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J-Ideas announces fund-raising campaign Warren Watson, director, announced today the creation of an annual fund-raising campaign to support J-Ideas, Ball State’s scholastic journalism and First Amendment institute. Parties are invited to give $25 or more to the J-Ideas Foundation to support future activities of the program. Donations are tax deductible. <more> FIRST VOICES The First Amendment and Fantasy Baseball. At first blush, strange bedfellows. But a U.S. Supreme Court decision this week showed that the First Amendment indeed can be debated between the base lines.<more> -Principals and the First Amendment -Remembering a crusader More First Thoughts: journalism teacher Tom Gayda speaks out Student journalists scoop professional press
Mile high with the First Amendment... We were north of the Mile High City near the Rocky Mountains. The principals were voluntarily descending—not from the tall peaks but from their position abutting the summit of school hierarchy. When they reached level ground, we could see each other more clearly. And clear sight leads to insight. <more > |
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Student media bill to be introduced again in Washington state Updated: 1/15/08 10:29 a.m. eastern time A bill that would protect high school students from administrative censorship is expected to be introduced as soon as Wednesday in the Washington State Senate. Brian Schraum, a student instrumental in a similar – but failed – legislative effort a year ago, said that Sen. Joe McDermott (D-Seattle) will introduce a bill that would give enhanced press rights to the state’s high school students. Initial action in the Senate is significant, according to parties organizing the campaign. In early 2007, Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines) sponsored HB 1307, which died in a Senate committee after passing the House. The bill originally afforded censorship protection for both high school and college students, but the bill was amended in the Senate Judiciary Committee to exclude high school students. It failed to progress further before the legislature adjourned. Kathy Schrier, president of the Washington Journalism Education Association, explained the demand for such a law. "This need has been made obvious by too many instances of censorship and prior review," Schrier said. "In one district, repressive policies have forced students at two of the three district high schools to launch underground newspapers. Our law needs to be more clear, so that there is a full understanding of what the rights and responsibilities are for student journalists, as well as for their advisers and administrators. This legislation infuses clarity into the law." “This is encouraging news,” said Warren Watson, J-Ideas director. “We’re seeing new legislative efforts to support the First Amendment in high schools and in colleges. In Washington, we’re pleased that a senator has stepped up first to rekindle this effort.” Mike Hiestand, an attorney and legal consultant to the Student Press Law Center, agreed that Washington serves as an example of drafting legislation to other states. "Washington State took the lead last year in creating a model that protects the right of young journalists to speak out responsibly on topics that matter to them," Hiestand said. "I'm delighted to hear state's students are back to press their case. I hope that lawmakers in Olympia will not let politics get in the way of ensuring their next generation of state citizens and leaders have the right to make their voices heard." Last July, Oregon joined six other states including California, Kansas, Iowa, Massachusetts, Colorado and Arkansas in passing similar laws protecting high school journalists. In the wake of the 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision, which gave administrators greater censorship authority over student media, the number of censorship cases among high school journalists has increased. Efforts to pass legislation around student media are ongoing in several other states. The state legislature in Michigan is currently considering a bill and student-media backers in Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina are considering legislation for either 2008 or 2009. “There is some momentum for students in colleges as well as high schools,” Watson added. Over the summer, Illinois enacted a new law that gives additional protection to college journalists. Washington’s legislators voted largely along party lines in 2007, with Democrats supporting a press bill and Republicans opposing the measure. Democrats today outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin in both the House and Senate. In the Senate, 35 of the 54 members are Democrats. >>View the bill |
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