all your peers in a negative light. To be taken seriously you must act professionally and not take advantage of something special.

Don’t be afraid to hold your peers accountable. Like anything, your staff is only as strong as the weakest link, so if someone abuses their press pass your entire staff might feel the repercus-sions. And, building back trust can often be a long, long process.

The rights and wrongs of press pass usageTwo yearbook staff members use their press passes to visit the cafeteria during class time to buy drinks. Remember, don’t abuse your press pass!

Kent State University’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication

offers plenty of opportunities in a new high-tech facility

Want more information? Contact Candace Perkins Bowen [email protected]

A wide range of bachelor’s degrees Advertising, electronic media, news for magazine, newspaper and broadcast, public relations, photojournalism and information designwww.jmc.kent.edu/students/current/mjr01.htm

Award-winning student media you can join as a freshman Daily Kent Stater, TV2, Black Squirrel Radio, The Burr and niche magazineswww.KentNewsNet.com

The Center for Scholastic Journalism, offering• An online master’s degree in journalism for teachers and media advisers• Workshops and conferences for student journalists and their teachers• Mark Goodman, the new Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism, who will promote a national focus on the First Amendment and outreach to administrators, newsroom professionals and others• A Web site to highlight news, curriculum and networking opportunities:www.jmc.kent.edu/csj

Andrew Wahl, 37, is a self-syndicated editorial cartoonist and graduate student. His company, Off the Wahl Productions (www.offthewahl.com), features much of his work.

Where did you go to High School? Lake Stevens, Wash.

Did you work on HS publications? Which one? What positions? I was the features editor and editorial cartoonist for the student newspaper, The Valhalla.

Where did you go to college? AA (emphasis in journalism and political science) from Everett Community College; BA (dual emphasis in comparative American and international studies) from the University of Washington-Bothell; current graduate student via distance education (master’s in liberal studies with an emphasis on history) though Fort Hays State University.

Did you work on college publications? Which one? What positions? I was the editor-in-chief and editorial cartoonist for the Everett Community College student newspaper, The Clipper. UW-B didn’t have a student paper at the time, so I self-published my own, The Shooting Star.

Some people know at an early age what they want to do in life. When did you first realize you had a knack for cartooning?It was actually journalism that came first for me. I self-published my first newspaper, The Shooting Star, when I was just 5 years old. I used an old ’40s typewriter my dad let me haul home from the dump and a stack of carbon paper. I peddled the first issue up and down my block. (The Shooting Star would return several times during the years, most recently in 1995 between my junior and senior years in college.) About the same time as I got the journalism itch, I also fell in love with comic books. That’s where the cartooning itch came from. Political cartooning came later, during my senior year in high school, as I became more politically aware. It was a nice marriage of my two passions (though I’ve done comic-book work, too, and plan to tackle another comics project this summer).

To be an editorial cartoonist, you must have some natural artistic talent. But, what other things have you done that have helped develop your cartooning skills?I care a lot about the craft, and I think my cartooning has gotten better over the years, but artistic skill is really a secondary consideration. For me, it’s always been about the content. The key to being a good editorial cartoonist is to become as knowledgeable as possible, and to develop the ability to apply that knowledge critically. I’m a political

in the business

Professional cartoonist got start on high school publication

In recent years, Andrew has made a tradition of doing a positive cartoon for the Fourth of July. Also note that he’s used himself as a character: “I’ve done that several times over the years, and have found that that technique almost always generates reader response.”

by Brian Hayes

winter 2008 blend magazine 7

wonk and history junkie, both of which feed the cartooning beast. My recent return to grad school to study history is part of an ongoing effort to improve the content of my cartoons.

How did you get your first big break?I’ve made almost all of my breaks for myself. This is a trait I picked up from my dad. He’s a commercial artist, and he always told me that while there are plenty of other artists out there who are better, he was never going to let anyone outwork him. Dad made a career out of hustle and working hard. It’s a great philosophy that I’ve tried to make my own.I marched into the office of the local daily paper when I was 9, looking for a job (I didn’t get one, but they did do a feature on my publishing of The Shooting Star). My community college journalism program didn’t have internships available, so I put together a portfolio of editorial cartoons and worked with the college and the local daily to set one up. And I again self-published The Shooting Star while finishing college to make sure I’d have good clips when I got out. And those clips did prove pivotal in getting my first full-time job, as the editors where impressed with my entrepreneurial attitude.

There are all kinds of things reported in the news these days that could be the subject of a good editorial cartoon. How do you sift through all the stories and decide what is best to draw? Where do you get your inspiration?Every time I sit down to come up with a new editorial cartoon, I start with the same basic question: “What’s the most important (or interesting) issue in the news today?” In most years, this question prompted many answers — and cartoons on a wide range of topics. But, recently, two answers just kept popping up: 1. George W. Bush, who I firmly believe to be the worst president in U.S. history, and 2. the war in Iraq. By mid-2007, I feared I was becoming a two-note commentator (one really, as those two topics are so inextricably linked at this point). Thankfully, now that primary season is here, other topics have again wedged their way into the mix. As for inspiration, I find it in my great love for our nation. The American experiment is a unique one, an attempt to form a national identity not out of ethic similarity but from a shared belief in freedom, liberty and democracy. I’m a true believer in that American dream, and editorial cartooning gives me a voice to reveal whatever nightmares try to corrupt it. I hope that doesn’t sound too cheesy, but, at the

end of the day, I’m a patriot at heart.

