student journalism
Student journalism has evolved with new platforms and technologies, much like its professional media counterparts. In the 21st century, student media organizations at many U.S. higher education institutions have faced similar challenges with reduced funding, loss of advertising, and declining audiences. High school newspapers report fewer editions or have moved exclusively to websites or news blogs. Likewise, some college newspapers are scaling back or entirely eliminating print editions in favor of digital-only publication, and some college radio stationsā licenses have been sold. Nonetheless, student journalism is seen as providing a valuable forum for experiential learning, and in some cases reporting by student journalists at the high school or college level serves as a key news resource for the wider community. This entry first reviews structures of student media organizations and the platforms they utilize. It then looks at media law affecting student journalists in the United States, and how censorship or other attempts of oversight and control affect student journalists and the work they produce.
Student Journalism in High School and Higher Education
Student journalism, in the form of campus newspapers, existed well before formal journalism courses and programs. Today, at high schools and in higher education, student journalism occurs in both extracurricular and curricular classroom settings, across a wide variety of platforms. Student newspapers, radio stations, television outlets, podcasts, magazines, apps, and digital websites provide students with experiential learning opportunities. Sometimes, the journalism performed is under faculty supervision and editing as part of a course or practicum. In other cases, it functions under the guidance of a faculty adviser to an extracurricular student media organization, with school or student government funding. At some colleges and universities, however, student media outlets are fiercely independent, both financially and editorially.
Student journalism organizations often strive to recreate professional-style newsrooms, reach audiences, cover their communities, break news, and master the tools, skills, and evolving platforms of the profession. These organizations have also had to confront the technical and financial challenges that have riven professional media. Increasingly, student newspapers have decreased or even eliminated costly print editions in favor of reaching audiences on digital platforms. For example, in 2019, American Universityās The Eagle transitioned to printing just once a semester, while continuing to regularly provide student journalism online. And in 2020, the 110-year-old University of Maryland student newspaper The Diamondback transitioned to an online-only publication after dwindling advertising and expanding online readership. At the same time, student journalism organizations have embraced podcasts, social media channels, and other emerging platforms. For example, in 2015, the student newspaper at Californiaās Mt. San Antonio College moved its print newspaper entirely to Twitter and the blogging platform Medium.
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In radio and broadcast, colleges and universities have been increasingly selling off valuable Federal Communications Commission licenses to existing networks such as National Public Radio, or other media conglomerates, because of the value of the asset, the cost of running stations, and the burden of Federal Communications Commission compliance and possible fines. Since 2010, both large and small higher education institutions have sold licenses, sometimes for millions of dollars, for example: Brown University, the University of San Francisco, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, Georgia State, and Gadsden State Community College. As administrators have sold off broadcast licenses, college and university radio stations have turned increasingly to online streaming, whether they have an FM license or not, as younger audiences prefer these digital platforms.
The financial struggles of professional media, while mirrored in student-run journalism organizations, have also proved to be areas of opportunity. In some areas, as thousands of professional community newspapers have shuttered, student journalists have taken the lead in community coverage. For example, student-run The Michigan Daily has been the only daily newspaper in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, since 2009, covering both the city and the University of Michigan. In addition, student journalists are increasingly staffing statehouse bureaus, and some institutions, including the University of Maryland, Arizona State University, and Northwestern University, operate student-staffed news bureaus in Washington, D.C., providing coverage of the U.S. Congress for local media outlets that no longer have Washington correspondents.
Censorship, Control, and Student Journalism
Student journalists in the United States, like their professional counterparts, rely on the protections of the First Amendment. Recent court rulings on student press freedom are inconsistent, however. The clearest direction from the U.S. Supreme Court is that any censorship of student journalism at either the high school or college level must be based on legitimate pedagogical concerns and may not exclusively be content-based and viewpoint-based.
A major ruling by the Supreme Court on student media, in 1988, limited the First Amendment protection for student journalists in Kā12 schools. In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the court ruled that in the case of school-sponsored, curricular student publications at Kā12 schools, administrators could regulate style and content reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. Since Hazelwood, Kā12 school administrators have used prior restraint or prior review to read high school student media publications before they are published, and censor student journalism prepublication.
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Administratorsā censorship has also extended to digital platforms and social media channels utilized by students. Since the Hazelwood ruling, some courts have applied this standard to college publications as well. In recent years, several states have passed New Voices legislation, explicitly protecting the First Amendment rights of student journalists and counteracting the impact of Hazelwood. Although it varies state by state, New Voices legislation generally seeks to protect high school journalists from the reach of Hazelwood, by reverting to a prior Supreme Court standard established in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), which protects student speech unless it creates a clear and present danger or a substantial disruption to the school. New Voices legislation often also seeks to explicitly extend this protection to journalists at both public and private colleges and universities.
Aside from outright censorship or editorial influence, external control over student journalism is also exercised by cuttingāor threatening to cutāstudent media funding, according to the Student Press Law Center. For example, in the wake of investigative reporting by Wichita State Universityās student newspaper, the Student Government Association approved a dramatic reduction in The Sunflowerās annual funding. Other schools have reported administration-approved funding cuts, as well as elimination of faculty advisersā pay or student journalistsā salaries, according to the Student Press Law Center. However, research indicates that higher education journalism programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism in Mass Communication at most public institutions had official rules governing student journalism freedoms and were not experiencing censorship issues.
The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism.