Editorial Policy
Any mention of “Westside Media Group” or “Westside Journalism” or “Westside Media” is commenting on the same group, meaning the student journalists of Westside High School.
A: INTRODUCTION
(adapted from Aaron Manfull’s Combined Editorial Policy for publications)
All content decisions will be made in occurrence to the following provisions, while keeping in mind that the overall purpose, role and goal of all WHS journalism is to
1. Inform, interpret, and enlighten their viewers through accurate and factual reports, where information has been thoroughly gathered and information has been completely verified;
2. Serve as an educational laboratory experience for those on staff;
3. Be accurate, fair, and impartial in its coverage of issues that affect the school community;
4. WHS Media will not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dissent or controversy;
5. Cover the total school population as effectively and accurately as possible;
6. The staff of WHS Journalism will strive to report all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical manner, according to the Canons of Professional Journalism developed by the Society for Professional Journalists. The Canons of Professional Journalism include a code of ethics concerning accuracy, responsibility, integrity, conflict of interest, impartiality, fair play, freedom of the press, independence, sensationalism, personal privacy, obstruction of justice, credibility and advertising.
B. REGARDING PROFANITY
1. The media will not print unnecessary or culturally inappropriate profanity.
2. The editorial board will make the decision on whether content is considered profane or whether it is a cultural or non-vulgar slang term.
3. The editorial board reserves the right to edit quotes for unnecessary profanity or unnecessarily offensive words, quotes that have been edited will be noted accordingly when published.
4. Any quote edited because of the use of profane language will be read back to the source prior to publishing and sources will have a chance to make changes.
5. Staff interviewers have the right to ask a source when necessary to repeat a quote without the use of profane language.
C. REGARDING STAFF WRITING
WHS students outside of the media staffs will have the opportunity to submit writing to the media.
Any writing submitted from an outside source for use will be accepted upon request of the editorial board or when open opportunities arise, and will be viewed by EICs and adviser for verification.
Any material submitted from an outside source can be edited by the editorial board.
Writing must be the original work of the writer and not previously published by any publication, unless otherwise specified by the adviser and EICs.
D. REGARDING EDITORIALS
All editorials must be identified as “Editorial.”
Editorial ideas may be submitted to the editorial board by all members of the appropriate staff.
All printed editorial subject matter will be determined by the editorial board.
The media will not publish any material for which there is evidence that the author is using Westside publications for inappropriate personal gain.
The media will endeavor to provide a chance for comment on all sides of a critical issue.
The editorial board, which consists of the staffs’ student editors, will determine the content, including all unsigned editorials. The views stated in editorials represent that of a majority of the editorial board. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author.
E. REGARDING CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
All coverage of controversial issues will occur upon a timely subject.
The reporter will make and document good faith efforts to contact all sides of an issue so as to refrain from any bias, with exception of opinions.
In news, all sides of a school, community, city, state, national, or international political issue will be presented factually so as to inform rather than promote or endorse.
The media will not publish material that is unnecessarily obscene, libelous, unwarranted, or invasive of privacy.
If question on the veracity of publication persists, the issue will be brought to the editorial board who must consider the following questions before publication of the piece:
1. Why is it a concern?
2. What is its journalistic purpose?
3. Is the information accurate and complete?
4. Are any important POV omitted?
5. How would we feel if the story was about ourselves or someone we know?
6. What are the consequences’ of the publication?
7. Is there a logical explanation to anyone who challenges issue?
8. Is it worth risking our credibility?
9. What are the alternatives?
F. REGARDING BYLINES
All articles, graphics, photos, art, columns, pages, reviews, and other material creatively conceived, with exception to staff editorials, mug shots, and cut-outs will be bylined with the producer’s name.
All bylined writers will be held accountable for their work.
When more than one person has contributed creatively to a piece of work, any person who has contributed to the work must be bylined as a contributor.
G. REGARDING NEWS AND FEATURES
The media will specialize in and emphasize on informing its readers of school news and unique students of Westside Community Schools and its communities.
The media will cover community, state, national, and international news if it is directly relevant to the school community, and includes a local angle.
The media will strive to provide coverage to all school organizations and functions.
When faced with the undesirable news such as student or staff or faculty crimes, the publications will endeavor to publish the facts correctly, explain the issue, and put a stop to any speculative stories that inevitably develop.
