From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,comp.admin.policy,comp.org.eff.talk
Subject:  Re: Where's the "Banned Computer Uses" list?
Date: 11 Aug 1993 13:01:01 -0400
Message-ID: <24b8kd$mqj@eff.org>

Here is some information about the kind of advice a high school or
college newspaper advisor should give. It might help answer some
questions about what kind of advice about content an academic sys
admin should give.

Excerpt from _Law of the Student Press_ by the Student Press Law
Center, 1985 (a new edition should be coming out soon) p. 74:

"While advisors may enjoy certain rights, it is clear that there are
certain responsibilities that come with the job:

 * _To teach_. The advisor's primary function is to teach students how
   to research and to write a story and put together a publication. In
   discharging that duty, the advisor should lecture on such topics as
   ethics, balanced reporting, libel and the First Amendment. There
   is, however, a significant difference between teaching
   "responsible" or "ethical" journalism and censoring material. Once
   these lessons have been transmitted to the students, the advisor's
   responsibility ends, and the final decision whether to publish
   particular articles should be made by the student staff.

 * _To critique student work_. An advisor would be remiss if he or she
   did not evaluate the quality of the stories produced by student
   journalists. [...]

 * _To advise. This is the most important and difficult to define role
   of the publications adviser. When a student staff determines to
   conduct an in-depth investigation into some charges of wrong-doing
   at the school, it is the advisor's duty to discuss with the
   reporters the ramifications of publication: Is there a possibility
   of libel? Can the students protect the confidentiality of their
   sources? Can they verify all facts? Is the story presenting all
   sides of the issues?

   When the staff is considering the publication of four-letter words
   (and note, again, that such words are not obscene under the legal
   definition), it is the advisor's duty to discuss with the students
   the appropriateness of the language. Is there a less offensive way
   of expressing the idea, or is the manner of expression key to the
   point being made? Is it necessary to the core of the story? The
   adviser must also point out that indecent or off-color languages is
   almost never employed in the established adult press.

   [...]

   In all these discussion, the adviser should do just what his title
   implies: advise, but not censor, nor become the editorial arbiter.
   The temptation to take more direct control is natural, but
   educationally and legally questionable.

   [...]

   The limits discussed above should not imply that advisers should be
   mere copy editors. Advisers should engage in open, free and
   continuous discussion about the news value, ethics and legality of
   publication of stories. The adviser should be a respected
   consultant.
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-- 
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me.
 =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =