Views from administrators
about value of journalism
• Statement in support of freedom of the high school press
These comments from former Kirkwood Missouri high School principal Franklin McCallie call for an open and trusting attitude toward student media.
• Former principal sees prior review as a threat to scholastic journalism
Anna Hicks McFadden, now an associate professor of educational leadership, talks in this article about how she tries to prepare principals to weork with scholastic journalists in ways built on trust and respect.
• JEA Administrator of the Year's speech on freedom of expression
Johnsburg High School principal Chuck Dill (Illinois) delivered these comments to the Journalism Education Association as he received his award in 2002.
For more explanation of what is responsible journalism, click here
“A core value of being a journalist is to understand the role of the press in a free society. That role is to provide an independent source of information so that a citizen can make informed decisions. It is often the case that this core value of journalistic independence requires a journalist to question authority rather than side with authority. Thus, if the role of the press in a democratic society is to have any value, all journalists – including student journalists – must be allowed to publish viewpoints contrary to those of state authorities without intervention or censorship by the authorities themselves. Without protection, the freedoms of speech and press are meaningless and the press becomes a mere channel for official thought.”
Dean v. Utica Community Schools
345 F.Supp.2d 799 [E.D. Mich. 2004]