Major district issues and news will be priority over school news (these major issues will be decided by the editorial board).
H. REGARDING DEATHS
1. Any current student, staff member, faculty member or building administrator that dies during the current school calendar year will be recognized in the school media.
2. The media will publish factual information (date of birth, date of death, survivors, organizations, hobbies, interests) in a 300-word obituary including one yearbook mug shot if possible in the Shield, Lance and Wired.
If mug shot is unavailable, family will be contacted for a photo.
3. The school media will work with the deceased’s family before publishing any information regarding the cause of death. The editorial board reserves the final say in publication of cause of death, but should only do so for legitimate journalistic reasoning regarding the doctrine of “minimize harm” vs. “the public’s right to know.” Suicide will not be listed as a cause of death unless listed as cause of death by district announcements.
4. The school media will treat all deaths according to journalism standards and ethics.
5. An issue, or portion of an issue or video segment should not be dedicated to or in memory of the deceased...unless a current journalism staff member or adviser passes away, a portion of an issue or video segment can be dedicated to that staff member.
6. Any current student, staff member, faculty member, or building administrator that dies during the year will be recognized in the school yearbook portrait section by including their portrait.
J. REGARDING ILLUSTRATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHS, GRAPHICS, ETC.
1. All cutlines will record the necessary journalistic information in the photo.
2. All photographs must be captioned and bylined, with the exception of mugs and cutouts.
3. Bylines are required on all online photos and galleries. Full captions, when possible, must be used.
4. Any photographs that contain any inappropriate or illegal attire, gestures or actions must be reshot or removed.
5. Artwork represents the interpretations of the artist, not necessarily of the staff or WHS.
6. The publications will not publish any photos, illustrations etc. that ridicule, demean, or misleadingly represent any individual or group.
7. Electronic manipulations changing the essential truth of the photo or illustration will be clearly labeled if used, and even then only in very rare circumstances. Even minor tweaks, such as removing acne, are NOT acceptable. Any manipulation of a photograph MUST be recognized and detailed in the caption.
K. REGARDING ERRORS
1. Concerns about errors in the school media may be submitted through the adviser to the students. The phone number to the publication room is 402-343-2650. All complaints are sent directly to the student editors and/or the editorial board.
2. The editorial board retains the right to determine whether, in fact, an error has been made.
3. Known and or found errors that are brought to the attention of the school media will be addressed regardless if realized by author, audience, or staff member.
4. Staff members will strive to correct errors prior to publication; however, if the editorial board determines a significant error is printed, the editorial board will determine the manner and timeliness of a correction.
5. Major corrections are determined by the editors and adviser.
6. If changes are made to a web story once a story has been posted, the change will be noted along with the reason of the change, and the date and time the change was made.
L: REGARDING ADVERTISING
1. The publications will not accept advertising for products that are illegal for minors to purchase and/or use.
2. Students whose photographs appear in an advertisement (for businesses) are required to sign a model release form, as well as their legal guardian.
3. The publications will not run advertising without a proper signature on the advertising contract which explains terms of payment, content, size, publishing dates, includes attached layout which explains the terms of payment, content, size.
4. All ads need to be approved by editorial board, any ad not deemed appropriate by board, for any reason, will not run.
5. The publications will cease to publish advertising of any advertiser that does not meet payment obligations specified.
6. Advertising that appears in the media is not necessarily endorsed by the media or its staff members, editorial board or adviser.
M: REGARDING DISTRIBUTION AND CIRCULATION
1. Daily updates will be made to the website throughout the week during the school year. While less frequent, updates will be made to the site during breaks.
2. The school newspaper will be distributed free of charge to students according to a distribution schedule approved by the adviser and editors. Newspapers will be distributed every 4 weeks, unless specified otherwise by the editorial board.
3. Current copies of the school newspaper will also be displayed in the library, main office, guidance office and in room 251.
4. Advertising revenues and fundraising are to be used to pay for the school media printing costs, supplies and other media expenses.
