JEA’s semiannual report contains updates from staff, board members, committee chairs, state directors and liaisons.
Kelly Furnas, CJE
Executive Director
JEA Headquarters
Kansas State University
105 Kedzie Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-1501
C: 540-200-8665 | W: 785-532-7822
furnas@ksu.edu
Membership: Voting membership stands at 2,419, up 148 members from last spring and 181 from a comparable time last fall. For the third consecutive reporting period, we have broken records for the number of paid members. California, with 273 members, is our most member-heavy state, with Texas close behind at 259. Over the past year, we have seen significant growth, percentage-wise, in the District of Columbia (up to 12 members from eight a year ago), New York (up to 32 members from 18 a year ago) and Wyoming (up to 11 members from six a year ago). We have also doubled the number of non-U.S. or U.S.-territory members (up to 24 from 12 a year ago).
Happenings:
April 24-25: Journalism/Interactive, Columbia, Missouri
April 30-May 3: Certification Committee meeting, Indianapolis
May 6-10: Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference, Anaheim, California
July 6-9: JEA Advisers Institute, Las Vegas
Aug. 27-30: Connect Marketplace, Pittsburgh
Sept. 11-12: Planning meeting for 2016 Fall National JEA/NSPA Convention, Indianapolis
Sept. 22: Kansas Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference, Manhattan, Kansas
Sept. 25-27: Planning meeting for 2015 Fall National JEA/NSPA Convention, Orlando
Oct. 17-18: Texas Association of Journalism Educators Fall Fiesta, San Antonio
Nov. 12-15: 2015 Fall National JEA/NSPA Convention, Orlando
For the board: It has been a long and bumpy road as we have migrated our membership records to a WordPress-managed database — the first major upgrade to the system since 2008. While replicating all of the pieced-together functionality continues to be arduous, the transition will undoubtedly pay off in terms of security and feature integration.
As of Sept. 18 — about a quarter of the way through the fiscal year — JEA has net operating loss of $33,169.48. That loss is worse when we factor in our investments, which have lost $46,256 so far this fiscal year, giving the organization a total net loss of $79,426. However, none of these figures factor in any revenue from the Orlando convention. JEA’s net assets stand at $1,514,636.
Mark Newton, MJE
President
Mountain Vista High School
10585 Mountain Vista Ridge
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
303-387-1500
themarknewton@gmail.com
Nearly halfway into my second three-year term, it continues to be an honor to serve as JEA president. The respect I have for our executive director and headquarters staff only grows. Executive Director Kelly Furnas and the office staff — Connie Fulkerson, Pam Boller, Lisa Terhaar and Kate Dubiel — are the heart of our volunteer organization. I am so thankful for all they do for me, the board of directors and, most importantly, our members.
Please take a few moments to review the notes from our Denver meeting last April and the subsequent motions and results.
The day-to-day tasks continue to keep me busy. The highlights of my last five months include:
Attended the Excellence in Journalism conference, hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Co-presented a session with the SPLC and the SPJ Education Committee.
Attended a meeting of journalism association leaders (presidents and executive directors).
Networked with professionals, professors and vendors.
Supported and guided all JEA leaders.
Continued to spend a significant amount of time working on all kinds of JEA programs and initiatives, addressing challenges and working hard to accomplish everything that needs to be done.
My main focus has continued to be supporting all the new JEA leaders. A significant portion of my time has been monitoring, supporting and empowering their efforts.
I continue to focus on outreach to professional and sister organizations, networking and trying to find viable partnerships that will enhance our mission, goals and support our members with valuable opportunities.
Please take a moment to review the agenda for our fall board of directors and general membership meetings in Orlando. After taking a look, please be sure to share your ideas, thoughts and opinions with me and/or other JEA leaders. We absolutely value your viewpoints.
I have said this in each of my reports as president and once again there is absolutely no reason to change even one word: Every conversation I have reminds me of how much our staff, board and members want what’s best for our organization. We may not agree 100 percent on the problems or the solutions, but we always do agree to come together for the good of the organization. So many people make JEA great — and I can’t thank you all enough.
I’m excited about our ideas and plans as we work together to move JEA forward in the remaining year and a half of my presidency. I still have a few moves left in me! Sustaining our incredible efforts over the four-and-a-half years will take even more incredible efforts. I hope I will be able to motivate members to share ideas and leaders to accomplish more. Like I said, I still have a few moves left in me!
It truly is an honor to serve JEA. Thank you for the opportunity.
Sarah Nichols, MJE
Vice President
Whitney High School
701 Wildcat Blvd.
Rocklin, CA 95765
916-705-3684
sarahjnichols.sjn@gmail.com
Thank you for the opportunity to serve on this team as part of the largest — and best — organization for journalism educators in the world. I am grateful for our headquarters staff, board members, committee chairs, state directors and other volunteers. I am really proud of the programming happening in our organization and grateful to the dedicated volunteers who are making it happen.
In the time since our last report, I have been involved in a variety of ways, which include:
• Attending a Certification Committee retreat in Indianapolis (May 2015) to help committee members build a new, online version of the CJE exam aligned to the JEA Curriculum Initiative.
