MAYA CLEMENT
LAW AND ETHICS
Ensuring that the stories I produce are journalistically correct is a very important thing to me. I want to make sure that I am accurately portraying sources and following all of the laws of journalism.
Ethics lesson
At the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, the cabinet presented a lesson to the rest of the class on ethics. This lesson was meant to inform and remind all of the staffers about how we should approach interviewing sources and writing accurate sources. I really enjoyed this lesson because the scenarios we discussed made me think about ethics in a new way.
Checklists
In order to ensure that each story accurately reflects stakeholders and portrays every side of the story, each member of the ODYSSEY Media Group is required to fill out a checklist for each story they produce. We have a different checklist for each writing style, but this is an example of a beat (brief news story) checklist. On the checklist are the necessary elements, but sources are also required to identify news elements and traits of an ethical story. At the beginning of the school year, I updated all of the checklists to reflect any new regulations or guidelines.
Law and Ethics Sessions
As a student journalist, I want to make sure that I am fully following the laws and ethics outlined for us. I also want to make sure that I know the legal history of journalism to learn how far we have come, but what we still need to watch out for. I value attending law and ethics sessions because they are the basis of journalism and without that knowledge, I cannot be a successful student journalist.
SPJ Code of Ethics
Every year during the first week of school, ODYSSEY reviews the SPJ Code of Ethics. We annotate the four categories and discuss why each one is important. Each year, this lesson is a great reminder of the standards we are held to as journalists. For the past two years as Managing Editor, I have worked to show the staff how important it is to follow the code of ethics. I want to show them that this is not just something that they can ignore because not following it can have serious repercussions.
When I was a sophomore, I encountered my first experience with someone breaking the code of ethics and standards we have set in ODYSSEY. As I was checking a staffer's transcription for a quote used in a story I was editing, I discovered that I could not find the quote. The staffer had pieced together a few quotes and included their own wording and interpretation without the use of parentheses, while still citing a source even though it wasn't what they said. As a relatively new editor, I was really unsure how to handle the situation. I first went to the then Print Managing Editor who helped me talk with our adviser. I had to explain the situation multiple times and fact-check all other stories written by that staffer to compile evidence. Once that was done, our adviser and I sat down with the staffer and explained what we found and why it was wrong. We discussed why the error was made and how to not make it again. While the situation was new and difficult, I'm glad I was able catch it early before it got more severe. I learned a lot about the misconceptions that the staff could have about the laws and ethics we have in place and started presenting information and expectations to our entire staff. For example, I reviewed the proper way to transcribe interviews and use parentheses in quotes. I made sure that each editor was triple checking every story for accuracy and we didn't encounter another issue during the year.
NEWS LITERACY
In order to produce quality stories, I want to make sure that I fully understand all aspects of journalism. While I am still working on this, I try to take every opportunity I have to expand my news literacy.
Media Literacy Assignment
In my Journalism I course, we read and analyzed stories based on the elements that were included. The purpose of this assignment was to point out positive aspects of the story and where it could improve so that we could apply the same knowledge to our own writing. I think that this assignment was informative as I got to look at what I liked and didn't like in stories and actually think about why a writer included the element and information that they did.
Analysis Assignments
While I was in the Journalism I class, I analyzed articles, providing feedback on them and what I though about them. The documents above are my written responses to the aspects of the stories. I enjoyed getting to do these assignments as I was able to share my opinion and also look at what I should include in my own stories. I think that these were beneficial and a good introduction into each style of writing.
Analysis Assignments
The comments above were feedback I had on the analysis assignments. I enjoyed getting to comment on anything I wanted and communicate how I felt about certain things. I also liked how I had to think about why the author chose to include certain things because it helps me think like a reader when I am editing. I feel like these assignments allowed me to understand the basics of journalism.
Journalism Conferences
In order to expand my journalistic skills and understanding, I attend conferences such as Southern Interscholastic Press Association, National High School Journalism Convention and Georgia Scholastic Press Association. I have enjoyed getting to attend these conferences because I feel like I learn a lot from the presenters and come back from them feeling determined. I have attended a variety of sessions on topics such as law and ethics, editing, leadership, photography, social media and writing. I love getting to hear from different voices and implement new ideas.