5. All budget surpluses are to be used for future production of the school media.
6. The paper will be distributed before school and homeroom on day of publication
7. The school newspaper will accept subscriptions for the price of $25 for the entire year.
8. Total press run each issue is approximately 1,100 unless specified otherwise the editorial board.
9. Exchange publications are received and displayed in journalism room.
10. Exchange publications are mailed to other media rooms on our mailing list.
11. The school yearbook will come out in May of the current year.
N: INDIVIDUAL PORTRAIT POLICY
1. All senior portraits must arrive to the yearbook staff by the posted date given to the yearbook staff by the senior portrait photographer.
2. Any senior who fails to get their yearbook portrait taken and sent to the yearbook staff will not be pictured in the yearbook senior section.
3. Portraits provided by the school photographer will be used for students in grades 9-11 and for the faculty members. Because of plant deadlines and the possibility of students missing portrait day, the yearbook staff is not responsible for unavailable portraits of students.
4. The section/grade placement of student portraits will be determined by the student’s first semester status from the school's official system.
5. Grade designations will only be changed with written permission by student, student’s parent, and a member of the administration.
6. Editorial board reserves the right to review or omit questionable or inappropriate portraits without prior permission.
7. Names in mugs section will appear as supplied by the student during portrait day unless otherwise requested.
8. Portraits will consist of one individual only. No other persons or props are permitted.
9. Students and parents are responsible to follow all dates and regulations for photos.
10. Journalists will make every effort to include all students and faculty in the yearbook portrait section. A purchaser of the book may return the book for a full refund if they do not find their photo in the book, but that purchase price ends the obligation by the staff to the purchaser.
O: GROUP PORTRAIT POLICY
1. Any groups with school sponsors are eligible to take a group photo for the yearbook.
2. Yearbook will cover school sponsored, board approved, and established clubs/sports. All other sports or clubs will be reviewed by the editorial board.
3. Editorial board reserves the right to review or omit questionable or inappropriate portraits.
4. Portraits will consist of group members and sponsors only. Props are not permitted without prior approval.
5. Face painting in group portraits is not permitted.
6. Members not present for the group photo will not be added in at a later date, in any form (adding in a new photo box next to the group shot, for instance), but may be added in a “not pictured” section of the byline.
7. No “Photoshopping” of students allowed for any reason. This includes requests to remove students or faculty and adding in students or faculty. Group shots are historical documents, and tampering with the photos in this manner is not in line with journalistic standards.
8. Hand signs of any kind are not permitted in group photographs.
P: REGARDING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND ONLINE COMMENTS (currently disabled)
1. Letters to editor will be printed in the opinion section of the newspaper or on the website.
2. Guidelines to write letters to the editor will be printed every issue in the opinion section of the paper and available online at westsidewired.com.
3. Letters to the editor may be submitted to Mr. Zegelis’ or Mr. Kaldahl’s mailbox, room 251 or emailed at this address: westsidewired@gmail.com. These letters will be given or forwarded directly to the editorial board. Advisers will not respond because that obligation is that of the editorial board.
4. Letters to editor that have been requested to be printed should not exceed 250 words, must be signed and must include writer’s address and phone number for verification.
5. Letters to the editor will be verified by a member of the editorial board to determine the authenticity of the writer.
6. No material will be printed where content is obscene, invasive of another's’ privacy, encouraging physical disruption of school activities, and/or implies libel.
7. The WHS Media editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter or column or other submission and/OR return it for revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning. Deadlines for letters and columns will be determined by each year’s student staff, allowing sufficient time for verification of authorship prior to publication.
8. The Lance will only publish one letter, per author, per issue.
9. All letters to the editor become the property of the school newspaper upon receipt and will not be returned to the author.
10. Online comments will require a name and email address submitted that are verifiable.
11. Online comments will automatically post.
12. Alerts will be sent to staff editors each time a comment is posted to the site.
13. Online comments that are found in violation of the editorial policy will be removed as quickly as possible.
14. Personal attacks are not allowed.
Q: REGARDING REVIEWS
1. The reviewer should have experience in the area in which they are reviewing.
2. All reviews will be bylined and all reviews will be expressed opinions of authors, the editorial board and newspaper staff does not express opinions on the subject matter.
3. All reviews will be to evaluate and inform, not to promote.
4. Evaluative criteria used will be determined by editorial board depending on whether the event or item being reviewed is professional or amateur in nature.