• Presenting sessions at JEA Advisers Institute in Las Vegas (July 2015) as well as meeting there with curriculum leaders and mentors. (Here’s a recap on Storify, too.)
• Participating in the AEJMC Scholastic Division Teach-in at San Francisco State University (August 2015) as a session presenter and at the AEJMC conference as part of a scholastic press rights panel with Mark Goodman, Frank LoMonte and Genelle Belmas.
• Appointing and/or confirming new state directors in Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.
• Revising the state directors guide to reflect updated programs and procedures.
• Maintaining JEA’s social media presence through our Facebook page and Instagram account.
• Posting articles as a contributor to the JEA Digital Media site.
• Collecting state director feedback, including concerns and suggestions about convention hotel booking, C:JET, Journalist of the Year and other topics of interest.
• Working with the 11 curriculum leaders and Executive Director Kelly Furnas on the JEA Curriculum Initiative.
In addition, I serve on a committee comprised of members from the JEA and NSPA boards with the focus of possible collaboration and mission overlap. At the November board meeting, I will be proposing a new outreach and training project between the two organizations targeted toward underserved areas.
Thank you for the suggestions you share and the ways you ask, dream, plan, wonder and challenge. My goal is for all members to feel comfortable reaching out to our board members at any time, about any idea, question or concern. We are stronger together, and I appreciate the ways we learn and grow from our collective efforts.
Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE
Past President/SPA Liaison/Nominations Chair
Kent State University
School of Journalism & Mass Communications
201B Franklin Hall Kent, OH 44242-0001
330-672-8297
cbowen@kent.edu
Writing these reports is always a mixed blessing – of course it requires thinking (and sometimes researching) exactly what I HAVE accomplished since the last convention. But then it’s also a chance to see what I and so many others have accomplished because of the dedication and devotion we feel to this organization in particular and to scholastic media in general.
Since April, I have worked to support JEA’s goals in the following ways:
• Scored CJE and MJE tests from the Denver convention and several regional sites (May 2015).
• Attended a Certification Committee meeting in Indianapolis where we revisited the CJE test and aligned it to the JEA Curriculum Initiative while also creating multiple versions that can be administered and scored digitally (May 2015).
• Presented sessions at JEA Advisers Institute in Las Vegas, including a 2-hour session with John Bowen and Lori Keekley about the Press Right’s Committee’s editorial policy package and a single session entitled “Grammar can be (almost) painless” (July 2015).
• Worked with School Newspapers Online (SNO) and Jason Wallestad to have ongoing legal/ethical information and links to the Scholastic Press Rights Committee blog posts in the email newsletters that go to all SNO members.
• Participated in the AEJMC convention of college journalism educators in San Francisco, including a presentation about JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee’s editorial policy with John Bowen and Marina Hendricks at the Teach-in for area high school advisers. I also presented a research paper entitled “A Look at Student Communication Degree Choices: Influences and Timing.” This is part of foundational research I’m doing to show the impact of scholastic media experience on future journalists, a way to emphasize the value of all we do (August 2015).
• Wrote blogs for the JEA Scholastic Press Rights site, including the newest “Students making content decisions – 1/ Administratvie review – 0” (September 2015).
• Participated with other members of the Press Rights Committee to write a sample student media mission statement and update the JEA Adviser Code of Ethics (Fall 2015).
• Offered suggestions to JEA/NSPA’s joint task force to brainstorm and move forward on projects that are valuable for both groups’ members. Hope to find more ways to support this group.
• Maintained the SPA-L listserv for scholastic press association directors and others, sharing JEA news and information plus offering a platform for concerns and problems this group faces, such as judge pay and membership surveys, two of many topics these past five months. I was also able to spread JEA information from the vice president and the Mentoring Committee chair and promote the bylaws change that should encourage more SPAs to become JEA affiliates.
• Maintained the Facebook Scholastic Press Association Roundtable group to continue the conversations that begin at the two-hour convention roundtables.
This fall, I will work more with executive director Kelly Furnas in my capacity as Nominations Committee chair. In particular we will be reviewing the nomination and election procedures. I welcome and encourage any input and suggestions for members to help us make this a fair and transparent process that works for all our members.
John Bowen, MJE
Director, Scholastic Press Rights
Kent State University
School of Journalism & Mass Communications
201 Franklin Hall
Kent, OH 44242-0001
330-672-3666
jabowen@kent.edu | jbowen1007@gmail.com
Since the Denver convention the committee has continued its focus on its Foundation package of editorial policy, ethical guidelines and staff manual, showing how the elements work together to provide a framework for strong student media.
We continue to add ethics and staff manual statements to the Foundation package as situations and incidents – or requests – determine.
We also added work on a mission statement across platforms to provide the principles on which to develop the Foundation package.
Some of our projects can be found here:
Foundations Package
Advisers Institute
Mission Statement
Constitution Day
Making a Difference
The SPRC will also present proposed additions to and revisions of JEA’s Adviser Code of Ethics to be voted on by the JEA board in Orlando.
Commission members presented the Foundations package to advisers at JEA Adviser’s Institute in Las Vegas and at a panel and Teach-in for scholastic advisers at the San Francisco AEJMC convention.
Under Lori Keekley’s guidance, the SPRC prepared its annual set of Constitution Day lessons.
