Editorial Policy

FRANCIS HOWELL NORTH HIGH STUDENT MEDIA EDITORIAL POLICY

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

–The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

“The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.”

–Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

The FHN Media Editorial Policy pertains to all FHN Media, including the North Star newsmagazine, the Excalibur yearbook, FHNtoday.com, FHNgameday.com and FHNtodayTV as well as all extensions of the Media. The full editorial policy is available on FHNtoday.com.

FHN Media are the official student-produced media of news and information published and produced by FHN Media staffers. FHN Media have been established as designated public forums for student editors to educate and inform their readers of issues of concern to their audience. It will not be reviewed or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution. Advisers may—and should–coach and discuss content during the writing process, however, the editorial board will make all decisions of content.

Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of FHN Media is determined by, and reflects only the views of, the student staff and not school officials or the school itself; its student Editorial Board and responsible student staff members assume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication.

I. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

It is essential to preserve the freedom of the press in order to preserve a free society and provide students of Francis Howell North with relevant information pertinent to their educational growth and prudent to their concern as students of the school and community.

The Media will keep itself free from any commercial obligations distracting from this purpose.
Any decisions affecting the Media on all levels will be made by the Editorial Board. The Adviser is allowed to provide legal advice, but the final decision rests in the hands of the Editorial Board.
Only the Editorial Board may prevent material from being printed or authorize its printing pursuant to the material’s compliance with provisions outlined in the editorial policy.
All Media will vigorously resist all attempts at censorship, particularly pre-publication censorship, and also commit to fighting any censorship if it shall occur.
All Media retain the right to publish any and all material obtained through an interview by a staff member of the publications staff, holding that the interviewee was made aware that the information could be published in any form at any time prior to their dissemination of said information.
All student Media referenced in this editorial policy are designated public forums.
Student journalists may use print and electronic media to report news and information, to communicate with other students and individuals, to ask questions of and consult with experts and to gather material to meet their news-gathering and research needs.
FHN Media and its various staffs are protected by, and bound to, the principles of the First Amendment and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution,various laws, and court decisions implementing those principles.
FHN Media will not publish any material that is, as determined by the student Editorial Board, libelous, obscene, unnecessarily disruptive of the school process, an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright or a promotion of products or services unlawful (illegal) as to minors as defined by State or Federal law.
Definitions and examples for the above instances of unprotected speech can be found in Law of the Student Press published by the Student Press Law Center.

II. THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Being that the Media are operated and produced at the discretion of students of the school there shall exist an Editorial Board to oversee the proper execution and production of the Media.

The Editorial Board will consist of all student staff editors.
The Editorial Board votes on all decisions that pertain directly to the FHN Media and their interests.
No member of the Editorial Board shall have more than one vote on the board.
All members of a staff’s Editorial Board, along with the Adviser will elect a replacement for board members who have been dismissed.
All members of the Editorial Board are expected to know the duties of their role within the specific media they work on and must understand the consequences of not fulfilling said duties.
Appropriate outside legal advice regarding questionable content should be sought from attorneys knowledgeable in media law, such as those of the Student Press Law Center. Final content decisions and responsibility of action on content decisions shall remain within the responsibilities and power of the student Editorial Board.
The duly appointed editor(s)-in-chief shall interpret and enforce this editorial policy.

III. THE ADVISER

As the execution of ethical and proper journalism is a skill that provides students with practical skill sets, there shall be an Adviser to guide and educate the student editors and staff to these ends.

The Adviser is a professional teaching staff member and is in charge of the class as in a conventional classroom situation.
The Adviser is a certified journalism teacher who serves as a professional role model, motivator, catalyst for ideas and professionalism, and an educational resource.
The Adviser provides a journalistic, professional learning atmosphere for students by allowing them to make the decision of content for the Media and ensuring the Media will remain a designated public forum.
The Adviser guides the Media staffs in accordance with this Editorial Policy and aids the educational process related to producing the various media.
The Adviser may caution, act as legal consultant and educator terms of unprotected speech, but has no power over censorship or veto except for constitutionally valid reasons which are still subject to approval by the Editorial Board.
The Adviser will keep abreast of the latest trends on journalism and share these with students.
The Adviser will submit the various Media content produced by the students to rating services and contests in order for the Media staffs to receive feedback.
The Adviser will forward any received correspondence and/or information pertinent to the proper execution of duties to the appropriate editors.
The Adviser will provide information to the Media about journalism scholarships and other financial aid, and make available information and contacts concerning journalism as a career.
The Adviser will work with the faculty and administration to aid in the understanding of the freedoms accorded to the students and the professional goals of the student Media.
The Adviser or the Building Administration will not act as a censor or determine the content of the Media. The Adviser will offer advice and instruction in compliance with the Code of Ethics for Advisers established by the Journalism Education Association as well as the Canons of Professional Journalism.

