Law, Ethics and News Literacy

Law and journalism are closely intertwined, with every word I publish or speak protected under the First Amendment. As a result, I have taken a great interest in educating myself on student press rights and ethical, unbiased reporting as a whole. This pursuit of journalistic legal knowledge led me to the 2023 Al Neuharth Journalism and Free Spirit Conference in Washington, D.C., where I represented South Dakota.  The week-long conference is run by the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit started by South Dakota native and USA TODAY founder Al Neuharth and centered around raising public knowledge of First Amendment rights. Along with 50 other student journalists from every state and D.C., I conversed with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, visited media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and C-SPAN and heard from First Amendment experts that empowered my fierce passion for a free press.

During my visit to the D.C. Bureau of the Wall Street Journal, I learned more about Evan Gershkovich, a journalist there who was detained in Russia while reporting on the Russo-Ukrainian War. Combined with witnessing the political broadcasting of C-SPAN, these discussions expanded my concern for the protection of journalists and the noble power of public reporting   These experiences taught me so much about the vital importance of legal protections for journalism. I believe that journalism is the lifeblood of altruism and truth that flows through the world. With legal protections, its unbiased reporting instills an informed democracy.

After gaining so much from the conference, I brought my knowledge back to spread with the Statesman staff. While we have been extremely fortunate to have a school administration that supports our journalism, we still have to closely evaluate ethical and legal issues. In years past, the Statesman has been threatened with faulty copyright notices over photos used on our website. After investigating and discovering the false nature of the letters, we still doubled down on staff awareness of photo usage rights. This year, I have urged staff to use original photos whenever possible to avoid any crediting issues.  Even if they are used,  I remind staff members of what images they can use under Creative Commons. Through this, the whole staff is more aware of the legal aspects of journalism and the importance of accreditation.