Throughout the time period, SPRC members worked with students and advisers who sought help through our Panic Button and by private contact.
Individual reports
Jane Blystone, MJE
I have worked on the 2015 SPRC Making a Difference initiative. I have been accepting submissions using JotForm and planning the blog posts for the upcoming year. The first one posted Sept. 12.
I nominated Tara Huber for the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award for her work with the student newspaper she advisers. The Playwickian made national news last year for refusing to print the name of the school mascot that the state believes to be a pejorative term for Native Americans. Although she was not chosen, her application was highly praised by NCTE for her courage to support student voice.
I worked with the SPRC to do some think tank work for the ethics materials and have also participated in SPRC panels and forums at the spring convention to help students who need to talk to school boards about their freedom of expression.
Candace Bowen, MJE
I am again one of five contributors to the blog, having posted an article about the Wilson High School prior review situation in mid-September and will continue to post once every five weeks.
I sometimes serve as a coach/editor for other blog posts.
I contributed to the writing and then the ongoing discussion about the sample mission statement as another piece to the Foundations package.
I co-presented sessions about the Foundations package with John Bowen and Lori Keekley at JEA/NSPA in Denver and at JEA Advisers Institute in Las Vegas and with John Bowen and Marina Hendricks at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Teach-in in San Francisco.
I authored the Fall Dow Jones Adviser Update law column about Wilson High School’s prior review.
I developed the online law and ethics course work for the ASNE-Reynolds Foundation at Kent State for 2015.
Mary Kay Downes, MJE
I have been submitting edits [to the SPRC mission statement and code of ethics revision projects]. I spoke with FCPS advisers at our September inservice about our work and encouraged them to join JEA, get involved and ask questions as needed about prior review.
Mitch Eden, MJE
Most of my time the past months SPRC-related have been making sure all schools have an editorial policy.
All summer, with every student/school I worked with at a camp, the first thing we did was go over the KHS Editorial Policy and then impress upon them the need for their school to have an adaptation which is then properly attributed. Many then chose this as their project or goal that summer.
Jan Ewell, MJE
I published a high school beginning journalism text, Journalism: Publishing Across Media through Goodheart-Willcox (and at their request) which includes contact information for the SPLC and enlightened instruction in FERPA, Tinker (and Hazelwood), student press law and private schools, and other items pertinent to student press rights.
I believe it has a chance of being adopted by pertinent states and of being widely circulated through the work of Goodheart-Willcox. A year or two will tell how widely it is circulated, but if it is, it will be more helpful than most concerning student press rights.
Megan Fromm, MJE
I taught copyright law at JEA Advisers Institute in Las Vegas this summer.
I did a student press law primer for the mentors during JEA Advisers Institute as well.
I am back on the roster for writing monthly SPRC blog posts on news literacy.
Marina Hendricks, MJE
I co-presented a session on ethics with Candace Bowen and John Bowen in August. The teach-in was sponsored by AEJMC’s Scholastic Journalism Division as part of AEJMC’s 2015 conference in San Francisco. We drew on the JEA SPRC “Foundations of Journalism” for this session and provided information on how to use these materials with student media staffs.
Also at AEJMC, I presented my paper on mainstream media coverage of the Neshaminy (Pa.) High School newspaper’s effort to ban the school mascot’s name. I hope to submit it soon to an academic journal.
And I agree with Audrey on more involvement/coordination with AEJMC SJD and the CSJ. We talked about that some in San Francisco, and I’m interested in exploring it more fully … just as soon as I get past my comprehensive exams in the spring.
Jeff Kocur, MJE
I worked on Constitution Day, and we are building our coalition for the student free expression act in Minnesota. Our legislative sponsor is taking our language to counsel next week, and we are collecting data and allies.
Sarah Nichols, MJE
During the past few months, I have supported the SPRC in a variety of ways, which include:
• Posting Monday tweets linking to Press Rights Minute clips on SoundCloud.
• Attending the SPRC workshop on Foundations package on policy, ethics and staff manual at the AEJMC Teach-in in August at San Francisco State.
• Participating on a press rights panel at AEJMC to represent scholastic media and censorship challenges.
• Responding to Panic Button requests and coordinating among advisers, students and state directors.
• Discussing model policies and offering feedback on committee projects.
Glenn Morehouse Olson, CJE
I presented a session at the MHSPA Fall Convention in October. Also, I’ve been excited to have 50 new journalism students of my own this year, and they all memorized those 45 words. It’s amazing how little they know about their freedoms when they get to me, and how empowered they are after only a few weeks.
Just got approval from the school board to bring some kids to Orlando for the first time since the Minneapolis convention. Can’t wait!
Lori Keekley, MJE
Since the last report I have coordinated SPRC’s Constitution Day curriculum, helped write the Foundations package (prior to and while at the retreat), answered several Panic Button requests, presented on the Foundations package and continued to update the law and ethics curriculum.
Even more importantly, my students applied for and won a First Amendment Press Freedom Award — and they were very proud of it!
Kathy Schrier, MJE
I presented to the adviser session participants at our WJEA Summer Workshop, a talk about the SPRC website and the gems of information to be found there (Panic Button, Press Rights Minute, Model Policies/Ethics Codes, etc.)
