LAW, ETHICS,
NEWS LITERACY
In journalism, I ensure that the understanding of laws allows me to comply and protect against potential liabilities within my work. Ethical standards guide me as a journalist in maintaining integrity, credibility, and trust with my audience. As well news literacy equips me with the skills to critically evaluate information, and combat misinformation. See below how I showcase these morals throughout my work.
DEVOTED TO PRINCIPLES
As a dedicated journalist, I hold myself to the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in reporting. The cornerstone of my journalistic practice lies in upholding principles of honesty, objectivity, and factual accuracy. In every piece of writing, I strive to ensure that the information presented is thoroughly researched, verified, and devoid of personal bias. An exemplary demonstration of my commitment to journalist principles can be found in one of the newspaper stories I wrote regarding the blood drive initiative at our school in collaboration with Memorial Hermann and organized by the student organization HOSA. The article centered around the critical need for blood donations across America, the invaluable skills and experiences it provides for HOSA students, and the profound impact of blood donation on saving lives. In drafting this piece, I devoted myself to adhering to ethical guidelines and prioritizing factual accuracy over personal opinion. Every statement presented was grounded in verifiable information and supported by quotes from credible sources involved in the event. By providing a platform for the voices of those directly involved in the blood drive, such as HOSA members and blood donors, I ensured the authenticity and credibility of their stories. Moreover, I approach each story with a duty to inform and empower readers with reliable information rather than manipulate their views. By maintaining transparency and accountability in my reporting, I strive to build trust and credibility with my audience.
VOICING OPINIONS
As yearbook co-editor-in-chief allowing my staffers to voice their opinions is one of my top priorities. Down below are some of the things I have implemented to make sure everyone has a say.
Distribution Day when we decorate the big gym to hand out the yearbook is the biggest event for our staff so to make the theme chosen fair we create a bracket to vote on. Before it's made staffers get into groups of 3-4 to come up with multiple theme ideas to which we pick the best 16 to add to the bracket. Each week everyone has the opportunity to vote until it's down to the last two and the winner is revealed.
In order to make sure our book is the most diverse as possible we allow our staffers to share their ideas or inputs on the ladder for spreads. This lets us make sure we are covering a variety of topics whether we have the spread or not.
STAYING ETHICAL
The highest priority in journalism is staying ethical in all of your work. To ensure this in all of the staff, we have the AP stylebook and The Journalist's Toolbox in the Resources tab of our Google Drive. All staffers can look at the books to check if needed.