Freedom of Press Shakes a School
We sensationalize this, we downplay that. We misquote here, we change the context there. We slant this, we ignore that.
We are widely considered among the usual suspects, down there with lawyers and used car salesmen. We may be considered a necessary evil, but we’re evil all the same. Nobody trusts us.
This is a lesson being learned by Milton Smith, a 16-year-old journalist for the Courier of Birmingham High School in Van Nuys. He tells the story of a teacher who became upset over his profile of her. Oddly, she objected to this passage:
She doesn’t treat kiss-ups any better than her other students, but feels that all students should be treated equally.
“Their grades should be determined by their work, not their behavior. . . .”
So did Milton get this wrong? Did the teacher really say she gives A’s only to apple-polishers? No. But the teacher told Milton she didn’t remember her quote at all.
“I really got her good,” Milton reports, “because I tape-recorded her.”
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That’s a strange kind of “gotcha!” But at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s first magnet program for journalism, freedom of the press is a scary thing. A teacher says something perfectly reasonable and thank goodness the student reporter has the foresight to use a tape recorder.
Please pardon the teacher for being oversensitive. Birmingham High is adjusting to an aggressive, vibrant press. At a time when prep journalism is in decline, the Courier, a 16-page monthly, is growing and flexing its 1st Amendment rights.
Full disclosure: The Times’ Valley Edition has “adopted” the Birmingham High program, one reason for my interest. Still, the idea of a journalism magnet program gives this former prep editor pause. With so many high school newspapers cutting back or closing, it’s not hard to imagine a magnet program accelerating this trend.
At any rate, the Courier’s Nov. 15 issue, the one in which Smith’s teacher profile appeared, is certainly worth a look. The upper left corner featured this story: “BHS Student Streaks Completely Nude Before Shocked Homecoming Crowd.” The accompanying photo--a side view, fortunately out of focus--showed the headline to be inaccurate. The prankster was, in fact, wearing sneakers and socks, as well as a ski mask to conceal his identity.
“I thought I’d get a thousand phone calls, and I didn’t receive one,” says Gerald Kleinman, Birmingham High’s principal. He suggests it takes plenty to shock parents these days, given what teenagers see at the movies.
On the Birmingham campus, a story on Page 3 created a bigger stir: “Campus Divided: Teachers Feud Over Existence of International Baccalaureate Program.” The story detailed an acrimonious meeting concerning the merits of an academic program known for its international test standards. The article included a passing reference to the uncertainty of one teacher’s retirement plans because of the illness of a family member.
Upset by the story, the teacher accused the Courier of invading her privacy and took her complaint to Kleinman. Another teacher, Sherry-Beth Stern, said her comments, such as the one about teachers riding in limousines, were taken out of context. (Stern says she meant the IB administrators in Switzerland, not Birmingham faculty.) Stern put up posters on campus likening the Courier to the National Enquirer. It was in this climate that the subject of Milton Smith’s story wondered whether she was quoted accurately.
Adrienne Mack, the Courier’s rookie advisor, says the controversy forced her and her students to face real-life ethical questions seldom encountered in the sheltered environment of a classroom. Should a high school newspaper treat teachers as public figures?
In a subsequent editorial, the Courier responded to its critics:
“Mention of a teacher’s possible retirement was not intended to cause any damage, nor divulge any secrets. The reporter repeated what was considered common knowledge. The Courier regrets having caused ill feelings.
“We stand by the article. The meetings were ugly and teachers said many things they probably regretted when they saw it in print.”
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Yes, they probably did. Blaming the messenger is always easy--and often a good idea. Some Courier staffers are discovering that complaints aren’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s trial and error, and at least people are paying attention.
Still, let me pass on some words of advice to the Courier: Avoid self-indulgence. Milton Smith, for example, shouldn’t write news stories that quote . . . Milton Smith. And, please, no more Courier photo layouts about . . . the Courier.
And disclose conflicts of interest. It was interesting to learn, for example, that the streaker is a member of the Courier staff.