Several advisers told me they had no idea what a rich resource the SPRC site is, and they plan to spend more time going through it in depth.
I also submitted my first Press Rights Minute.
Along with other committee members, I recently participated in the online discussion and provided input on the creation of a model mission statement.
I’m the coordinator for our annual WJEA Journalism Day at the University of Washington, held Sept. 17 (Constitution Day.) Our featured keynoter was Mike Hiestand, who talked about the inspiration that led to the creation of The Tinker Tour and how their year on the road inspired so many to have a greater appreciation for the First Amendment in our democracy.
Randy Swikle, MJE
Scholastic journalism is one primary focus of the Illinois Press Foundation. As a board member of the Foundation, I help keep members updated on issues, activities, challenges and progress regarding journalism curricula and the welfare of free and responsible student news media that are a desired product of the curricula.
As you know, in 2010, the IPF partnered with the McCormick Foundation Civic Program to hold a national conference in Wheaton, Ill., at the Cantigny Park estate of Robert R. McCormick, the crusading former publisher of the Chicago Tribune. One of the outcomes of that event was the creation of Protocol for Free & Responsible Student News Media, an 80-page book that serves as a guide for creating a fair balance of freedom and structure that can be achieved when stakeholders work in partnership to nurture the competence and ethical development of student journalists in an environment that inspires civic engagement and First Amendment values. I am working on ideas to create a companion book, such as Rationale for Free & Responsible Student News Media. I think I could get financial backing from the IPF for such a project that could profoundly benefit the welfare of scholastic journalism.
I ask members of the SPRC to offer other ideas for the IPF to consider as options for financial backing.
On another front, I am in a group of six collaborators who are brainstorming projects to improve the status of civic education in secondary schools. Since the Protocol we created five years ago has civic education and engagement as a foundation of its structure and purpose, it could be used as a component of a new project. One member of our group is actor Richard Dreyfuss, a longtime civic education proponent whose marquee value could draw attention and support for a campaign to promote scholastic journalism and student news media as essential vehicles in delivering the school mission of civic education and engagement. Your ideas will be welcomed.
I continue promoting the goals of the SPRC via speaking engagements and contacts with scholastic journalism stakeholders. Last week I spoke at the Illinois Journalism Education Association conference at the University of Illinois. It attracted several hundred students and their advisers. Part of my talk was directed at the importance of nurturing rapport with school officials and other journalism stakeholders while promoting the value of delivering authentic American journalism that reflects the functions and exemplary ethics of the American press.
The IJEA is preparing to launch another effort for state legislation on scholastic press rights. You may remember that Illinois came close to achieving that goal in 1997. Our press rights bill passed the House 109-4 and the Senate 57-0, but the governor (Jim Edgar) vetoed it. I plan to be intimately involved in the lobbying once a Bill is proposed. As a side note, President Obama was a state senator when we were lobbying for the Bill. He strongly supported the legislation. In fact, Susan Tantillo reminded him of his support shortly before he was elected President, and he recalled the legislation and his disappointment that the governor vetoed it.
In the current C:JET, I wrote two articles that dealt directly with Howard Spanogle’s Echo staff reunion and indirectly with the value of free and responsible student news media.
Finally, I am working on a number of other articles aimed at advancing the causes of the SPRC.
John Tagliareni, CJE
I have continued to work to advance the goals of the SPRC. I have worked to again get press rights and teacher protection legislation introduced in New Jersey, and I am working with Mary Beth Tinker, who will be our keynote speaker at our Fall Press Day Conference. In addition, I helped to initiate a student affiliate organization of the Garden State Scholastic Press Association, and I am working to prepare them for a joint session with Mary Beth at our conference. I have helped advisers and students, both in New Jersey and nationally, and I will continue to speak at conferences to promote student press rights, as I have in the past.
First, as I explained in a message to the SPRC when I first made the announcement, Assemblywoman Donna Simon, a Republican, agreed to sponsor our student press rights legislation. Fellow Garden State Scholastic Press Association board member Tom McHale and I met with her in August, and she was very receptive to our cause. She had already reviewed the North Dakota and California legislation, which Tom had provided.
In addition, Tom was getting support from the New Jersey Education Association, which was already moving our bill through committees and will present it to the NJEA Legislative Assembly. The committee members have shown support for the teacher protection part of the legislation. We discussed this with Assemblywoman Simon, and we expect that she will include that in her bill. We are working with her staff, and we have put her in contact with Frank LoMonte. I have worked with Frank since then, to make sure we will have the best legislation, and Tom and I have continued to work together.
The NJEA representatives will get a Democratic sponsor, and since Democrats control both houses, this would have to be a bipartisan bill. We discussed this point, with the assemblywoman, and she said she can work with the Democrats on this. I think the overwhelming support in the bipartisan effort of the North Dakota legislation, made an impression on her.
Assemblywoman Simon will attend our conference, and we are inviting other legislators and groups as well. I spoke with the executive director of the ACLU NJ, and I am working to secure the endorsements from the SPJ, The League of Women Voters and The NJ Press Association, among others. We are confident we have the support of at least three major newspapers. We had been forming a coalition, and now, there is an urgency to get support.
