The Panther Press Staff Manual

The Panther Press is the student-run news publication of Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. The publication is fully extracurricular and led by student editors. The Panther Press publishes 400-500 copies bimonthly in print and is distributed to classrooms and students at Strath Haven High School. The publication is online at www.shpantherpress.com.

The goals of The Panther Press are to inform, educate, and entertain the student body, faculty and staff, and community readers.

We strive to report and analyze issues that concern students in a manner that is fair, objective, responsible, and accurate.

Through the use of journalism, technology, and workplace skills, the students who lead and create the newspaper develop as critical thinkers and communicators.

All content published in the newspaper and on the Panther Press website is created by Strath Haven students for a primary audience of students, with the understanding that our publication also reaches a broader audience that includes teachers and staff, families, and community members.

The views represented in The Panther Press, as well as the selection and curation of content by the editors, do not represent the views of the entire Panther Press staff, the adviser, the school, or the administration.

The Panther Press strives to be a public forum for student expression.

Student editors determine the content of the publication.

School officials may offer advice on sensitive issues prior to publication, or offer criticism following publication. However, except for the unprotected content outlined below, the Panther Press shall not be subjected to prior restraint or censorship by school administrators, faculty, school board members, or any other individuals outside the student editors of the publication.

In accordance with the regulations promulgated by 22 Pa. Code § 12.9, the following forms of expression are not authorized in a student publication, and therefore may be restrained by school officials:

(1)  Libelous, slanderous or obscene content.

(2)  An unwarranted invasion of privacy.

(3)  Violating Federal or State law.

(4)  Inciting students to commit an unlawful act or violate the school entity's policies.

(5)  Materially and substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school entity. Administrators must base a forecast of material and substantial disruption on specific facts, including past experience in the school and current events influencing student behavior, and not on undifferentiated fear or apprehension.

Though The Panther Press is full of information useful to a variety of readers, the publication is primarily a “first rough draft of history” as it relates to Strath Haven students, produced by teenagers through the lens of their interests and experiences.

Students who work on school-sponsored student publications or electronic media determine the content of their respective publications and are responsible for that content. Responsible student journalists:

• Determine the content of the student media.

• Strive to produce media based upon professional standards of accuracy, objectivity, and fairness.

• Review material to improve style, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

• Check and verify all facts and the accuracy of all quotes.

• In the case of editorials or letters to the editor concerning controversial issues, determine the need for rebuttal comments and opinions and provide space if appropriate.

• In the case of reporting errors in any format (print, online, social media), take prompt and transparent action to correct the errors.

The National Scholastic Press Association provides a model code of ethics for student journalists. Since reputable conduct by student journalists helps to secure the public trust and news media credibility, The Panther Press staff trains on this code of ethics throughout each school year. The seven principles of the NSPA Code of Ethics are:

• Be Responsible.

• Be Fair.

• Be Honest.

• Be Accurate.

• Be Independent.

• Minimize Harm.

• Be Accountable.

The Editorial Board is a group of students composed of the editors-in-chief, managing editors, section editors, social media editor, and business manager, to the extent that these positions are filled.

The Editorial Board may meet at any point during the production cycle at the discretion of the EICs in order to discuss and/or vote on any aspects of coverage, production, or community concerns. The Editorial Board also publishes each issue’s unsigned editorial.

The unsigned editorial that appears on page 2 of The Panther Press each month represents the consensus of the Editorial Board. After a discussion at a meeting, the group chooses a topic and discusses the student perspective on the selected topic. The topics are chosen to argue, criticize, commend, and/or explain an issue that is relevant to students. The EICs and/or MEs create the first draft of the editorial.

After all members of the Editorial Board review the first draft, the Board may reconvene to revise the draft. The goal is to reach full consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, the column must either express this dissent in an agreeable form to all Board members, or a separate dissenting opinion may be developed. Once the column is acceptable to all Board members, the column is published as an unsigned editorial.

The adviser may attend Editorial Board meetings for supervision and advice, but does not steer the direction of Editorial Board decisions or the unsigned editorial.

All contributors are listed in the bylines of stories that appear in print and online. Photography, graphics, art, illustrations, and other creative work will be given attribution.

Unsigned editorials, when published, feature the byline of the Editorial Board.

The Panther Press does its best to report accurately and strives to correct any mistakes. Concerns about errors  in The Panther Press may be submitted via email to strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com or by speaking with a member of the editorial board or the adviser. Editors will discuss and determine how to address the topic. 

The editorial board retains the right to determine whether, in fact, an error has been made. If the editorial board determines a significant error is printed, the editors in chief and/or editorial board, in consultation with the adviser, will determine the manner and timeliness of a correction. Corrections may be posted in the next print issue. Depending on the circumstances, a correction may also be addressed via social media channels or other modes of community announcements. 