5. Review ideas may be submitted to the editorial board by all members of the WHS media.
6. All reviews must first be reviewed by the opinions editor prior to publishing.
7. All reviews need to be reviewed and printed in a current and timely manner.
R: SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Social media will be used to promote WHS media, to promote published content and to engage the WHS community.
2. The editorial board reserves the right to remove comments that violate any provisions hitherto outlined by this policy.
3. Information posted on social media platforms should be held to the same standard as all other reporting in terms of information gathering and fact checking. All standards of ethics that pertain to professional journalism must be adhered to, including the SPJ Code of Ethics.
4. The official social media accounts should remain objective, reporting what is fact.
5. Information gained through social media channels should be verified through multiple channels before passing it along to others. ALL facts are verified before posting.
6. Audience engagement through social media should be done in a professional manner as adhered to and discussed in the SPJ Code of Ethics.
7. Staff members using applications to post updates to social media accounts should have separate applications for their personal account and for the school media accounts WHEN POSSIBLE. This will limit the chance of a post being sent from the wrong account.
8. Transparency is important. Mistakes made on social media posts should be corrected as soon as possible and any deleted posts should be acknowledged in subsequent postings. Always report any mistake immediately to the advisers and administration.
S: PUBLICITY
1. The goal of the media marketing is to promote and expand the media viewing audience.
2. The publicity team will work with all aspects of the media.
3. Contests are run by members of the journalism staff and regulated by the school’s marketing team and EICs.
4. Every contest must have its own set of rules which will be posted in a place visible to the student body and contest participants.
5. All contest rules will be posted online.
6. All contest rules are to be tailored and agreed upon by the editorial board before start of contest.
7. Members of media staffs will not be allowed to enter or win contests put on by the publicity team.
8. The publicity team will work to attend all major events held by the district or school with the intent of promotion.
9. All events or important dates known by adviser, staff members or editorial board will be passed along to the Director of Marketing.
10. The Director of Marketing will work to create a marketing team for each new event.
11. Ad trade-outs are regulated by the Business Manager and Director of Marketing, ad tradeouts are given on a 1 for 1 basis.
12. The Director of Marketing will work with the web team to promote the publication through outside sources such as Facebook or Twitter.
T: PRIOR REVIEW POLICY
NOTE: ON AUGUST 14, 2020, WESTSIDE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION HAS DEEMED THAT ITEM "T" HERE IS NO LONGER RELEVANT AND WESTSIDE JOURNALISM MUST CONFORM TO A PRIOR REVIEW POLICY BASED ON SCHOOL BOARD POLICY 5470.
1. Sources will be able to have quotes read back at the time of interview or at reporter’s initiative.
2. Sources will not be able to arbitrarily demand to read the reporters completed story and then perform editing tasks on that story.
3. The media reporters will endeavor to include the name and identity of all sources if reporter believes that doing so will not result in endangerment, harassment or any other form of undue physical, mental, emotional anguish for the source.
4. The media reporters will not, within all boundaries of law, reveal a source who asks to remain nameless.
5. All media interviewers will respect the interviewees rights to have information remain “off the record” if the fact is known before giving the information to the interviewer.
6. The media will not be reviewed by anyone outside of the editorial board aside from the adviser prior to its release to the public. The adviser is allowed to review the publication, but not required to, for the sole purpose of acting as legal consultant and educator in terms of unprotected speech; the adviser reading content is not considered prior review unless he/she makes changes or directs changes.
U: STUDENT & STAFF PUBLICATION POLICY
1. All students and staff of Westside High School are eligible for publication in the WHS student media.
2. Any student or staff member wishing to ‘opt out’ of being published in the student media needs to fill out the appropriate ‘opt out’ form with the guidance office and alert the student media adviser of plans to ‘opt out.’
3. All efforts will be made to keep students and staff who have ‘opted out’ of coverage from publication in the WHS Media.
VI: STAFF POLICY FOR SELECTION AND DISMISSAL
A. EDITOR AND STAFF SELECTION PROCESS
1. Editor in chief(s) and other editor level positions are chosen by faculty adviser, with input previous year’s editorial board.
2. New and returning staff are judged by application, previous work, potential and prerequisite class work.
3. Applicants are not turned down because of age, race, sex, religion, mental or physical handicap that do not impair editorial responsibilities.
