LAW, ETHICS, & NEWS LITERACY
JOURNALISM ETHICS
As a journalist, I have the opportunity to bring to light a wide array of topics and events. However, I feel an obligation to report on the challenging issues as well as lighter ones. When covering sensitive topics or events, I utilize journalistic ethics and integrity to write a fair, unbiased piece that displays the importance of the issue and the sensitivity at hand. At an age in media where sites are overrun with fake news and biased reporting, I find it especially critical to spend extra time on my written works to ensure they are unbiased and ethically written.
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I am also a member of the Scot Scoop Ethics & Legal Team---created to certify all our knowledge on our press freedoms, libel, and how to not get sued. We routinely present slideshows deciphering what court cases surrounding student press, like Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier and Healey v. James, mean to us and how it is reflected in our publications. We lock in the information with a short Kahoot at the end of each slideshow, incentivized by points; by this method, all staff recognizes and stores these press freedom tools to use as needed.
SCOOT SCOOP PRESS FREEDOM
Our website, Scot Scoop, newsmagazine, The Highlander, and broadcast site, Scot Center, are all open forum publications. We are protected under California Assembly Bill 48907.
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a) Pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not limited to, the use of bulletin boards, the distribution of printed materials or petitions, the wearing of buttons, badges, and other insignia, and the right of expression in official publications, whether or not the publications or other means of expression are supported financially by the school or by use of school facilities, except that expression shall be prohibited which is obscene, libelous, or slanderous.
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c) Pupil editors of official school publications shall be responsible for assigning and editing the news, editorial, and feature content of their publications subject to the limitations of this section. However, it shall be the responsibility of a journalism adviser or advisers of pupil publications within each school to supervise the production of the pupil staff, to maintain professional standards of English and journalism, and to maintain the provisions of this section.
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d) There shall be no prior restraint of material prepared for official school publications except insofar as it violates this section. School officials shall have the burden of showing justification without undue delay prior to a limitation of pupil expression under this section.
REPORTING ON TRAGEDY
THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: A COMPLEX HISTORY
The Israel-Hamas war is a hot debate in politics and news. With this article, I ensured my writing was unbiased, displayed both sides of the conflict, and did not polarize my readership. As a journalist, I am not privy to including my political viewpoints in my writing for good reason. However, I felt there was no reason to leave the topic untouched and by describing the entire nature of the conflict, my readers would understand everything a bit better. Media misinformation spreads like wildfire---and so do unresearched views on violent subjects. What I gathered from social media posts was blind following, not deeper knowledge on what was truly occurring in both Israel and Palestine.
LOCAL VIGIL HONORS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM KARINA CASTRO
This article was published soon after Karina Castro was allegedly beheaded by suspect Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta. A domestic violence organization planned a vigil to honor Castro and give the community a safe space to grieve. My partner and I reminded ourselves throughout the writing process that we were reporting on the aftermath of a tragic event, and we were hyperaware of making the tone professional and somber to reflect the mournful atmosphere. Our goal with the article was to simply inform, grieve, and provide readers with online resources for domestic violence support.
FATAL CAR CRASH RENEWS CONCERNS ABOUT SAFE TEENAGE DRIVING
In this article, my partner and I covered a recent hit-and-run collision that involved a speeding teenage driver. The parents of two young children were killed in the crash. It was essential to my partner and me that we did not display the accident as the teen driver's fault, or even portray him as dishonorable. The collision killed people in our community and it was hard for us to write about it, however, we both knew it was unethical to write an article pinpointing a teenager as the cause of the crash. We spent a significant amount of time revising and confirming we were professionally reporting on the crash, not speculating or portraying anyone in a harmful way.
ETHICAL SOURCING & ANONYMITY
SOURCING
To write an unbiased article means to talk to multiple different people with different perspectives on the topic.
As a writer, I aim to have every article I publish include at least three sources with different outlooks (ie. different grade levels, gender, profession, etc.) to ensure the article isn't unconsciously biased and provides an unfiltered look into the topic.
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As an editor, I ensure different viewpoints are hit by requiring differing grade levels and genders for all articles.
Scot Scoop Anonymous Sourcing Policy
Only use anonymous sources if the reporter and the editor can reasonably forecast some sort of harm may befall a person now or in the future by including their name.
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A source shall be granted anonymity upon request if revealing the identity of the source in the specified published work…
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May result in physical or emotional harm to the person or others
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May result in loss of employment or inclusion in a group
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May result in legal harm to the person or others
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May result in intervention by the school, including but not limited to suspension or expulsion
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The source’s identity will not be revealed to anyone except the writer and editor of the article and the Editor-in-Chief of the publication. The journalism adviser is a mandatory reporter but is not obligated to know the identity of the source.
Journalism students are not mandatory reporters, and therefore have no obligation under the law to report any issue which may cause harm to the source.
Scot Scoop uses anonymous sourcing to hide the identity of a source who is revealing sensitive information about themselves or other people that could get them in trouble with the administration, authorities, or other figures. There are often situations where a source wants to remain anonymous because they don't want their name in a publication. However, anonymity is reserved for situations where the source could end up in legitimate trouble for revealing something.
This section of our policy serves to describe how we, as a student-run publication, maintain anonymity and ensure a reasonable expectation of privacy for all our sources.
ETHICAL SOURCING AT WORK
FATAL CAR CRASH RENEWS CONCERNS ABOUT SAFE TEENAGE DRIVING
In this article, my partner and I covered a recent hit-and-run collision caused in part by a speeding teenage driver. To provide an unbiased view of the collision, we wanted to include student perspectives, especially those who have driven in risky situations before. We interviewed a classmate who discussed his experience driving under the influence of alcohol and his thought processes. After consulting with our editor and the editor-in-chief, we concluded it warranted the source's anonymity.
STUDENTS ORGANIZE DEI EVENT TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION
In this article, I was covering a DEI event organized by students in Carlmont Journalism. Scot Scoop's general policy is to not interview any past or current journalism students, and a byproduct of that is often to not cover events they organize. However, our advisor wanted it covered despite the conflict of interest and, after talking with the editor-in-chief, I decided to cover the event. Writing the article challenged me to carefully consider any incidental biases and ensure I describe the event and its implications from an unfiltered perspective.