Have you ever been sent hate mail or been the subject of a letter to the editor for a particular cartoon that you drew? How did you handle that situation?Oh, yeah! For the last three years I did editorial cartoons for The Wenatchee World in North Central Washington. That region is “redder” than most of Texas. So my often left-of-center toons developed a nice “fan club.” For a while I had several people praying for me, but eventually most were OK with the idea that I was going to Hell.

As an editorial cartoonist, your job is to make people think. If people are taking the time to write hate mail, you’ve done your job. And if people on your side of the issue write letters to the editor in your defense, a dialogue has been started. You can’t ask for better than that.

Obviously, you can’t please everyone all of the time. So, in general, what advice would you give an up-and-coming cartoonist on how to handle criticism and public scrutiny?Develop a thick skin. Keep it about the issues and don’t ever let it get personal. Remember the old

axiom that you’ll hear from ten upset readers for every one happy one; that doesn’t mean there aren’t more happy ones out there, just that upset people are more eager to raise their voice. And, again, if you’re getting people to respond and talk about the issues, you’re doing your job well.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about a career in cartooning?Be prepared to do something else to pay the bills. Editorial cartooning is a brutal, brutal field to break into these days. By most accounts, there are fewer than 100 full-time, paying, editorial-cartooning gigs in the country. To put that in perspective, there are more than 400 players under contract in the NBA. The best advice I received about breaking in was to develop the widest set of journalism tools possible. My first full-time job was as a graphics editor at The (Longview, Wash.) Daily News. Once in the door, I started doing editorial cartoons within a few weeks. In Wenatchee, I was a copy editor and then the features editor, but was able to get editorial cartooning added to my job description. I won’t lie: It’s tough going in today’s market. But if you’re willing to bring something else to the table, you can still make a go of it.

More examples of Andrew’s work appear on the following page.

Above: “I tend to be a wordy cartoonist,” Andrew says, “so when I can nail the image-only cartoon, I feel like it’s a home run.” This cartoon was well-received, earning Andrew a second Citation of Excel-lence in Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards, an international competition sponsored by the United Nations.

Right: The first in a series of cartoons Andrew did protesting the surge of additional troops to Iraq in 2007. “I used iconic toy soldier figure to suggest that our government was dismissing the human toll on our soldiers,” Andrew says. “And the use of red, black and white gives this series a unique look with high contrast punch.”

Above: Andrew says this is one of his favorites from recent years: “Thiseditorial cartoon neatly sums up the political backdrop that my generation has grown up against.”

Right: One of Andrew’s earliest editorial cartoons, from the Lake Stevens High School student newspaper, The Valhalla. This cartoon protested an age-based cruis-ing ban in the nearby city of Everett, Wash. Andrew believed the law was unfair then and nine years later still does!

my turn

8 blend magazine winter 2008

Laughter and conversation are audible over the repetitive strains of Haddaway’s one-hit wonder, “What is Love?”

The smell of food tantalizes every hungry reporter. Today, it might be chicken casserole, beef enchilada, spicy tuna roll, or pork lumpia. Though the knowledge that food is here is enough to announce a dinner break, the smell just makes everything better.

A message to newbies: “You’re not an official part of the staff until you eat at late day.”

Or so we like to say. Right after school until 8 o’clock, three

times a month, every month, throughout the entire school year.

We call them “late days.” Yes, the first order of business is

journalism and the newspaper, and no, not everyone stays through the whole six hours all three days, but it’s still quite a lot of time. Enough time to finish every issue of the Stagg Line. Enough time to get to know other staff members. And enough time to bring together a group of widely diverse teens, from widely diverse backgrounds and create a family.

We have reporters who come from traditional two-parent households. We have reporters who come from semi-traditional two-parent households, where they are from a mixed culture. We have non-traditional households of all types. One of our seniors is even living with a boyfriend.

For some of our reporters, their first language isn’t English. In fact, my first language is Tagalog.

We have European-American, African-American, Latino, and Asian reporters but the camaraderie and relationships within the staff is so easy and familiar that you probably wouldn’t even notice these ethnic

distinctions. The differences that make each and every one of us an individual

make the staff more colorful and interesting. It enriches each one of us to learn and understand other cultures and gives us the ability to approach and interact with others who aren’t necessarily exactly like us without feeling intimidated or intimidating. Needless to say, it motivates us to move beyond ourselves when we look for story ideas and write the stories themselves.

These lessons continue through our everyday lives. Daily interactions with those who are different, whether it is ethnicity, belief or behavior, is a reality for people who live and learn in an already diverse community. Yes, we live in California, one of the most diverse places on earth. But California today is the United States tomorrow.

As members of the newspaper staff, this diversity not only enriches every individual but also the staff as a whole. New ideas, perspectives, and contacts are established with every new culture and every new environment that a staff member brings to the table. And despite our many differences are similarities that need only

to be recognized for someone to understand that regardless, we are so much the same.

Remember “My Big Fat Greek Wedding?”“Put some Windex on it,” they said. My Filipino family says, “Put Vicks on it.”And my Mexican friend’s family says, “Put spit on it.”If there’s one thing that makes our staff great, it would be the

respect we have for each others’ differences. Because of that respect, we see so many more possibilities.

my turnStaff celebrates each other’s differences

Junifer Mamsaang was born in the Philippines and spent most of the first 10 years of her life there. Nevertheless, she has a gift for understanding different cultures and blending in with any new environment. The senior, who has been part of the Stagg journalism program all four years of high school, served as both opinion page editor and co-editor-in-chief. Her future plans definitely involve writing. photo contributed

by Junifer MamsaangStagg High School

Roy Peter ClarkThis is

He is the Vice Pres. & senior scholar at the Poynter Inst. where he has taught writing skills for three decades.

bsujournalismworkshops.com

Roy Peter Clark’sThis is

book every school that attends J-Day will receive a free copy.