If changes are made to an online story once the story has been posted, the story will be corrected online. A notice will appear at the bottom of the story noting the correction, along with the date and time the change was made.

Approved by Editorial Board, January 2026

Before publication, editors and other staff members work to ensure and review all pieces to be factual, accurate and ensured of validity, newsworthiness, and ethics. 

Therefore, the editorial board will not take down published content from the Panther Press website — including articles, photos, quotes, videos, and other media content — except in extraordinary circumstances.

A takedown request should generally prompt at least the following three questions:

Is the information inaccurate?

Does it violate a person’s expectation of privacy?

Is this defamatory?

If the answer is no, the editorial board will uphold the published content. 

At their discretion, the editorial board may make changes or negotiate a solution to help the requester feel more comfortable with the outcome.

Any takedown requests should be sent to strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com

The Panther Press tries to avoid actual and perceived conflicts of interest. 

Examples of actual conflicts of interest include a reporter’s participation with a team, club or activity that is the subject of a story, or inclusion or exclusion of a source who is a close friendship or relationship. 

Examples of perceived conflicts of interest include any situations where a reader could conclude that content is published or source is included or excluded simply due to connection to a Panther Press staff member.

Our editors try not to assign reporters involved in an activity to cover stories about that activity, in order to avoid conflicts of interest. 

However, on a small extracurricular team at a school with plenty of overlaps in student involvement, we may occasionally have reporters covering their own activities. Stories covered by participants will include a disclaimer that the reporter is involved in this activity, included both in print and online.

The Panther Press does not accept physical gifts, samples, or free access from sources. However, we may work cooperatively with teams, clubs, or community organizations, as long as editors determine that reporting can remain free from bias. An example of this sort of cooperation might include the athletic office supporting reporters' transportation or accommodations for away games. 

Concerns about conflicts of interest  in The Panther Press may be submitted via email to strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com or by speaking with a member of the editorial board or the adviser. Editors will discuss and determine how to address the topic. 

All Strath Haven students are welcome to learn the basics of journalism and become contributors to The Panther Press. Interested students should join the Schoology page or speak with a student editor or the adviser to learn about upcoming meetings and training sessions.

The Panther Press welcomes guest articles, comments, and letters to the editor from students who are not on the newspaper staff, teachers, and community members. No anonymous articles or comments will be published.

Guest articles written by Strath Haven students or alumni may be submitted to strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com. Anonymous articles will not be published. Editors will contact guest writers to edit submissions for reasons of space or clarity.

Comments to our site require a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments. Comments on the site and on our social media accounts are monitored by student editors and adviser during reasonable hours, and, if submitted after our staff has logged off, reviewed the next day. We intend for comments to foster reasonable, thoughtful discussion. We do not permit the use of profanity, foul language, defamation or personal attacks, invasion or privacy, or language that could be interpreted as libelous. Comments on all forums are reviewed and must be approved by the student editors or adviser to ensure that they meet our standards. Not all comments are published.

Our staff also welcomes feedback in the comments section of The Panther Press online or via our social media. Each comment is subject to review by a student editor with support from the adviser.

Letters to the Editor are encouraged. Any reader (student or adult) may submit a letter to the editor via email to strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com. Anonymous letters will not be published. Priority for publication goes to students, alumni, educators, and community members. Editors reserve the right to contact letter writers or edit submissions for reasons of space or clarity.

We distribute free print issues to language arts, music, and visual arts classrooms on Strath Haven High School’s campus. We also distribute to the library, the attendance office, the main office, the counseling center, central administration, and our newsstand, where students may freely pick up copies. 

All stories published in print are also published on shpantherpress.com. Each print issue is also posted on the site. Additional stories, media content, videos, and photo galleries are also published on the website at the discretion of student editors. We share published stories and news updates via Instagram and Facebook. 

The Panther Press maintains social media accounts on Instagram (@shpantherpress), and Facebook (@shpantherpress). The Twitter/X account (@shpantherpress) is on hiatus as of late fall 2024.

Additional social media channels may emerge in an evolving media landscape. Any additional channels will be determined by student editors with support from the adviser, and any additional policies will be added once approved by the editors.

The Editors-in-Chief and Social Media Editor moderate the publication’s social media accounts with support from the adviser. Members of the school community are encouraged to follow us on social media. Passwords for social media accounts are maintained by the editors and the adviser.

Content shared on social media may include:

• Staff Happenings (events, meetings, celebrations)

• Announcements about the newspaper (dates of issue release)

• Highlights of news stories

• Links to news stories

• Short-form videos

• Reposts of relevant school-related information and other accounts that relate to our news values.

The publication’s social media accounts may follow student leaders, faculty, staff, community, team, and other accounts, but will not follow any private accounts.  Retweets, reposts, and follows do not represent endorsements.

