Purpose of The Insider:
·
To
teach students the rules of professional journalism while promoting creative
expression.
·
To provide
the student body with a forum of open expression within boundaries established
by the student newspaper guidelines.
·
To
enlighten the school community about events relevant to it.
Principles
of The Insider:
In
order to uphold the guidelines of good journalism, The Insider will strive to:
·
Be
accurate.
·
Be
fair.
·
Be
timely.
·
Be
tasteful
·
Provide
coverage that can’t be found from other local sources.
·
Set
high standards for quality reporting, writing, editing, graphics and design.
·
Emphasize
school and local coverage while including state, national and world news.
·
Be
interesting, amusing, entertaining and surprising.
·
Show
courage and independence in faithfully reporting both good and bad news.
·
Encourage
and involve the community in school activities and efforts.
·
Provide
an opinion forum reflecting a wide variety of views.
·
Recognize
and cultivate the newspaper’s role as a community historian.
Responsibilities of Insider Student Journalists:
·
Shall
adhere to professional journalistic standards and ethics.
·
Shall
adhere to the district’s philosophy of education and its educational goals and
objectives.
·
Shall
be open to student expression and shall be available to the student body and
members of the community.
·
Shall
report and editorialize on events, ideas or issues affecting the school,
community, state, nation, and world.
·
Shall
report in a balanced, objective manner.
·
Shall
produce articles that contain proper sentence structure, grammar, spelling and
punctuation.
·
Shall
know, understand and observe applicable laws regarding libel, slander,
obscenity, privacy, and copyright.
·
Shall
refrain from publishing material that is sexually explicit, vulgar, lewd,
libelous, offensive or obscene.
·
Shall
refrain from publishing materials that promote or encourage student walkouts,
sit-ins, boycotts or other activities that create a substantial interference
with day-to-day school activities.
Responsibilities of Insider Advisers:
·
Shall
guide and direct student publications in a manner consistent with the
district’s educational goals and objectives.
·
Shall
review materials for violations of the student newspaper guidelines and work
with students to correct those errors.
·
Shall
help students write in an accurate, responsible manner.
·
Shall
help students write with good form and style.
·
Shall
teach students the professional standards of journalism.
·
Shall
review and discuss standards of good taste as they instruct and guide the publication.