Ball State UniversityThis is a tower @

come to Ball State and see Roy Peter Clark and his book at this year’s High School Journalism Day.

BEST OF SHOWp h i l a d e l p h i a

Why wait to see what is cutting-edge? Here’s what’s hot right now in the best publica-tions. These images are from the 2007 JEA/NSPA Fall Na-tional High School Journalism Conven-tion in Philadelphia. Each was a First Place winner in NSPA’s Best of Show contest. Take a few minutes to look at the design, story concept, use of color and entry points. Commentary by Logan Aimone, NSPA Executive Director

STRONG VISUAL, DIVERSE TOPICSA story about a student organizing a fundraiser to help cancer patients anchors the page with a dominant image. Other stories and the folio quote are about devastating flood that damaged the com-munity a few weeks earlier. Solid localized coverage attracts the reader.Newspaper 1-8 pages • Blue and Gold, Oct. 26, 2007 • Findlay High School, Findlay, OhioAshley Lazar, editor • Jim McGonnell, adviser

SINGLE-TOPIC SERIESThe cover had a picture of just a pair of ruby slippers. Instantly, readers associate the image with the phrase “There’s no place like home.” That’s the topic of a five-page in-depth section inside. Each story tells about a different aspect of the concept and the places people call home. Newspa-per coverage has to include more than just school.Newsmagazine • North Star, Nov. 8, 2007 • Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo.Leah Carter, editor • Aaron Manfull, adviser

DETAILED COVERAGEUsing the theme “if/then” the top left folio begins “If I believe” and each of the nine small packages continues “then…” to provide coverage on beliefs students held. Color and white space treatment unify the spread that really bucks the notion of a traditional yearbook yet has impact and depth.Yearbook 1-224 pages • Details, 2007 • Whitney High School, Rocklin, Calif.Grace Lee, Allison Ricigliano and Brianne Roudebush, editors • Sarah Nichols, adviser

REAL PEOPLE, REAL STORIESDynamic graphics and photo shapes grab the reader instantly. Selective coloring highlights the center of interest. Compelling copy delivers the goods about a stu-dent-athlete who struggles to balance studies and practice. It’s clear the staff really investigated the topic and spent time with the subject.Yearbook, 325+ pages • Lair, 2007 • Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kan.Liz Jackson, editor • Susan Massy, adviser

FINDING THE GOOD IN PEOPLETo combat stereotypes of apathetic and listless teens, the staff showcases six students from varied backgrounds who demonstrated going “Above & Beyond.” Creative environmental portraits and the students’ signatures add a flair of informality to accompany the long captions.Newspaper 9-12 pages • The Spartana, Oct. 19, 2007 • Homestead High School, Fort Wayne, Ind.Luke Chase and Erin Quinn, editors • Rod Kuhn, adviser

COLORFUL INTERACTIVITYWhat happens when you plan a spread around spending $10? You get a cre-ative presentation with colorful graphics that is easy to read and includes sev-eral students. A comparison to the past helps cement the “Then & Now” theme.Yearbook, junior high • Surfer, 2007 • Coronado Middle School, Coronado, Calif.Sarah Rose Cass and Chealsea Somers, lead editors • Amanda Casares, adviser

CREATIVE MOTIFIn this side-bound literary arts magazine, the staff pairs a colorful illustration on the left with a short poem that uses the phrase “Crayola spectrum of mind.” Continuiig the motif, the right page uses colored images to evoke the art.Literary magazine • Vibrato, 2007 • The Hockaday School, Dallas, TexasSarah Harris, Caroline Robb, Allie Hayes, Anna Simon, editors • Kyle Vaughn, adviser

For a complete list of publications that placed in Best of Show in Philadelphia, visit:http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/winners/f07bs.html

tips & tricks by Evan Mannweiler

STAND HIS GROUND

by H.L. Hall

Meet Eric Sheforgen, a student journalist who was not afraid to. . .


This is the pictured that caused a high school principal to ponder exercising cen-

sorship over his school’s student newspaper.

It took courage, but in the end, his disagreement with Paul Neubauer, his high school principal, paid off. He not only received the Student Press Law Center’s Courage in Student Journalism Award, he also gained recognition from Neubauer as the Best All Around Student at St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Minn.

Eric Sheforgen, last year’s editor-in-chief of The Crier, the student newspaper at St. Francis, received the SPLC award for his efforts in trying to maintain the public forum status of the paper.

“I was out of breath,” Sheforgen said, “when I learned I had won the award. It was an amazing feeling. The first thing I did was call my adviser (Glenn Morehouse Olson).

Sheforgen is now a freshman at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he is majoring in political science and economics. He found out about the SPLC award last fall.

“I was actually lucky,” he said, “because I happened to go home from Olaf the weekend I received the letter announcing the award. It was an honor reading the letter, and I was psyched. My principal never directly congratulated me, but then I wasn’t at high school any more. Last June, however, we did end things on a good note when he awarded me the Best All Around Student Award.”

The incident that sparked the disagreement between Sheforgen and his principal started in January 2007. Sheforgen had decided The Crier would run a photo taken during a school play which showed a girl ripping an American flag.

The theater department, according to Sheforgen, had for the past 10 years hung a picture of every play it had presented on the performing arts center hallway. Neubauer took the photo down, so The Crier decided to write a story about the situation.

“I told the principal,” Sheforgen said, “ that we were going to run a story and an editorial about the picture. He seemed to be fine with both. However, when I told him we were going to run the photo, he became upset. I then requested a meeting with the superintendent, but the superintendent also said the photo was not to run. The principal then froze our funding. The only reason he ever gave for not wanting the picture to run was that it was a community standards thing.”

