SchoolJournalism.org invites YOU to enter the The First Amendment Matters PSA contest. Over the past seven years of this contest, teachers like Stacy Gerst have used this as an opportunity to create a deeper understanding of the First Amendment with her students. We believe that you can have similar success. “Where America Stands” found many Americans lack a fundamental understanding of the First Amendment. About one in five (18%) couldn’t name one freedom covered by the First Amendment....
This past fall, SchoolJournalism posed a question for student journalists to seek the answer to: What are schools doing to include Media Literacy in their curriculum? After reviewing the submissions, it’s our pleasure to share the winning entries. Our two Grand Prize honorees and one Runner-Up are three excellent examples of not only scholastic journalism, but also of how schools are working to educate and promote Media Literacy. The Grand Prize winner in Broadcast is Grace Coleman...
Netflix. TikTok. PBS. Wall Street Journal. ABC. YouTube. CNN. BuzzFeed. National Geographic. Twitter. Wikipedia. CBS. FOX. SnapChat. New York Times. Facebook. Hulu. Facebook. NPR. The list could go on and on because we live in a world where media content runs rampant! There is so much information coming at us from so many directions, it can be overwhelming, confusing, and downright frustrating. That is where Media Literacy steps in to take some of the stress out of the mess! What are...
No matter what method of delivery a student journalist uses, newsworthy journalistic pieces need to have a strong impact upon the audience. It’s critical that student journalists ask themselves if a potential story will affect audience members’ lives. And, it certainly doesn’t hurt to toss in a question like, “How many audience members will be impacted by this story?” For example, a student journalist discovered that because of budgetary concerns due to funding cuts, the school is considering an across-the-board price increase on all school lunch items next school year. This potential price increase will impact every student who purchases school lunch items. It also impacts...
Book bans, social media censorship, and other reports of First Amendment violations pervade our newsfeeds in 2023. In recent months MSNBC shared a viral video where a 100-year-old widow stood up to a local school board banning books–an act that directly violates the freedoms her husband fought to protect in WWII. Limiting the freedoms listed in the First Amendment was not the intention of the founding fathers. SchoolJournalism has hosted the First Amendment Matters PSA contest for the past seven years. Now, more than ever, our First Amendment is under attack and needs our protection. Contestants go through two rounds of judging. The first judge looks to make sure the submissions follow...
SchoolJournalism.org invites YOU to enter the The First Amendment Matters PSA contest. Over the past seven years of this contest, teachers like Stacy Gerst have used this as an opportunity to create a deeper understanding of the First Amendment with her students. We believe that you can have similar success. “Where America Stands” found many Americans lack a fundamental understanding of the First Amendment. About one in five (18%) couldn’t name one freedom covered by the First Amendment. Of those who could name at least one: 78% could identify free speech, followed by 49% naming religion, 39% assembly, 34% free press, and 14% the right to petition. Just nine percent of those surveyed...