IV. THE BUILDING AND DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

The Francis Howell North High School and Francis Howell School District administration

Provide the students of Francis Howell North with a qualified, professional role model, adequate classroom equipment, and space for a sound journalism program;
Will offer equal opportunity to minority and/or marginalized students to participate in journalism programs;
Is not required to view or approve Media content prior to publication;
Is not entitled to or endowed with any right to censor any of the content the Media staffs produce;
Shall not fire or otherwise discipline Advisers for content in student Media that is determined and published by the student staff.

V. CONTENT OF FHN MEDIA

A. INTRODUCTION

All decisions regarding the publication, printing or dissemination of content in the Media will be made in occurrence to the following provisions, while keeping in mind that the overall purpose and goal of the Media is to

Inform, interpret, and entertain their viewers through accurate and factual reports, where information has been thoroughly gathered and verified;
Serve as an educational laboratory experience for those on staff;
Be accurate, fair and impartial in its coverage of issues in all aspects of coverage.
Not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dissent or controversy;
Cover the total school population as effectively and accurately as possible;
Report all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical manner, in accordance with the Canons of Professional Journalism developed by the Society for Professional Journalists and 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

The Media will not print unnecessary profanity including but not limited to social media used by all parts of FHN Media.
The Editorial Board will make the decision on whether content is considered profane or whether it reflects a cultural or non-vulgar slang term.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit quotes for unnecessary profanity.
Such quotes will be noted with brackets around supplemented information or wording when published.
Any edited quote will be brought to the attention of the source of the original quote prior to publishing. Sources have the choice to rephrase the quotation to avoid use of profanity.
Staff interviewers have the right to ask a source, when necessary, to repeat a quote without the use of profane language.

C. REGARDING WRITING

FHN 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.
Any work submitted by students who are not a member of a Media staff must be verified for accuracy prior to publication, printing, or dissemination.
Any material submitted from an outside source can be edited by the Editorial Board and must comply with this policy.
Writing must be the original work of the writer and not previously published in any publication, unless otherwise specified by the Adviser and editor(s)-in-chief.

D. REGARDING EDITORIALS

All editorials published will be bylined as: “on behalf of Editorial Staff.”
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 the paper for inappropriate personal gain.
The Media will endeavor to provide a chance for comment on all sides of a critical issue in the same edition or where the editorial has been published.
The Editorial Board 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.
All sides of the issue will be presented and reviewed, 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, as to inform, rather than promote or endorse.
The Media will not publish material that is unnecessarily obscene, libelous or an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
If question on the veracity of publication persists, the issue will be brought to the Editorial Board which must consider the following questions before publication of the piece:

Why is it a concern?
What is its journalistic purpose?
Is the information accurate and complete?
Are any important points of view omitted?
How would the Board feel if the story was about Board members or someone the Board knows?
What are the consequences of the publication of the piece?
Is there a logical explanation to anyone who challenges the issue?
Is it worth risking Media credibility?
Does it comply with the provisions outlined in this policy?
Does it comply with the purpose and goal of the Media?

F. REGARDING BYLINES

All articles, graphics, photos, art, columns, pages, reviews and other material creatively conceived—with exception of 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 producer.

G. REGARDING NEWS AND FEATURES

The Media will emphasize and specialize in informing their readers of school news and unique students of the Francis Howell North High School community.
The Media /will cover community, state, national and international news that is relevant to the school community.
The Media will strive to provide coverage of all school organizations and functions.
The Media will publish the facts correctly, explain the issue, and put a stop to any speculative stories surrounding news.
Major District issues, news and developments will be priority over school news (these major issues will be decided by the Editorial Board.)