Sheforgen said the Student Press Law Center informed him that taking the picture off the wall was a violation of the First Amendment.

The news article about the principal taking down the photo, and the editorial about the issue did run. The editorial focused on students being denied true democratic values if they did not have First Amendment rights.

“My intention was to never create trouble,” Sheforgen said, “but when I felt the school was suppressing student voices, I thought I had to take a stand. For the past 30 years, The Crier had operated as an open forum for student expression. The statement that it was an open forum was printed in our policy book and in the newspaper for at least five years.”

Because The Crier had operated as a forum for so long, Sheforgen said he thought the battle to keep it that way was important.

“Telling students they can write whatever they want,” Sheforgen said, “but then reviewing it before it is printed is teaching students

that someone is always there watching over what they’re doing, and that person doing the watching is the one taking responsibility. It’s important for the students to make the decisions, so they can learn the meaning of being responsible.”

Sheforgen said he learned a lot about leadership during the confrontation.

“I learned how important it is to have input from all sides,” he said. “I think a good leader must always keep things in perspective. I know that often there was so much going on that I had to prioritize everything and keep detailed lists.”

Sheforgen had four other suggestions for other editors who might face the same dilemma he did. They are:

1. Take slow and careful steps, but don’t be afraid to question an authority figure.

2. Use the Student Press Law Center. It is a valuable resource.

3. Pick the right battle. Don’t fight for something that’s not worth it, as it will take a lot of work and a lot of time.

4. Trust your adviser and know who to trust on your staff.

“I really appreciated my adviser throughout the ordeal,” Sheforgen said. “We knew each other through church long before this time. She was and continues to be very influential in my life.”

This issue did take a lot of time, Sheforgen said, but besides being editor of The Crier, he did find time to serve as student liaison to the School Board of District 15, and he was also active in DECA, serving that organization as vice president and president.

“DECA holds a dodgeball tournament at St. Francis each year,” Sheforgen said. “I was responsible for it my senior year. All proceeds go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. We

raised a record amount of money when I was in charge. I was proud to be part of such a great group. It was always difficult to get students involved, but when over 500 showed up for the event, I knew we were doing something right.”

Since high school, Sheforgen said his interests have changed somewhat.

“In high school,” he said, “I didn’t enjoy reading books, but now any book I pick up and the first line draws my attention, I will read it.”

He expects more changes in his life in the future.“In five years, I see myself still in graduate school, either law or

business. In 10 years, I would like to be a contributing writer to a state newspaper, and in 20 years I will probably be working as a lawyer or an economist.

“If I were to go crazy and have the biggest dream, I will have bought my parents a new home, be working with schools around the country encouraging First Amendment rights and working with states on legislation to give students more free speech rights. I would also be married with kids and enjoying every minute of life.”

As a high school journalist, Eric worked with local elementary-aged children. In November, Eric recieved the SPLC Courage in Student Journalism Award.

Professional cartoonist Kirk Anderson created this cartoon for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about the St. Francis incident. Car-toon used with permission.

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No one doubts college students are always busy. They juggle

classes and homework, plus fit in time for social lives and even

occasional trips to the laundry. Yet most journalism majors know

they need to add one more often time-consuming item to the list:

working on student media.

Almost every college and university has a newspaper,

sometimes a yearbook, usually a television or radio station, one or

more niche magazines and now multimedia storytelling through

a converged Web site. Signing up for one of these staffs sounds

like a natural for anyone looking for a career in the media, but is

there time to fit it all in?

Yes, there is, and the balancing act is well worth it, according

to recent alumni from college journalism programs and from

recruiters who hire them to be professionals.

“I’ve always told kids that their parents care about their grades,

but I care about their experience,” said Margie Frazer, recently

retired after seven years as the Recruitment and Development

Editor for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

Frazer sees student media experience as more than a practical

thing. “It shows character — initiative and endurance and

problem-solving. And employers want to hire people who are not

only smart but people they can depend on to take responsibility.”

Being an editor on the Ball State University student newspaper

helped Emily Ortman show employers she could do just that.

“Over three years at the Daily News, I wrote more than 140 stories.

The clips from the student paper gave employers proof of my

skills and dedication.”

Ortman, who graduated in May 2007, is a copy editor at The

Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. She said her experience on the

Daily News let employers know she “could be a successful leader

and work on a team.”

Teamwork and leadership are important, recent grads say. So

is versatility, and working on college publications helped them

get a taste of that. Meghan Moravcik, 2004 Kent State University

graduate, said she “barely blinked when The Arizona Republic

asked me to pick up a video camera and learn to shoot stories for

the Web site.” An education reporter on that Phoenix newspaper,

Moravcik said the variety of positions she held on the Daily Kent

Stater taught her to be flexible.

Another alumna of the Daily Kent Stater, Jaclyn Youhana

said she was encouraged to try different things on the student

newspaper — writing news, features and editorials, editing,

designing and copyediting. “I suspect this well-roundedness looks

pretty good on a resume,” said the 2005 graduate, now a reporter

on The Daily Journal in Kankakee, Ill. “Plus, first jobs tend to be at

smaller papers where they may be asking you to do more than

just write or just copyedit.”

Being part of student media was also a chance to make

mistakes, said Jon Wile, 2002 graduate from Kent State University

and now lede sports designer on The Washington Post. Wile said

he learned a lot of the do’s and don’ts and theory of design, but

he decided to try something new in the Stater and saw “what

yellow display type looked like on newsprint, I realized it wasn’t a

good idea.”Working on the daily newspaper “was really a chemistry lab for

design,” he said. He and other student journalists could try things

they couldn’t in a regular newspaper and could take tremendous

chances. “You could never be that aggressive at The Post.”

