The responsibilities of a journalism adviser get bigger and more complicated by the minute as we watch the constant changes in media and technology. There’s so much we need to know in order to teach, train and advise our students. As I scan links shared by friends on Twitter, scroll through questions and comments on JEAHELP and point my students to outstanding publications and resources on the Internet, I’m reminded of what I don’t know.

At a deadline work night last week, the entertainment editor had questions for me about art for a music review of the Taylor Swift album on her page. I knew the answer but started to hesitate in my explanation, so together we pulled out our a copy of Law of the Student Press and looked it up together. It felt good. In fact, I noticed a whole new section in that particular chapter and found myself reading, rereading and thinking about it later, wondering why I hadn’t spent more time with the newest edition of this book and some others I recently got at a convention.

Of course, the answer is time.

That’s why I pencil in a little time over winter break each year to take an online class, view a few webinars or dive into one of my mystery topics. Last winter, it was Soundslides and Audacity. And I’ve had plenty of little weekend lessons this fall, finding a few hours here and there to read articles or view tutorials on things that pop up in my teaching. The topic doesn’t really matter–it’s the idea of making time to learn something we know our students need or want. For me, it only happens because I add it as a line item on The List and include it on my calendar as an assignment, a must-do.

If you’re wondering how to use Creative Commons and get music for use in a slide show or broadcast, the upcoming winter break is a great time to find out. Have questions about what makes a good publications policy and why you need one? Explore other policies for a few hours and return in January with a plan to address it with your staff. Learn more about copyright and trademark. Study how the pros are implementing social networking guidelines at their media organizations.

Why wait until the next workshop or convention to learn something new? There’s tons of great resources available for free, and if you carve out a little time here and there, a little bit can make a big difference.

Sarah Nichols, MJE

This responsibility begins long before the story is printed. Having your editors check the interview notes of the reporters can quickly reveal that the students haven’t talked to the all the right people to get a balanced story. It gives time to check out possible liability and to get permission to use quotes in place.

It also prevents procrastination, always a problem for all of us.

Students often only talk to their friends, or, worse yet, use the internet and don’t localize the story by talking to students, administrators or local sources. Brainstorming sources and questions can help get students off in the right directions.

Have your editors negotiate reasonable individual story deadlines for these notes and stick to them. Extending deadlines needs to be done ahead of time and in extreme cases only. If a student isn’t “dead” for missing a deadline, deadlines don’t mean a thing.

Interview skills are a sellable skill and one that journalism classes teach well. You might remind your administrators that, although they might prefer not to answer students’ questions about controversial topics, the students are really learning important skills that will help them in all sorts of situations throughout their lives.

Role playing interview situations with beginners can teach those skills and can be loads of fun as well.

Adding “interview notes” to the list of deadlines can help get things moving early and make sure that stories are well balanced and have the important information that will avoid legal problems when the story is published.
Fern Valentine, MJE

• Student literary magazine recalled, then sold with permission. See first article and then the followup.

• Racial Comment in School Paper Sparks Discipline. See this article.

• Glendale Union school’s newspaper, district battle over censorship. See the article.

• Sixth Grader’s Project About Harvey Milk Censored by School. See the article.

• Secrecy 101: FERPA applied beyond intent. See the article.