Resources for educators

Written and approved by the Journalism Education Association, high school advisers can use these standards to show administrators the various tasks and approaches they carry out in their programs. In the spirit of the First Amendment, the guidelines focus on the process of publishing student media, not the student product. The guidelines are appropriate for both high school and college-level programs.

Both the College Media Association and the Journalism Education Association operate very active email listservs that can provide wonderful information and peer support to student media advisers. The National Scholastic Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and Quill & Scroll provide excellent education, training and recognition programs for members. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association also has useful information for high school media advisers on its website. Many states and regions also have active and helpful scholastic press associations, JEA chapters or collegiate groups.

These articles and studies are just a handful that demonstrate independent student media is an integral part of a vibrant and effective education system:

• Student Journalism as a Route to Civic Engagement (School Administrator, 2020)
• Student Journalism and Civic Education (ABA, 2022)
• Why student journalists – now more than ever – need First Amendment freedoms and protections (Journalism Education Association, 2022)
• Journalism meets the needs of the 21st century skill set (Journalism Education Association, 2011)
• How We Know Journalism Is Good For Democracy (Democracy Fund, 2022) [not specific to student media, but collecting research about the importance of journalism generally]
• High School Journalism Matters (Newspaper Association of America, 2008)
• Stirring the Pot (American School Board Journal, 2010)
• The Voice of Freedom (Principal Leadership, 2001)
• Freeing the Student Press for Their Good and Ours (School Administrator, 2002)
• I Didn’t Always Think Well of the Student Press (School Administrator, 2008)

If your student newsroom is facing budget cuts, loss of ad revenue, transitioning away from print or you just want to educate yourself, these resources are for you. While some of the resources target either high school or college, the strategies and guidance can be easily translated for any kind of student media.

Note: please excuse any outdated language. This manual was published in 2006 but remains relevant today.

The negative effects of censorship on students, advisers and communities are very real. The SPLC publication, Press Freedom in Practice, A Manual for Student Media Advisers on Responding to Censorship, counters that impact in two ways:

• By providing real-life examples of advisers and students avoiding or overcoming censorship.
• By offering sound educational arguments to persuade censor-prone school administrators that there is a better way. Download Press Freedom in Practice.

A committee composed of representatives from the American Association of University Professors, the College
Media Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Student Press Law Center formulated this
joint statement in fall 2016. The document received the endorsement of all four sponsoring organizations.