And what about that balancing act required to fit it all in?

“I can’t imagine where I would be today if it hadn’t been for my

work on the Daily News,” said 2004 Ball State graduate Jon Seidel,

now a city reporter for the Post-Tribune in Gary, Ind.

But Seidel admits having to take on extra work was a

downside. “I might have put too much emphasis on my student

media experience, and therefore my grades in the classroom

suffered.” As editor-in-chief and managing editor, he said he

“routinely went to bed around 2 a.m. on a good night, but early

classes or appointments for the newspaper would mean I’d have

to be back on my feet in a few hours.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t crash and burn. I was just really

tired all the time,” Seidel said.

Others who found a home and friends and encouragement

on a newspaper staff or in a television studio agreed the

experience took lots of time. “If you are truly dedicated and

take on a leadership role, as I did, you must have excellent time

management skills,” Ortman said. “If you don’t you need to learn

these skills fast or your grades might suffer.”

That may mean going easy at first. Moravcik collected

information for the newspaper’s calendar and several wrote

only occasional articles. But keeping the momentum going after

working on high school media was important, they said. For that

reason, they urged high school seniors to be sure the college they

choose doesn’t make them wait until they are upperclassmen to

join a staff. Not all student media accept freshmen so finding one

that does is vital, recent graduates say.

Another plus for getting involved early: finding out if the world

of deadlines and sources and words and images is really for you.

“The experience helps them clarify if journalism is really for them,”

Frazer said. These recent journalism graduates agreed working on

student media convinced them they were on the right track. And

it convinced those who hired them, too.

“It is common advice to writers that to be effective you should

show the reader, not tell him. That’s what experience does: It

shows the reader you can do it,” Frazer said.

UJ GG GLIN ACT


College journalists balance classes, student media for best resultsby Candace Perkins Bowen

by Candace Perkins Bowen

for more about college media, visit http://www.studentpress.org/acp

the gallery2007 NSPA Cartooning Awards co-sponsored by Universal Press SyndicateComic Panel/Strip • First Place • Tyler Weber • The Echo • Saint Louis Park High School • St. Louis Park, Minn.

Comic Panel/Strip • Second Place • Craig Malamut • Eastside • Cherry Hill High School East • Cherry Hill, N.J.

Comic Panel/Strip • Third Place • Quinn Burrell • Communicator • Community High School • Ann Arbor, Mich.

Editorial Cartoon • First Place • Nathan Yaffe • Silver Chips • Montgomery Blair High School• Silver Spring, Md.

Editorial Cartoon • Second Place • Shannon Ashley • The Lion’s Tale • Oviedo High School • Oviedo, Fla.Silver Spring, Md.

Editorial Cartoon • Third Place • Jon Laing • Inkblot • Communications High School • Wall, N.J.

6:40 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22Details yearbook • Whitney High School • Rocklin, Calif.Adviser: Sarah Nichols, MJE

Deadline 3 for yearbook. Jason Mraz on the iPod speaker, but before that it was Red Hot Chili Peppers and before that, techno nobody could understand. The editor-in-chief is correcting names on the underclass people pages since the copy editor left early for her AP world history review party. Trash is everywhere, plus frosting from today’s cake we ate in class. We found two dummy quotes on proof pages tonight, designed the overall plan for the clubs reference section and lamented the loss of one of our favorite actors, Heath Ledger. That took about half-an-hour, honestly. We had about 20 kids in here until the tailgate party for basketball began in the cafeteria at 6…they were offering free pizza, so everyone took off. It’s OK, though…they’re “doing interviews.”

6:59 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22The Viking Vanguard • Puyallup High School • Puyallup, Wash.Adviser: Sandra Coyer, MJE

Silence for the first time in hours. Four students stare intently at their computer screens, the fifth hunched over two separate drafts with pink pen in hand looking up occasionally to passionately express, “The reader doesn’t care who said it more than they want to know what was said.” Then, with renewed passion, he bends back over the drafts, his pink pen scratching feverishly at the drafts as if releasing frustration. One junior associate op/ed editor moves her face inches from the screen, “Is that a pica? It looks like a pica.” Her editor looks over at her, turning her head to the right and starts laughing to the point that she was hyperventilating. “Look at Chelsea, look at Chelsea!” she breathes.

Suddenly the door bursts open to a loud “PIZZA!” shout as two staff members stroll in, pizza slices in one hand and boxes of pizza for the remainder of the staff in the other.

All production stops.Members hit save and walk to the long conference table at the front

of the production lab, each grab a piece of pizza and a plate before sitting at the table together. Conversation reverts from deadline talk to the news of the day.

8:31 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22The Pioneer yearbook • Kirkwood High School • Kirkwood, MissouriAdviser: Mitch Eden

The staff just finished our baby photo contest over salad, bread, toasted ravioli and mostaccioli. Smells of the fry-daddy linger from the toasted ravioli. Unfortunately, a staffer sprayed some Pimp cologne to try and mask the smell and made it worse. Photo editor just found a new desk area for himself in the “morgue”…er…basement. Mug page spreads are being designed then edited by the editor-in-chief while she brainstorms her Opening copy. Lots of work, texting and laughs in SJ tonight.

3 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23The Gyre • Hanford High School • Richland, Wash.Adviser: Nancy E. Smith, CJE

The junior boys are making a quick check of their deadline pages before they head home. Finals start tomorrow, and they’re beginning to crack.

“What’s your favorite silly song?” Bryce is eating chips and distracting the others.

