Law and Ethics

Every journalist must restrain their inner muckraker and work within the legal and ethical framework. This is especially true for student journalists in states like Texas where they often face legal censorship.

Two rules.

1. Comply with authority

As a student publication, we are subject to prior review and censorship as our school's administration sees fit. If a member of faculty decides that one of our yearbook pages or articles does not represent the school in a positive light, they are well within their legal right to ask us to pull the piece or prevent its publish entirely.

As long as there is no legislation protecting student journalists in Texas, failing to comply with school administration oversight can result in: 1) sanctions upon the program and/or its adviser, and 2) a tarnished relationship between Braswell Media and administration.

It's in the best interest of our publication and the student body it serves to foster a collaborative relationship with the school administration.

2. Put the person first

Though our primary objective is to report the truth, there are times where discretion is required in order to preserve the reputation and the publication's relationship with sources.

During my time with Braswell Media I often spoke off the record with several district employees regarding information of a sensitive nature within the district, such as internal documents listing books banned by the district or comments regarding the firing of a teacher implicated in sexual misconduct with a child.

Though publishing their thoughts would be critical to bringing such potent issues to light, it would also endanger their careers.

Source protection is the Hippocratic Oath of journalism: do no harm.

Break the rest.

Freedom Forum

I served as the Texas representative at the Freedom Forum’s annual Al Neuharth Journalism and Free Spirit Conference in June 2022. In this conference, I was able to speak with several prominent journalists about the importance of the First Amendment in both a journalist’s and a consumer’s life.

Although all of the speakers shared their invaluable experiences with me, one in particular has informed my understanding of the importance of a free press: Megan Twohey.

Twohey, whose work alongside Jodi Kantor exposed Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual abuse against women, reccounted just how difficult it was to get the story out there. Weinstein spent his life paying away and snuffing out any who tried to speak out against him. Without Twohey and Kantor’s relentless pursuit of the truth, no one other than Weinstein’s victims would have known just how dark careers in Hollywood could become for women.

Twohey's story struck a chord with me. I realized that there is always someone who does not want the truth to get out; being able to publish freely is crucial to the service of justice.

New Voices Texas

Censorship from school administration is an obstacle Braswell Media has faced from its beginnings six years ago.

Currently, it is our yearbook that is hit the hardest. Every single page must receive administration approval before submission, a process that can wreck deadlines.

As The Bengal Beat, our sister publication, began to uncover particular stories within our campus and district (such as a list of banned books unavailable to the public and other topics that might be seen as conflicting with district interests), we became fearful that they too would be subject to prior review and face censorship.

Inspired by this thorn in our side, my adviser and I have begun to establish New Voices Texas, an initiative to push legislation protecting student journalists and their publications through the Texas House of Representatives, at Braswell High School.

As of February 2023, we are not yet an official club, a step recommended by the regional representatives of New Voices Texas. However, we are hopeful that these initial steps would have paved the way for New Voices Texas at Braswell to become a fully fledged student organization by August 2024.

This organization, I hope, will be a part of the legacy of pushing the envelope I leave behind after graduation.

Reagan Netherland's name as it appears on the Al Neuharth Journalism and Free Spirit Conference list of previous scholars. Netherland joined a Discord server with all of the 2022 scholars and keeps in touch regularly with student journalists around the country.

Goodies that Reagan Netherland received as a part of her scholarship include a shirt, medal, and several books. Her favorite include Confessions of a S.O.B. by Al Neuharth and Chasing the Truth by Ruby Shamir, Netherland said.

Reagan Netherland uses Canva to design logos such as the one used for New Voices x Braswell.

The signatures of Reagan Netherland and Braswell Media adviser Mr. Carr lay at the bottom of a student organization application form. The two built awareness around the movement in all of the journalism classes throughout the year to get to this point, Netherland said. Click the image to view the full application.

The gist.

Student journalists are still journalists.
Journalism’s primary purpose is create a well-informed public. On a smaller scale, student publications do the same.
Studen journalists need First Amendment protections to realize the value of their voices in a democratic society.