In addition, Mary Beth Tinker was our keynote speaker at our conference at Rutgers University Oct. 26. The timing is perfect for her visit. Mary Beth had offered her assistance for our legislation previously, and if we have a bill introduced in the assembly by then, our Press Day event will be a great way to publicize it.
We also formed a student affiliate of our organization last year, and the members have become very active, and will support the legislation. I have been very involved in making sure that the group is growing and thriving. Student officers will present a session with Mary Beth Tinker at the conference at Rutgers. I am working directly with both the students and Mary Beth to make their presentation as effective as possible.
The group, which includes some former student editors who now attend college, as well as current staffers, complete much of their work online and through social media. They have become more active in their local school districts. They want to make changes and to become empowered to take the initiative to fight for their rights. They produced a PowerPoint to promote more membership at the conference, and they created videos of student editors who explained their roles and discussed ways to make changes on their publications. They are writing letters to the editors of their local newspapers as well. We will post their videos on the GSSPA website when they are completed.
I spoke at the Garden State Scholastic Press Association Conference at Rutgers University on Oct. 26 and the GSSPA Spring Conference in May 2015. I will speak at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference Nov. 2. and at the CSPA Spring Convention in New York in March 2016.
I have been helping advisers and student from Vashon Island in Washington State, who saw my sessions at Columbia last year and requested my advice. I was very pleased to help with the Panther Prowler situation in California. I wrote a letter to the board of education members there, as did other SPRC members, and the situation was resolved in favor of the students. As usual, I help advisers and students in New Jersey, via email or phone.
I would like the committee to continue to be active in taking a high profile role each time there is a student censorship case or a teacher who is disciplined or fired for protecting his or her students’ rights. I also would like to discuss the practicality of a student affiliate group on a national level, since we have seen the benefits of forming a student group in New Jersey.
I will continue to support the goals of the SPRC, and I look forward to a successful year.
Audrey Wagstaff, MJE
I have presented sessions at JEA and OSMA on censorship and on student media law. I’m also collaborating on a new censorship study (stay tuned). I’ve remained an officer in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC, and just earned tenure at Hiram College (if that means anything now that I’m in a new role at Wilmington).
For the future, I would like to see us think about ways to collaborate with the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC as well as what we can do to continue close work with the Center for Scholastic Journalism.
Stan Zoller, MJE
I continue to present a session on Freedom of Information and Public Access at several high school journalism workshops and will at the upcoming Orlando Conference.
I continue to blog for the SPRC site on scholastic press rights, freedom of information and public access.
I am chairing the Illinois JEA’s Legislation Committee. This committee is beginning pursuing anti-Hazelwood legislation in Illinois. The committee will work closely with SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte.
Megan Fromm, CJE
Director, Educational Initiatives
Colorado Mesa University
1100 North Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81501
970-640-0609
megfromm@gmail.com
As always, my thanks goes to the membership for allowing me to serve another season. I’m always amazed at how our teachers, advisers, administrators and JEA staff continue to fight the good fight even through the dog days of summer. Since the Denver convention, I’ve been working on a variety of activities:
I taught two sessions at the JEA Advisers Institute in Las Vegas — one on copyright law and one on feature writing. I also attended the curriculum workshop to brainstorm the next phase of this project.
I taught a student press law primer for mentors, also at Advisers Institute. Working with the mentor program is always one of the highlights of the year for me because I get to see what a lifetime of passion and commitment to journalism education looks like. And, let me tell you, these folks are amazing!
The fall semester is the start of blogging season again for the Scholastic Press Rights Committee blog, and I’ve committed to writing at least once a month on issues of law, ethics and news literacy. I also helped to develop model student media policies by offering feedback and ideas on different drafts of the project.
I continue to work on the news literacy curriculum as a curriculum leader. This year, I’m testing a new member feature to provide news literacy content and resources through the JEA Listserv.
As part of the board’s goal to implement research in the scholastic journalism community, I continue to immerse myself in research regarding college- and career-readiness. In partnership with NSPA and the Center for Scholastic Journalism, I am hoping to finalize this fall a research plan that explores how journalism education develops career-readiness skills.
In November, I will lead a panel session at the International Media Education Summit in Boston on how higher and secondary education can work together to improve media education at all levels. Our 2014 Broadcast Teacher of the Year, Don Goble, will join me on that panel.
I look forward to seeing you all in Orlando, and please don’t hesitate to let us know how we can better serve you!
Carrie Faust, MJE
Director-At-Large
Smoky Hill High School
16100 E. Smoky Hill Road
Aurora, CO 80015
720-886-5469
faust.carrie@gmail.com
November 2015 finds me halfway through my term as one of your directors-at-large. I have learned over the last 18 months that the members of the Journalism Education Association are the most hard-working, creative and committed educators around, and it’s an honor to be part of the board that represents that dedicated body.
My work since the Denver convention has focused on one of our newer initiatives: the Principals Outreach Committee. This committee was formed in response to the following JEA board goal: Increase administrator participation in JEA programming, including increased representation from administrator groups, administrator chaperones and Administrator of the Year award nominations.