Social media participants should remember that anything posted in response to The Panther Press's social media is public and reflects on our publication, our school, and the person who posted the comments. Social media replies and comments are screened for defamation, profanity, obscenity, libel, and invasion of privacy. Different viewpoints and opinions are welcome, but comments must demonstrate respect. Profanity, insults, spam, personal attacks, bullying language, hate speech, and language demonstrating intolerance are unacceptable. Inappropriate comments, as determined by the student editors, will be removed.

Community members may reach out to the Panther Press directly at the email strathhavenpantherpress@gmail.com about any questions or concerns.

Print and online advertising is at the discretion of our editors. The Panther Press is not currently publishing ads. If this practice changes, guidelines will be posted.

When our publication accepts advertising, the editors reserve the right to refuse advertising deemed inappropriate for high school publication or not addressed to our audience of student readers.

Upon the request of Dr. Leslie Pratt and Dr. Gregory Hilden on December 15, 2022, the Panther Press staff will comply with a 24-hour prior review practice, in accordance with PA Code 12.9, lasting at least until we have developed a written staff manual with editorial policies that are mutually agreed upon by the student editors, adviser, and building administration.

For the duration of this prior review practice, student editors will submit a PDF of the newspaper's final print draft to the SHHS principal. The principal or his stated designee will have 24 hours to approve the draft. If the prescribed time for approval elapses without a decision that is communicated in writing to the student editors-in-chief and publication adviser, the material shall be considered authorized for distribution.

This practice is exclusive to the print edition of the Panther Press and does not apply to stories that student editors approve for publication solely on the Panther Press website. Online-only stories will remain subject to the Panther Press staff's current editorial review policies.

For the duration of this practice, the principal or his designee will attend a Panther Press meeting within two weeks of the print issue release. In collaboration with the student editors, the principal will review feedback on the issue and share upcoming story ideas on school-related topics.

The adviser works closely with the editors in chief, Editorial Board, and staff to assist and advise them with organization, communication, production, fundraising, and ethical concerns.

The adviser:

• Is a certified teacher who serves as a coach and role model.

• Allows students to make content decisions for The Panther Press and helps to maintain the student newspaper as a public forum for student expression.

• Provides educational resources, teaches skills, and guides students in how to teach themselves and each other.

• Helps establish sound editorial policy and guides the newspaper staff in accordance with editorial policy.

• Helps staff create and maintain a handbook containing policies and documents, including those for staff roles, advertising, submissions, style guides, and a code of ethics.

• Provides students with feedback based on journalistic standards and guides students in providing effective feedback for each other.

• Keeps up to date with trends in print and online journalism.

• May caution staff on legal matters in terms of unprotected speech and facilitate discussion and understanding of journalistic ethics, but has no power over censorship or veto except for constitutionally valid reasons.

• Supervises the financial status, orders supplies, and maintains inventory of materials.

• Helps establish communication between student editors, administration, and faculty.

• Helps faculty and administration understand the freedoms accorded to the students and the educational and professional goals of the school publications.

• Will offer advice and instruction, following the Code of Ethics for Advisers established by JEA.

• Submits the publication to rating services and contests for the staff to receive feedback, and provides information to the staff about journalism conferences and scholarships.

Welcome to the online edition of the Panther Press! I am honored to be your online editor as we launch this new medium for the Panther Press.

Let me assure you that our new site is in no way a replacement or a signification of the decline of our beautiful print edition. We will still awkwardly barge in to your fourth block classroom, a stack in hand, so you can read the paper instead of paying attention in class. We value this.

 It’s been too many times that people have asked me, “Why are you going into a dying field?” If there’s one thing journos dislike, it’s the fact that many people think that just because your news isn’t dropped off on your doorstep at 5 am every morning, printed in black ink on grey paper, there is suddenly no more news. This couldn’t be any more unrealistic. In fact, with the development of multimedia platforms accessible by the public, the need for accurate and objective news is ever-increasing. With a website, the Panther Press isn’t dying, rather now we will have the power to get the news to you within minutes of its occurrence. This is something we don’t want the staff writers at the Press to miss out on: the ability to learn how to write and deliver breaking news right after it happens, instead of weeks after.

Ok, so we realize people most likely won’t go on the computer just to check shpantherpress.com. Most of you may never visit this site again. We want to just have this as a resource available to you when you need it.

That being said, this site will first and foremost be here to allow easy and quick access of articles written by the students, for the students. We have also employed a staff photographer this year, Sierra Matika, who will be taking tons of pictures that will appear on this site in feature galleries. As soon as winter sports commence, we will work on having live sports updates and schedules available to you. Plus, we aspire to having polls, Twitter feeds, and videos, so you can make your voice heard even if you aren’t a member of the Press.

Thanks again for reading the Panther Press. We as the editorial board work very hard to making it a valuable resource to you while displaying the thoughts of the student body that we continue to cherish.

-Anna Jaoudi '15, Detours Editor and Online Editor