“The one with Larry,” Nat says.“I hate ‘You are his

cheeseburger,’” Kyle says.They begin to sing.

5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23The Bell newsmagazine • Liberty High School • Liberty, MissouriAdviser: Jennifer Higgins

The room suddenly seems devoid of people, so I walk around to investigate. I find eight or nine of my kids out in the hallway, taking turns pushing each other down the hallway in a chair

with wheels. I stand back and watch for a few minutes, enjoying their excitement over something so simple. Apparently the goal is to make it to the end of the hallway without stopping. For one particular student, it doesn’t end well — he must have his eyes closed, and runs smack into a row of lockers.

6:09 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23Evergreen Yearbook/Pinnacle Newspaper • Klein Forest High School •Houston, Texas Adviser: Sue Blackmon, MJE

NIGHT SHIFTMark Newton, MJE, newspaper adviser at Grand Junction (Colo.) High School, collects stories of staff worknights from across the country.

Spruce Creek (Port Orange, Fla.) High School student journalists spend time after school working on deadlines.

Yearbook editor-in-chief is working on proofs, while her sister, who came running in announcing she just made the softball team, is watching the news on TV. The newspaper EIC just left after placing stories and making lists of business to call for ads. A photographer is working on another computer in Photoshop and is getting frustrated because he can’t remember how to unlock a layer and when he goes to Photoshop help, all he gets is how to lock a layer.

6:15 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23The Squall • Dexter High School • Dexter, Mich.Adviser: Rod Satterthwaite

The editor-in-chief and the entertainment editor are rocking out to Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” on Guitar Hero while the head designer, frustrated with people shouting her name, tries to hide under a table at the front of the room. Another designer spreads out grains of rice on a table and tries to find the right lighting conditions to create a graphic about a story on freerice.com. The phone rings and it’s an overprotective parent calling to remind her son that he has basketball practice at 5:30. And everyone seems excited that the parent support group has provided food for a make-your-own sub night. Our motto on work nights? “Come for the food. Stay for the fun.”

7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23The Rock • Rock Canyon High School • Highlands Ranch, Colo.Adviser: Jack Kennedy, MJE

Adviser got back with five pizzas at 7:20 p.m. About 20 editors and staff are all over the lab, page editors hunched over keyboards with a variety of earbuds allowing them some separation from the chaos. Three students are poring over page printouts, marking final proofs. One guy, who is not on the staff, has pitched in to help with some final proofing on one of the game night pages. He eats pizza with the same gusto as everyone else. Two girls ask for the key to the bathroom, since the custodians seem to have already locked up.

5:18 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24Bruin yearbook/Bruin Tribune news magazine • Pulaski Academy • Little Rock, ArkansasAdviser: Beth Shull

Grace is in charge of the iHome. The iPod is set to shuffle and the rule is there can be no playing nine seconds of a song then switching. You must just let it play. It’s her iPod so she is singing along to every song. Loudly. Emily is on the phone with a senior’s mom getting directions to their house to pick up senior ad photos. The mom doesn’t know how to send them attached to an e-mail. No one can believe a person would not know how to do this. Kate and Tiffany just rolled in from soccer practice — cute in their tall socks and cleats. Lauren needs a quote from a freshman boy. She asks Hannah to call him because Hannah has had a crush on this kid for three years. Hannah and Bailey are the only two ninth graders on staff this year. They were recruited because the older kids never could identify the ninth graders in pictures. Rachel is yelling at Tiffany to come fix another photo. Tiffany is the photo editor. The other kids think she knows where every photo is on the network. She probably does.Travis wants to know how long until dinner is here. Lea’s mom is on duty tonight and bringing Corky’s BBQ. Bailey doesn’t like BBQ; but got voted down because…she is just a 9th grader. Parents take turns providing dinner for deadline nights. Some cook, some pick up. We always love it all! We work 4-8 p.m. and dinner arrives around 5:30 p.m. When the custodian for our building sees the kids coming back in around 4 p.m., he knows to bring several large heavy-duty trash bags for the dirty plates and cups.

5:34 p.m., Friday, Jan. 25Tiger Times newspaper/The Spud yearbook • Idaho Falls High School • Idaho Falls, IdahoAdviser: Ryan N. Hansen

In the yearbook lab across the hall, two editors are finishing editing senior pages (adding quotes and spell checking) while listening to “Hairspray” soundtrack and singing — loudly.

I’m in my office across the hall fixing pica spaces.ArtsEnt editor tweaking his movies column while news editor and sports editor (who just

finished their papers) are battling it out on “Guitar Hero III.”Editor in Chief is drinking his Coke Zero and collecting pages to switch into pdfs.In about 15 minutes (turns out to be an hour), we’ll all have a quick Guitar Hero tourney before

heading to the basketball games to shoot photos and cheer on staff members.

6:42 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 30Pelladium newspaper • Pella High School • Pella, IowaAdviser: Ann Visser, MJE

winter 2008 blend magazine 23

At top, Whitney (Rocklin, Calif.) High School yearbook staff members update the Details ladder. Below, Details staff members play “Ha Ha,” creating a chain of stomach pillows.


Fourteen members of the Pelladium staff are finishing off the six pizzas ordered for supper. One girl has a migraine. One has lost her cell phone and is frantically searching for it. Pages appear to be in questionable shape for Monday’s deadline, but they’ll come through…they always do.

The pizza is gone, so the crew has started to disperse. Many of them have fulfilled their two-hour minimum layout requirement. Some page editors are back at work, trying to figure out what to do with their pages.