Our initial goal was to have a website up and running in time for the spring 2015 convention. While we did not reach that goal, I am happy to report that a comprehensive resource for administrators is now available at principals.jea.org. This site was designed from the perspective of principals and administrators navigating the world of scholastic journalism. The format of the resources contained within was intended to reflect the questions and concerns of administrators and respond in kind. Some of the site resources are: FAQs About Scholastic Publications, Important Court Cases, Success Stories and Principals’ Corner.
In the next six months, the Principals Outreach Committee plans to continue collecting success stories and showcasing principals and administrators who truly understand scholastic press rights and the importance of a free and responsible student press. In Los Angeles, we plan to present a session welcoming administrators and encouraging them to access the resources JEA has to offer them, their advisers and their journalism programs. We also hope to create training opportunities and and outreach options that cater to principals and administrators.
The members of the Principals Outreach Committee continue to be: Linda Ballew, MJE, Erin Coggins, MJE, Adam Dawkins, CJE, Annie Gorenstein-Falkenberg, CJE, Stephanie Hanlon, Leslie Shipp, MJE, Matthew Smith and Tom Winski, MJE.
If you have a passion for making advocates out of administrators, please contact me about joining our committee.
If you have ideas for our committee or stories to share about principals who get it or success stories for our archives, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Stan Zoller, MJE
Director-At-Large
1448 Camden Court
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
847-421-5278
sezoller@gmail.com
Since my last report, the newly re-created Diversity Committee has met and is developing goals, objectives and strategies related to involvement in scholastic journalism by various subgroups including students of color, LGBT and those with special needs.
The committee will be looking at ways of helping advisers to enhance their programs so their coverage and staff includes all segments of the student population at their school.
In addition to student participation, committee members have expressed concern about ways to build to create programs in under-served and under-funded schools. A key component will be partnerships with allied journalism and academic organizations. A goal here will be not only to increase student involvement, but to provide resources for journalism educators in these schools by assisting them with identifying potential funding sources and, if possible, getting them to JEA where they can build their network and develop new resources.
The committee includes current advisers, retired advisers and collegiate journalism educators.
In addition to my work with the Diversity Committee, I continue to work closely with John Bowen, chair of the Scholastic Press Rights Committee, not only as a member who blogs about various press rights topics, but also as chair of the Illinois Journalism Education Association’s Legislation Commission, which is in the initial phase of developing a plan to overturn Hazelwood in Illinois. We are working closely with Frank LoMonte from the Student Press Law Center.
Casey Nichols, CJE
Awards Committee Chair
2215 Solitude Way
Rocklin, CA 95765
916-792-6699
caseyenichols@gmail.com
Preparing for our conventions in Orlando and Los Angeles, the JEA Awards Committee continues to define, evolve and streamline our digital submission and voting processes. Again I feel blessed to have the support of headquarters, the board and many bright, talented, experienced members who serve on the committee or one of our specialty committees.
Since the fall 2014 report we accomplished the following:
We completed a revision of the Broadcast and Yearbook Adviser of the Year applications by Sept. 1 with an Oct. 15 deadline for submission. The goal was to align the questions with the scoring guide and to streamline the process both for the applicants and judges. The applications will be scored between Oct. 17 and Nov. 8 and results compiled in Orlando.
The Student Journalist Impact Award was announced at the spring convention in Denver. Kenson Siver led the judging subcommittee.
We announced the fall awards in a timed series (10 a.m. Central) in the final full week of August. Again the chair called all recipients, and in some categories the nominator, a day ahead of the formal announcement. This year follow-up emails were sent the same night to the winner, and nominator and Connie Fulkerson of headquarters continued to coordinate luncheon attendance.
We expanded the primary committee to 15 members to achieve regional balance. Ellen Austin and Mitch Ziegler, both of California, agreed to serve and both participated in fall awards voting.
The chair will be working with John Bowen of the Student Press Rights Committee to develop a follow-up letter for Adviser of the Year recipients, which will outline expectations including support of JEA’s mission and core values.
We continue to work on refining definitions of awards on the Web. We also plan on continuing to work toward support and definition of awards announced off the primary convention cycle. These include the Future Teacher Scholarship and the Student Impact Award.
A special thanks to Connie Fulkerson and Kelly Furnas of headquarters for their efforts in this transition period.
Awards Committee members: Martha Akers, Ellen Austin, Sara-Beth Badalamente, Brian Baron, Linda Barrington, Jane Blystone, Linda Drake, Charla Harris, Monica Hill, Kathy Schrier, Cindy Todd, Ann Visser, Karen Wagner, Carmen Wendt, Mitch Ziegler.
Sub-committee chairs: Candace Perkins Bowen, Future Teacher Scholarship; John Bowen, First Amendment Press Freedom Award; Rebecca Pollard, Journalist of the Year; Kenson Siver, Student Journalist Impact Award.
2015 Student Journalist Impact Award
Kellen Browning and Grace Richey, The HUB, Davis (Calif.) Senior High School (Kelly Wilkerson, adviser)
The $1,000 Future Teacher Scholarships were awarded in September to these current teachers working to attain a master’s degree in journalism education.
