High School newspapers are constantly skating on thin ice. They must be consistent, accurate, balanced, and fair when writing any sort of news story. When the story has to do with death, substance abuse, or school groups, they must be even more careful. Generally, when a controversial story is written, it's reviewed by both editors two to three times. Than it's reviewed by the adviser of the paper-the CT. If it's still iffy, the CT will contact the principal to discuss the topic and let the principal read through the story. "The Messenger" has reached that point, and my CT asked me to read the column and give her opinion if the staff should publish or trash the article.
To make a long story short, the article is over normal, catty, high school drama. About three year ago, a group called CGT was formed. This group would dress up for sports game, holds fundraisers for wrist bands, and was generally a spirit club on steroids. It had become a huge deal, even to the point where KSN had given a story on the amazing participation and support this group had given all sorts of clubs/activities at East. This year it took a turn for the worse. The six original members of CGT decided to start an initiation process to get into the group. They also kicked many members out due to popularity issues. This is based on things such as clothing, a family's money, the car they drove, etc. So the paper decided to tackle the issue head on, and write about this group of six students and their wrongful ways. I read the article, and what I was most impressed with was how the article didnt' necessarily attack the six students, but reflected more on the good old days of the club. The article maintained the consistency, accuracy, balance, and fairness that's stressed on a daily basis by the CT. She looked at me and said "I'm aware that I have the best group of writers in the city, and we are truly lucky". That right there makes me truly excited for the Spring semester, and getting to work with such a talented staff.
The staff ended up taking a vote, and decided that they will run the article. Will there be legal action? No. Will there be possible backlash? Absolutely. However, this staff seems like a closely knit team, and I believe they will respond in the right manner to the backlash they may face. It should be pretty interesting. The article comes out next Wednesday, and that day my CT will be absent. I'm prepared to stand ground for this staff, and feel like I could even support why this article ended up being published. This should make for a VERY interesting second week of November!
*-If anyone of you English teachers are interested in knowing more about the 1st amendment, libel, sources, and other ethical issues, I've attached a link you should check out. I've also attached my school's online periodical. Check it out as well.
The First Amendment Handbook
http://www.rcfp.org/handbook/
East High School Messenger
http://ehsmessenger.com/
Spencer O'Daniel
The Journalism Killa