4. Staff applications are due each year prior to registration.
5. The staff and editors are selected, whenever possible, prior to the next academic year. The adviser reserves the right to make changes to the list as he/she deems necessary after the registration deadline.
B. REGARDING STAFF DISMISSAL/SUSPENSION
1. All individuals involved with WHS media are considered a team, each member is expected to complete all assigned stories, pages, photos, etc. on or before the assigned deadline. Staff members, including editors, may be dismissed or suspended from their positions and/or the publications staff itself if any of following violations occur:
1. Continuously missed deadlines
2. Plagiarism
3. Quote falsification
4. Vandalism or theft of publication equipment
5. Continuous negative or pessimistic attitude toward staff member or adviser
6. Submitting an advanced page design, story, photo or other publishable item to anyone outside the media staff without approval by the editorial board
7. Disrespectful attitude toward adviser, other editors, or staff members according to the adviser and that student’s dean.
8. Two school suspensions in one academic year
9. Failing to fulfill job as outlined in job description
10. Inappropriate social media posts - even on personal social media posts.
2. Major infractions will result in immediate dismissal from class at the end of the semester or immediate suspension from staff duties (major infractions include but are not limited to plagiarism, violation of SPJ code of ethics, vandalism, theft, dishonesty, etc.). Suspended students are suspended for a period of time determined by the adviser. Suspended students must reapply for their staff position, a possibility determined by the adviser.
3. Minor infractions will be given a written warning for the first one. The second one is immediate dismissal from staff duties and dismissal from class and staff at end of semester.
4. Warnings will be written and signed by the adviser, the staff member in question, and that student’s dean.
5. An editor will be stripped of his her title if suspended.
6. First misdemeanor or arrest will result in the loss of editor’s title, and second will result in dismissal from staff.
7. Staff member and adviser will attend a meeting with potentially dismissed student to discuss the issue, adviser will make final decision.
8. The academic nature of the school journalism class allows removal of editors or staff members when school and/or established media policy is violated.
9. The above list infractions could all result in dismissal however, staff dismissals are not limited to the listed infractions. The adviser will work with each student and that student’s dean in a case-by-case basis.
10. A dismissed staff member receiving academic credit may be given a grade of F and will not be allowed to register for any other journalism courses (will not preempt school policy).
11. Dismissal procedures are reviewed and approved by the advisor and the student’s dean.
13. All dismissal appeals will be directed to the building principal
VII. QUERIES
1. Questions or complaints concerning material published in the media should be made in writing to the editor in chief(s) who will present the concern at the next scheduled editorial board meeting.
2. Complaints and suggestions may be emailed to the editors, to whs.journalism@gmail.com, or dropped off in room 251.
3. Resolutions will be made within limits of deadlines and communicated directly to the writer of the complaint or question.
VIII. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
1. The WHS media should be a member of state, national, and/or international organizations.
2. The WHS media will work to be in contact with professional media such as the Omaha World Herald as well as other individuals and companies in the communications field ranging from public relations and advertising to promotions and copywriting.
VIII. OWNERSHIP OF CONTENT
Students retain and own all copyright to any works they produce.
Students, by being part of the journalism program and/or submitting any work to the journalism program (including writing, photos, designs, graphics, videos, audio, and more), allow the publications (ANY of the school publications, including the yearbook, newspaper, magazine, podcast, video, online website and social media) unlimited rights to publish and republish the work in any medium and at any time. Class enrollment is considered the student giving the publications an “unlimited usage license” to the journalism department. These rights are given to the journalism department when the student submits any work to the publication. If any student does not agree with these conditions, they must un-enroll from the publication.
REGARDING SURVEYS:
All surveys will be anonymous and will not go through administration. All survey results will print with the disclaimer: “This non-scientific survey was conducted entirely on behalf of students who are not agents of Westside High School or the Westside Community Schools. ”
The exact way the survey was conducted, the number of responses, and who was eligible for the survey will be printed with the survey results.
The survey will be printed in a way that enhances understanding and does not change the meaning of the survey results.
Students will protect the data of all the surveys.
Students will remember the ethics values of journalists when doing surveys and will not engage in overly-sensitive surveys without reviewing the ethics involved with the editorial board.