2015 Future Teacher Scholarships
Amy Beare, Kent (Ohio) State University
Katie Comeford, Kent (Ohio) State University
Kelsey Jackson, Kent (Ohio) State University
Lindsey Ross, CJE, Kent (Ohio) State University
JEA will recognize the following award winners at the Saturday luncheon at the fall convention in Orlando, Florida:
Administrator of the Year
Michael Havener, Kirkwood (Mo.) High School
Carl Towley Award
Sarah J. Nichols, MJE, Whitney High School, Rocklin, Calif.
Friend of Scholastic Journalism
Angela Filo, Yellow Chair Foundation, Palo Alto, Calif.
Wendy Wallace, CJE, The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Vicky Wolfe, CJE, Herff Jones Inc., Indianapolis
Lifetime Achievement Award
Deb Buttleman Malcolm, MJE, Moline, Ill.
Linda P. Evanchyk, MJE, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Ann Healey, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Barbara B. Hines, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Gary Lindsay, MJE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Michael B. Riley, CJE, Cody, Wyo.
Sandra Strall, South Rockford, Mich.
Steven Jay Thor, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Steven Unruhe, Durham, N.C.
Thomas E. Winski, MJE, Roseville, Ill.
Medal of Merit
Don Bott, A.A. Stagg High School, Stockton, Calif.
Deanne Heinen Brown, Westlake High School, Austin, Texas
Linda P. Evanchyk, MJE, Choctawhatchee High School, Fort Walton Beach, Calif.
Brenda W. Gorsuch, MJE, West Henderson High School, Hendersonville, N.C.
Kim Green, MJE
Certification Committee Chair
Ball State University
Department of Journalism
AJ 300
Muncie, IN 47306
W: 765-285-8900 | C: 812-525-8502
kgreenmje@gmail.com | klgreen@bsu.edu
Certification began the “summer season” with a retreat in Indianapolis April 30-May 3. Attendees included JEA Executive Director Kelly Furnas, Vice President Sarah Nichols and my JEA Headquarters partner Pam Boller along with committee members Candace Bowen, Bryan Hayes, Jane Blystone, Rod Satterthwaite, Cathy Wall, Liz Walsh and me. Joe Mirando and Joe Humphrey were unable to attend but submitted input.
The main goal of the retreat was to take input from the JEA Curriculum Initiative module leaders as well as test questions currently in use to align the CJE exam with the curriculum. In addition, the effort made the test more streamlined and balanced in the types of questions (multiple choice, short answer and demonstration) used to test.
With help from Kelly Furnas, we made the exam completely digital with the intent to beta test it at JEA Advisers Institute in July. We had two curriculum leaders take the digital test in Las Vegas, and they offered suggestions for wording improvement and helped scope out some other glitches, but our most-feared problem — Wi-Fi issues — did not materialize!
And thanks to Kelly, we also digitized the application process for CJE (Options A, B and C) and MJE as well as renewals for each. In addition, Pam and I “cleaned the database closet.” The overall goal was to streamline the application process to make it more efficient.
We phased in the digital applications for the Sept. 1 deadline for Orlando, although some folks already applied last spring before the new applications. We had a couple of paper applications closer to the deadline, but the vast majority of applications were submitted in the new format. We are on our way!
The “summer season” continued with multiple testing sites from Colorado to Las Vegas to Dallas to Kansas City. We tested 20 CJEs and two MJEs. We had two more test sites scheduled in September through IJEA and NoCalJEA at which we tested five CJEs and three MJEs. All sites mentioned used the older version of the test.
In Orlando, we will test 19 CJEs and two MJEs using the new digital format Nov. 13 from 3:30 until 6 p.m.
We will also recognize 45 CJEs, 29 CJE renewals, four MJEs and 11 MJE renewals at Saturday’s adviser luncheon.
I so appreciate my headquarters partner Pam Boller! Without her, this new application process would have been overwhelming. I am also blessed to have such great committee members who worked hard during the spring, over the summer and into the fall to ensure all tests were evaluated in a timely manner. What a wonderful group!
Nancy Y. Smith, MJE
Contests Committee Chair
Lafayette High School
17050 Clayton Road
Wildwood, MO 63011
W: 636-733-4118 | C: 314-704-1242
nysmithjea@gmail.com
National Write-off team:
Nancy Y. Smith, MJE: Write-off Chair
Priscilla Frost, CJE: Print/Design Coordinator
Bradley Wilson, CJE: Photo Coordinator
Kris Doran: Broadcast Coordinator
April Van Buren, MJE: National Journalism Quiz Bowl Coordinator
Laura Zhu, CJE: Junior High/Middle School National Media Contest
Allie Staub, Junior High/Middle School National Media Contest
Mark Murray: Technology
Committee updates: Allie Staub from Westfield Middle School has joined the team to work with Laura Zhu on the Junior High/Middle School contests.
Contest updates: The Junior High/Middle School National Media Contest was re-introduced this year and entries were due in March. The categories include Yearbook, Newspaper, Photography and Broadcast. Entries were judged in the late spring and students received awards before the end of the school year. Laura Zhu will survey middle school/junior high teachers for feedback so that we can make any needed changes or improvements before the 2016 contest. For Write-offs we revised the Social Media Reporting contest and added a Themed Photo contest for Orlando.
Committee goals:
Put past prompts and winners on the website for advisers to access.
Revise the contest critique sheets to align with the JEA Curriculum Initiative.