H. REGARDING DEATHS

Any current student, staff member, faculty member or building administrator who passes away during the year will be recognized in the student Media.
The Media will publish factual information (date of birth, date of death, survivors, organizations, hobbies, interests) in a 150-300 word obituary, including one mug shot, if possible, in the North Star and on FHNtoday.com.
The student Media will work to obtain permission from the deceased person’s family before publishing any information regarding the cause of death. If permission is not granted, the Editorial Board reserves the final say in publication of cause of death. Suicide will not be listed as a cause of death unless requested by parents or guardians.
The student Media will treat all deaths in a tasteful, respectful way.
An issue of publication in any of the Media will not be dedicated to, or in memory of, the deceased.
Any current student, staff member, faculty member, or building administrator that dies during the year will be recognized in the school yearbook. The school yearbook will publish factual information (date of birth, date of death, survivors, organizations, hobbies and interests) and approximately a 1” x 2” mug shot, if possible, in a 1/8 page space.

I. REGARDING ILLUSTRATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEOS, GRAPHICS, ETC.

All cutlines will record who is in any photo running in any of the Media, when possible.
All photographs must be captioned and bylined appropriately , with the exception of mugs and cut-outs.
Any photograph or videos that contains inappropriate attire or actions must be re-shot or will be printed at the discretion of the Editorial Board, pursuant to provisions in the Editorial policy.
Artwork represents the interpretations of the artist, not necessarily of the Media staffs.
The Media will not publish any photos, illustrations, videos, etc. that ridicule, demean or misleadingly represent any individual or group.
Electronic manipulations changing the essential truth of the photo, video, or illustration will be clearly labeled if applied.

J. REGARDING AI USAGE

1. FHN Media is run by a team of dedicated students. Our copy writers help edit all of the writing content we create, our videographers and photographers capture all of their own content and the pages our designers create are all done by our design team.
2. We know that generative AI has the potential to assist us in our work. If generative AI helps work more efficiently, then it may be permitted.
3. We think it’s important to approach generative AI with a clear understanding of its limits and a healthy skepticism about its ability to create rather than its ability to plagiarize.
4. Although generative AI produces content in seconds, that content is often inaccurate and includes falsehoods. It relies on outdated data sets, which often produces content that isn’t in line with today’s realities. It draws exclusively from already-published material and it often produces content that includes plagiarism and is deprived of fresh ideas.

We will never use AI to:

Produce copy for content ranging from stories to cutlines
Create images, designs, or videos unless they are clearly labeled as such
Replace the work of a human editor
Replace credible sources of information, such as original research articles, personal interviews, or trusted news outlets

We may use AI to:

Generate story ideas
Suggest social media posts
Suggest headlines
Summarize long reports
Provide SEO recommendations
Provide basic information about a new topic, knowing that the information may be untrustworthy and that we will need to vet it in the same way we would vet information from Wikipedia
Suggest ways to clarify confusing sentences
Transcribe interviews
Enhance content using AI tools built into softwares
Any suggestions provided to us by AI will be carefully evaluated by the Editorial Board.

Echoing the Marketing AI Institute’s Responsible AI Manifesto, we believe that AI technologies should be assistive, not assertive. We believe that the best content doesn’t just summarize previously published content, but rather combines our own research and thoughts. (credit to DragonflyEditorial for sharing their policy which this one was originally derived from)

K. REGARDING ERRORS

Concerns about errors in the student Media may be submitted through the Adviser. The phone number to the publication room is 636-851-5107; the email is [email protected].
The Editorial Board retains the right to determine whether, in fact, an error has been made.
Known and/or found errors that are brought to the attention of the student Media will be addressed regardless if realized by author, audience, or staff member.
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.
If changes are made to a story after it has been published, the change will be noted along with the date and time the change was made.