From the Students Point Of View

Friday, Jan. 25Peninsula Outlook • Peninsula High School • Gig Harbor, Wash.Adviser: Derek Smith

4:42 p.m.Richard Brantner, photographerThe A&E editor appears to be doing a tribal dance with a scarf she just obtained from a nearby staff member. Another staff member sports tanning goggles as she tells another editor how close to a bug she truly looks.Most staff members are sitting at their computers diligently typing, reading, editing, or contemplating their articles. Right now “The Way I Are” by Timbaland is surging through the speakers, filling the room with a “We are here to have fun and work” vibe.

5:19 p.m. Ashley Barrientos, reporterThe A&E Editor gazes vacantly at the floor

while making a phone call. Managing Editor and Features editor work intensively on the layout for the Features page. The Art Editor beats his pencil three times with ease after scribbling a note. The Co-Closer Look editor and the Photo Editor let in a cold breeze from outside after

running an errand home for photo equipment.

6:55 p.m. Loren Johnson, Copy EditorIt’s chaos. Absolute chaos. The Opinions editor and the Features editor huddle together in a corner with a carrot cake. Art staff sprints back and forth, probably looking for the correct pica size of the front page graphic, but the last time I saw the News editor he was banging his head against the bricks outside. Some sort of strange transaction is taking place between the Features associate and two general staff members. I think it involves… — and my adviser is looking over my shoulder suspiciously. The end.

7:02 p.m.Laura Stevens, Features EditorAn eerie yet temporary calm settles over the room as the process of digestion kicks in. Instead of crazy dance tunes, soft indie music flows caressingly over everybody. The song changes. It’s a little more upbeat.The Copy Editor, sensing the ending of the lull, begins to look suspiciously over his shoulder at every passing Outlooker, quickly acting as if he is actually doing something. Paste up is actually starting again, the voices slowly rising in volume above each other. Time to get back to work.

Melville (East Setauket, N. Y.) High School students take a dinner break during an afterschool work session.

Melville students find time to play with old boxes in addition to working on publications.

Contact your Jostens yearbook representative to learn more!

Introducing the new Get the Picturephotography curriculum from Jostens

Contact your Jostens yearbook representative to learn more!

26 blend magazine fall 2007

Although recent studies indicate high school students don’t know enough about political and citizenship issues, that has not stopped student journalists from reporting and commenting on these issues.

Rightly so. Reporting political issues as they affect teens can only help

improve student journalists’ knowledge and better inform communities of student voices.

But hopping on the political coverage bandwagon requires thought and planning, verifying and analyzing what and who is credible.

In short, it’s back to the ABCs of Political Reporting so audiences understand issues and candidates.

A is for advertising and adversaries

One question is whether student media can or should run political ads.

The answer is relatively simple: It depends.

It depends on whether your media outlet is a forum for student expression. It depends if student editors feel it is important to run political ads.

Former SPLC executive director Mark Goodman said forum status could make a difference as to whether school officials could censor any kind of ads.

“If the publication is not operating as a designated public forum, it’s much more likely that school officials could prohibit all political ads,” Goodman, now Knight Chair of Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University said.

However, he added, even if the media are not forums, administrators should not be able to censor ads for one candidate while allowing ads for that candidate’s opponent.

Such restraint would be viewpoint discrimination.

“Recent court decisions that have found high school student newspapers to be public forums (Draudt v. Wooster and Dean v. Utica) have both noted the presence of advertising in the student publication as a sign that it was operating as a forum,” Goodman said. “Thus there could be some legal benefit in running political ads.”

Goodman also said it should be entirely up to the student staff of a publication whether to run political ads.

“I would defend a staff that made either choice,” he said. “I do think encouraging readers to engage in the political process is one

of the goals of good journalism in a democracy. Running political ads can be one way to do that.”

Additionally, there is no requirement for student media to run ads for all candidates in order to run any.

“As the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals said in the Yeo v. Lexington case,” Goodman said, “as long as students make the content decisions, not an adviser or school officials, students do not have to run ads on both sides.”

However, he added, a publication should think about the journalistic and ethical implications of rejecting ads for only one side of a political viewpoint.

“That action could do damage to the publication’s credibility with the community,” Goodman said, “given the publication still has opportunities to make its own views clear on the editorial page.”

B is for biographies and background

Once student journalists have decided to engage in political reporting, no matter what level, biographical and background information becomes essential so audiences understand candidates and issues.

The worst thing student journalists can do in political reporting is to grab and paste. Just copying candidates’ positions from a national magazine does nothing to help local readers, teen or otherwise, understand candidates’ positions or their local effects. Student media should, at least, provide access to local sources or national Web sites where political gobbledygook can be thoroughly assessed. Questions could include:

• What does a platform mean? • Do politicians keep political

promises?• What do candidates’ promises

mean? • Do they speak the truth, or is what they say so convoluted it

means nothing?• Can local sources, like a political science professor or

politician(s) demystify the terminology so audiences can use the information to decide their vote?

• Who, or what resources, can student media provide to help answer these questions?

Student reporters must decide how much time they are willing to spend gathering information.

• Will they simply reprint from political literature?

the lawABC’s of political reporting

FYIWeb sites to get fact checking and other political information:

• Annenberg Political Fact Checkhttp://www.factcheck.org/• FactCheckEd.orghttp://www.factchecked.org/• Columbia Journalism Review Campaign Deskhttp://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/ • Poynter High (Which has some interesting political coverage ideas)http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=89 • PolitiFact (A service of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly)http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/• The Fact Checkerhttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/• Policing the Pols (Why fact checking is important)http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4444• The Numbers Guy (checking the fact checkers)http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/checking-the-can-didates-numbers-192/ • Check your facts ( Humorous look at fact checking and news)http://www.checkyourfacts.org/ • Blog on how to verify how credible blogs and sites arehttp://sugarandsplice.blogspot.com/2004/07/political-fact-checking.html• Evaluating Web pageshttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Inter-net/Evaluate.html• Evaluation criteria for Web siteshttp://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

by John Bowenscholastic press rights chair • JEA

• Will they rehash information from the local party headquarters?

• Will they only focus on major candidates and parties? • Do they know what their communities need?They have to decide whether to just offer political views or to

do enough research and reporting so viewpoints are rooted in something tangible. And, most emphatically, they need to make the information-gathering process transparent.

• Who and what were the resources? • Do sources have a stake in the outcome?• Do sources make broad, sweeping commentary or incisive

and supported statements?Most importantly, student journalists should ask themselves

what type political reporting they do best that no other media offers.

Ideally, answers to all the questions will focus on locally relevant information, demonstrating ways students can make a difference.

C is for copyright and coverage

Merely summarizing others’ media reports about candidates and issues creates nothing significant for their audiences.

Worse, such coverage may duplicate images or content, leading to copyright issues.

Avoid using artwork or visuals student journalists did not create. Consider collaborating with other scholastic media to share original images. Subscribe to MCT Campus through ASNE.

NSPA executive director Logan Aimone suggested checking presidential candidate Web sites, but to “make sure you check that the photo is available to use freely, and to credit appropriately.”

Once student editors determine how they will handle copyright issues, they need to focus on how best to localize their reporting.

Localization means doing stories like these:• Interview sources about how candidate positions would

change communities, schools or people’s lives• Interview elected government officials: Why did they choose

to serve? What did they gain from it? What did they give to the community?

• Examine previously made local political promises: What really happened after the promises?

• Seek interviews with the candidates for profiles or with depth question-answer sessions on issues and goals

• Publish human interest stories about students, faculty or community members with political memorabilia collections

• Publish a sidebar of political terms, what the terms have meant historically, explained by experts talking about what the terms mean to today’s candidates

• Localize your coverage with school board elections and issues

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel in The Elements of Journalism emphasize journalism’s growing role in synthesizing and verifying information, thus demonstrating a journalist’s first loyalty – to citizens.

The first element of journalism, the authors write is truth, “to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing.”

Covering political candidates and issues accurately provides scholastic media’s audiences something they cannot get anywhere else: journalism from student voices providing verified and responsible information.

Ina Herlihy of Convent of the Sacred Heart High Schools’ the broadview interviews Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee during his campaign stop at a San Francisco North Beach restaurant. Herlihy has interviewed or photographed over half of the candidates running during the primary season, having registered with the local major political parties to get updates on when candidates in her area and to receive press credentials. Photo by Celine Curran, Convent of the Sacred Heart High School Dean of Students


1. Make sure the story offers voice, context and complexity. Include the fullest range of voices and opinions as possible when writing stories about race/ethnicity. Remember that context explains facts. Expect every story to have a layer of complexity. Pursue it.

2. Avoid turning people into primary colors by using race as a noun. “A black.” “Many whites.” By reducing a person to a color, you dehumanize. Use black/white as adjectives. Add a humanizing noun: black man; white student.

3. Pursue precision. Avoid euphemisms and coded language. “Inner city” is not a synonym for “black” or “brown” or “poor.” It’s a geographic reference. “NASCAR dad” is a poor substitute for “working-class white man.” Watch for the other euphemisms and codes: Mainstream (white), exotic (Asian), local (Native Hawaiian).

4. Use the active voice when talking about events in which race/ethnicity is a factor. Things don’t just happen. People do things to other people. Consider the difference. “She hurt him.” [active] “He was hurt.” [passive] The former places the action where it belongs. The latter leaves out the person responsible for the action.

5. Be thoughtful about using slurs. If a slur is the reason there’s a story, it probably should be spelled out. Avoid euphemisms whenever possible. For example, if someone said the word “nigger” and it’s crucial to the understanding of the story, don’t use “the n-word” or “n----.” The more powerful the person uttering the word or the more profound the context for its use, the stronger the case for spelling it out (“The teens called him a ‘spic’ just before striking the fatal blow.”)

6. Minority is not a synonym for black, brown, Asian or Native American. It’s a numerical reference. A person is a minority only

in relation to a majority. To use “minority” as a synonym for “Asian” or other ethnic groups is to perpetually speak of those groups in relation to white people. Be specific: “Racial and ethnic minorities” when speaking of all people of color. Black, Latino, Vietnamese, Cherokee, etc., when speaking of individuals.

7. “Alien” alienates. “Illegals” dehumanizes. When referencing people in the country illegally, remember you’re talking about people. Consider the person’s status before choosing language. One way to think about this:

a. “Undocumented immigrant” presumes legal entry but lapsed or incomplete documentation. A student or worker who came to the country legally but overstayed a visa is undocumented.b. “Illegal immigrant” presumes a person unintentionally violated U.S. border laws by coming into the country without documentation.c. “Illegal alien” presumes a visit from E.T.

8. Be careful when conflating. Illegal immigrants come from many countries. If you mean those coming from Mexico and the rest of Latin America, say so. Avoid using “immigration” as a synonym for “illegal immigration.” Don’t switch between “Hispanics” and “immigrants,” lest you intend to suggest that all Hispanics are immigrants.

9. Use race/ethnicity when it’s needed. Explain why it’s relevant. Put it where it belongs.

10. Use descriptions that truly describe. Skin color and hue; features and textures. Race/ethnicity adds no true, reliable information to any physical description.

diversityTen Tips for Better Stories

by Keith WoodsThe Poynter Institute

About Race & Ethnicity

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Blend | Winter 2008

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