L. REGARDING ADVERTISING

The Media will not accept advertising for products that are illegal for minors to purchase and/or use.
Minors who appear in an advertisement of or in the Media, as well as their legal guardian, are required to sign or have a model release form.
The Media will not run advertising without a proper signature on the advertising contract which explains terms of payment, content, size, and publishing dates.
All ads need to be approved by the Editorial Board. Any ad in violation of the provisions of this policy will not run.
The Media will cease to publish advertising of any advertiser who does not meet payment obligations.
All advertisers will receive a complimentary subscription of the North Star or Excalibur in which their ad has run, if advertisers purchase the price designated by the contract and opted to receive a yearbook.
If a published advertisement is incorrect in substantive content, a reduced price or corrected run will be negotiated.
If $200 is spent on print advertising, a complimentary online ad is given to the advertiser.
Free web ads appear in a specified section of the website and randomly rotate through the area each time the page is refreshed.
Advertisers who specifically purchase web ads, as opposed to being given the complementary one, will have their ad remain stationary for the duration of the contract.
Web ads can be purchased throughout the year. Payment is either upfront or billed within 30 days of purchase.
Advertising that appears in the media is not necessarily endorsed by the Media or their staffs’ members, Editorial Board or Adviser.
All ads are billed on Oct. 1 unless alternative arrangements are made with the Adviser.
Bills which are not settled by Nov 1. will incur an additional fee of 30% of original balance. An additional fee of 20% the original balance will be added the first of each subsequent month until the bill is paid.
Nude baby photos will not be used for senior advertisements in the yearbook.
Advertising revenues and fundraising are to be used to pay for the student Media printing costs, supplies and other Media expenses.
All budget surpluses are to be used for future production of the student Media.

M. REGARDING DISTRIBUTION AND CIRCULATION

The North Star will begin at no less than 16 pages in magazine format, excluding explicitly noted special editions. The number of pages can, however, be altered as needed at the discretion of the Adviser and/or Editorial Board. The staff reserves the right to distribute a special edition as often as they please.
The North Star will be made available online on issuu.com and FHNtoday.com the day of distribution.
Frequent updates will be made to FHNtoday.com during the week throughout the school year. While less frequent, updates will be made to the site during breaks.
The North Star will be distributed free of charge to all students according to a distribution schedule approved by the Adviser and editors.
Current copies of the North Star will also be displayed in the library, main office, guidance office, and inside and outside the Media lab room.
All efforts will be made to distribute the North Star by first hour on the predetermined publication dates unless complication arises.
Subscriptions for the North Star will be $30 for all issues in the volume.
The North Star will print 2,100 copies of each issue unless otherwise specified by Adviser or Editorial Board.(What about Electronic distribution?)
Exchange publications are received and displayed in the journalism laboratory.
Exchange publications are mailed to other media rooms across the U.S.
The school yearbook will be distributed during registration for the following school year, unless delays occur or it’s specified otherwise by the Adviser and Editorial Board.
The school yearbook will be sold for $55 from registration until Fall break. Throughout the year, the price will increase to $60, $65 and $70. Extra copies of the book will be sold for $75 at registration on a first-come, first-served basis. Extras including name plate and book cover are also available. The profit from these extras go to our publishers and the FHN Media program does not make a profit off of them.
Digital media will post on a schedule determined by the Editorial Board and will not be wholly bound to the deadlines of print media.

N: INDIVIDUAL PORTRAIT POLICY

The following provisions apply only to portraits in which there is one person

Senior portraits must be taken by the portrait photography company commissioned by the Editorial Board to do portraits.
All senior portraits must arrive to the Media staff by the posted date given to the Media by the commissioned portrait photography company.
Any senior who fails to get their yearbook portrait taken by the portrait photography company commissioned by the Editorial Board will not be pictured in the yearbook senior section.
Portraits provided by the portrait photography company will be used for students in grades 9-12 and for the faculty members. Because of plant deadlines and the possibility of students missing portrait day, the Media staffs are not responsible for unavailable portraits of students.
The section/grade placement of student portraits will be determined by a student’s first semester status.
Grade designations will only be changed with written permission by student, student’s parent, and a member of the Administration.
Photo omissions will only occur for students or faculty with written permission by the student and a member of the Administration.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to review or omit questionable or inappropriate portraits and to request that such portraits be re-shot.
Names in the mugs section will appear as supplied by the student during portrait day unless otherwise requested.
Portraits will consist of one individual only. No other persons or props are permitted.

O: REGARDING GROUP PORTRAITS

The following provisions apply only to portraits in which there are more than one persons

Any groups which are sponsored by the school are eligible to receive a group portrait by the portrait photography company or staff photographers commissioned by the Editorial Board.
The Media will cover school sponsored, Board of Education approved, and established clubs/sports. All other sports or clubs will be reviewed by the Editorial Board.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to review or omit questionable or inappropriate portraits.
Portraits will consist of group members and sponsors only. Props are not permitted unless otherwise specified by the Editorial Board.

P: REGARDING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND ONLINE COMMENTS

Letters to the editor will be printed in the opinion section of the North Star and will be categorized as opinions/editorials on FHNtoday.com. They will be specified as “Letter to the Editor”and the author’s name will be noted.
Information about writing letters to the editor will be made available on FHNtoday.com.
Letters to the editor may be submitted to the Adviser, the Media room or emailed to [email protected].
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and must be signed by the author.
Letters to the editor will be verified by a member of the Editorial Board to determine the authenticity of the writer.
No material will be printed where content is obscene, invasive of another’s’ privacy, encouraging physical disruption of school activities, and/or implies libel.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to withhold a letter, column, comment or other submission, and request its revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning. This also includes inappropriate content as deemed by the Editorial Board.
The North Star may, and should, publish as many letters as they receive in one month; however, an author of a letter can only have one letter published per issue.
All letters to the editor become the property of the North Star upon receipt and will not be returned to the author.
Comments made on FHNtoday.com and FHNgameday.com must include a name and valid email address which is verifiable.
Comments made on FHNtoday.com and FHNgameday.com will be published automatically unless they contain hate speech or unnecessary profanity.
Alerts will be sent to the Editorial Board each time a comment is posted to the site.
Online comments that are found in violation of the editorial policy will be removed as quickly as possible.

Q: REGARDING REVIEWS

The reviewer must have experience in the area in which they are reviewing.
All reviews will be to evaluate and inform—not to promote.
Evaluative criteria used will be determined by the Editorial Board depending on whether the event or item being reviewed is professional or amateur in nature.
Review ideas may be submitted to the Editorial Board by all members of the Media.
The content of all reviews must be timely in nature.

R: REGARDING SOCIAL MEDIA

Appropriate personal social media will be used to promote the Media, to promote published content and to engage the FHN community.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to remove posts that violate any provisions hitherto outlined by this policy.
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.
The official social media accounts should avoid biased promotion of events and remain objective, reporting what is fact. Content posted by specific clubs’ accounts promoting events may be shared by the Media accounts on a fair basis.
Information gained through social media channels should be verified through multiple channels or by confirming a source’s validity before passing it along on a social media account. In breaking news situations, extreme caution will be exercised and speculation will never be published. Staff members posting from these accounts should make every effort to have a school administrator as a source in a situation where a breaking news event pertains directly to the school.
Audience engagement through social media should be done in a professional manner.
Mistakes made on social media posts should be corrected as soon as possible and any deleted posts should be acknowledged in subsequent postings. In the event that a personal post is inadvertently posted from a Media account, it will be immediately deleted. It will be acknowledged if deemed necessary by the Editorial Board.
Social media posts used for publication elsewhere must be verified to be a valid user.
Permission must be granted from the author of the social media post before publication in the Media.
Any content gathered with FHN Media equipment is automatically FHN Media content
Content gathered with FHN Media equipment may be posted on personal social media accounts after at least 48 hours being posted or used by FHN Media.
Students wishing to post FHN Media content on their own terms must link at least one outlet of FHN Media on personal media account

S: PUBLICITY

The goal of the Media marketing is to promote and expand the Media viewing audience. Every member of the FHN Journalism Program is part of the publicity team.
The publicity team will work with all aspects of the Media.
Contests are run by members of the publicity team.
Every contest must have its own set of rules which will be posted in a place visible to the student body and contest participants.
All contest rules will be posted on FHNtoday.com, or made available, if requested, to contest participants. All contest rules are to be tailored and agreed upon by the Editorial Board before the start of a contest.
Members of Media staffs will not be eligible to win any Media sponsored contests.
The editorial team will work to attend all major events held by the District or school with the intent of promoting and covering the event.
All events or important dates known by Adviser, staff members or Editorial Board will be passed along to the Publicity Editor.
Ad trade-outs are regulated by the Business Manager, ad trade-outs are given on a 1 for 1 basis.

T: PRIOR REVIEW POLICY

Sources will be able to have quotes read back at any time during or after an interview or at the reporter’s initiative.
Once an interview is consented to and completed, the Editorial Board reserves the right to determine what can be published and removed from the publications.
Sources will not be able to demand to read and/or listen to the reporter’s completed story and/or perform editing tasks on said story.
The Media reporters will endeavor to include the name and identity of all sources if a reporter believes that doing so will not result in endangerment, harassment or any other form of undue physical, mental, emotional anguish for the source.
The Media reporters will not, within all boundaries of law, reveal a source who asks to remain nameless.
All Media reporters will respect the interviewer’s rights to have information remain “off the record” if the fact is known before the dissemination of information.
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

All students and staff of Francis Howell North High School are eligible for publication in the student Media.
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 such plans.
All efforts will be made to keep students and staff who have ‘opted out’ of coverage from publication in the Media.

VI: POLICY FOR SELECTION AND DISMISSAL

A. EDITOR AND STAFF SELECTION PROCESS

Editor(s)-in-Chief and other editor level positions for the next school year are chosen by the Adviser, with input from the current Editorial Board.
New and returning staff are judged by application, previous work, potential and prerequisite class work.
Applicants are not turned down because of age, race, sex, religion, mental or physical handicap that do not impair editorial responsibilities.
Staff applications are due in January of each year prior to registration.
The staff and editors are selected prior to registration each January. The Adviser reserves the right to make changes to the list as he/she deems necessary after the registration deadline.
Editor titles and positions are not named until February of the previous year, at the earliest.

B. REGARDING STAFF DISMISSAL

All individuals involved with the Media are expected to complete all assigned stories, pages, photos, illustrations, videos, galleries, etc. on or before the assigned deadline. Staff members, including editors, may be dismissed from their positions and/or the publications staff itself if any of following violations occur:

Plagiarism
Quote falsification
Vandalism or theft of Media equipment
Continuous negative or pessimistic attitude toward staff member or Adviser
Submitting an advanced page design, story, photo or other publishable item to anyone outside the Media staffs without approval by the Editorial Board
Two suspensions in one academic year
Failing to fulfill their editor job as outlined by the Adviser.
Continuously missed deadlines (dismissal procedures will take place by choice of Adviser and Editor(s)-in-Chief)

Major infractions will result in immediate dismissal from staff duties and dismissal from class and staff at the end of semester (major infractions include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, vandalism, theft, etc.)

Minor infractions will be given a written warning for the first offense. The second offense will result in immediate dismissal from staff duties and dismissal from class and staff at end of semester.
Warnings will be written and signed by the Adviser and Editor(s)-in-Chief, as well as the staff member in question.
An editor may be stripped of his or her title if their behavior results in an in-school or out-of-school suspension.
A misdemeanor or arrest will result in the loss of the editor’s title, and a second offense will result in dismissal from staff.
Each member of the Editorial Board and Adviser will attend a meeting with the potentially dismissed student to discuss the issue, however, the Adviser will make the final decision.
The academic nature of the school publication class allows removal of editors or staff members when the Media policy or the Code of Conduct is violated.
The above list of infractions could result in dismissal, however, staff dismissals are not limited to the listed infractions.
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. This provision, however, will not preempt a school policy.
Dismissal procedures are reviewed and approved by the Editorial Board.
The dismissed staff member may appeal their dismissal in writing to the Editorial Board within three school days following dismissal.
All dismissal appeals will be directed to the Administration and the Editorial Board.

VII. QUERIES

Questions or complaints concerning material published in the Media should be made in writing to the editor(s)-in-chief who will present the concern at the next scheduled Editorial Board meeting.
Complaints and suggestions may be emailed to [email protected] or presented in written form, to the Adviser or a member of the Editorial Board.
Resolutions will be made within limits of deadlines.

VIII. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

The Media should be a member of state, national, and/or international organizations.
The Media will work to be in contact with professional media, as well as other individuals and companies in the communications and journalism fields.

IX. BIDDING

The Media and Adviser are responsible for choosing a publisher for both the newspaper and yearbook. Such a process must occur every three years.
Editorial Board representation must be present for any meetings in which a bid is being discussed or is scheduled to be discussed.
Administration has the option of attending any bid meetings.
The staff’s Editor(s)-in-Chief must be present at all meetings in which a bid is being discussed or is scheduled to be discussed.
The Adviser and Editorial Board representation must be present for meetings in which the final decision of bid acceptance is to be determined.
At least three written bids need to be submitted (presentations are optional.)
The Editorial Board will determine what criteria will be considered when determining whether or not a bid will be accepted.
When possible, the staffs will work to secure contracts for three years, but may not secure a contract with a publisher for more than three years.