Add a summer photo contest (perhaps summer 2016).
Recent Write-offs participation:
Write-offs, Spring 2015 in Denver: 989 in 49 contests
Write-offs, Fall 2014 in Washington, D.C.: 2,168 in 47 contests
2015 Junior High/Middle School National Media Contest: 240 entries in its first year
Aaron Manfull, MJE
Digital Media Committee Chair
Francis Howell North High School
2549 Hackman Road
Saint Charles, MO 63303
636-851-5107
aaron.manfull@fhsdschools.org
JEADigitalMedia.org has continued to grow and we have continually worked to reassess the most pressing needs of students and advisers. We have been tracking data so we can get a gauge of how we are doing with this. I will only touch on part of it here; please let me know if you’d like to have any other data and I will make sure to get it to you.
I have decided to compare six-month periods of the site (from March 13-Sept. 13 and Sept. 14-March 12) each year that I do this. They are even six-month periods and will allow us to get an annual report together in time for each convention.
In our four years of existence, we had more than 900 posts published (roughly three per week), 332,754 visits, and 628,001 pageviews. Including myself, there are more than 55 members of the committee who are on an email list. Twelve different people contributed posts to the site during the past six months. Nine committee members are considered contributors for posting at least three times over the past six months or because they work with other parts of the site. They are:
Aaron Manfull – 16 posts
Michelle Harmon – 7 posts
Michelle Balmeo – 4 posts
Michael Hernandez – 3 posts
Dave Davis – 3 posts
Don Goble – 3 posts
Dennis Leizear – Emailing the Listserv weekly in March
Rachel Rauch – Emailing the Listserv weekly in May
Kyle Phillips – Maintaining maps
Also contributing to the site during the time period were Jill Burns, Brian Heyman, Sarah Nichols, Matt Rasgorshek, Jonathan Rogers and Michelle Turner.
While some of the wording is cut off on the following charts, the graphs move from the least recent six-month period on top to the most recent six-month period on the bottom.
Below are the most clicked posts/pages from the last six months:
We also have a presence on Twitter and Facebook (links below). With the efforts focused on creating posts and content for the site, those social accounts have not been as socially active as we would like.
We have been busy with a few things since Denver.
Don Goble was recognized in Denver as the 2015 National High School Broadcast Adviser of the Year. Dave Davis and Matt Rasgorshek were recognized as Distinguished Advisers. We have been busy promoting the 2016 Broadcast Adviser of the Year competition. Applications were due Oct. 15. Lindenwood University was a great sponsor the first two years. They chose not to renew their sponsorship. We are currently in talks with other potential sponsors for the award.
The team is still working to update guides, expand guide offerings and maintain weekly posting schedules. By the time the Fall 2015 Orlando convention arrives, we will have a Live Broadcasting Guide online.
As a reminder, Aaron Manfull worked to create an advertising structure for JEADigitalMedia.org. Information on advertising on the site can be found at http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/advertise-with-us/. School Newspapers Online has purchased the main widget area for a second year. We also have a rotating ad area within posts and pages where we will work to push to summer journalism workshops and other advertisers as well.
We will discuss our goals at our committee meeting in Orlando, but I have a feeling we will work to continue some of our current areas of focus: 1) Continue to build a deeper broadcast presence on the site as it remains one of our biggest draws; 2) Continue to post relevant articles for those wanting help with their online journey; 3) Work to publicize the site more on the Listserv and other places.
As always, if there is anything anyone would like to see on the site, please email us at info@jeadigitalmedia.org.
Here are the links I said I would make available:
Visitor data for JEADigitalMedia.org: http://bit.ly/9fEoUf
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeadigitalmedia
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jeadigitalmedia
Guide to Moving Online: http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/guide-to-moving-online/
Guide to Video and Broadcast: http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/guide-to-broadcast-video/
Guide to Multimedia Tools: http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/multimedia-tools/
Rebecca Pollard. CJE
National High School Journalist of the Year Committee Chair
Heritage High School
14040 Eldorado Parkway
Frisco, TX 75035
W: 469-633-5900 x25914
pollardr@friscoisd.org
What a gratifying experience it has been to oversee this contest during the past year. I was pleased to see the the contest changes to Journalist of the Year finally taking shape.
I have had my ears open to all who have given me feedback from the state and national level. Feedback for improvements was carefully evaluated for the 2016 contest. Judges and contestants of the national contest were surveyed, and the results were helpful in gauging how all the changes ultimately affected the contest.
Moving forward, the requirements and guidelines for the contest are similar to last year. Most of the refining is behind the scenes. We are organizing more publicity for our winners and streamlining that process.
I have reviewed the tutorials published a year ago to ensure that all the details are still accurate. There were a few updates made to ensure we stay current.
In Orlando, the 2015 Journalist of the Year, Julia Poe, and Awards Committee Member Mitch Ziegler will present a session to JOY hopefuls about applying for the contest and how to build a portfolio. They also will give advice from their experience to help those who attend. I would like to thank Julia and Mitch for their time and talents to help future candidates.
The following students were recognized at the Sunday awards ceremony at the spring convention in Denver:
2015 National High School Journalist of the Year
Julia Poe, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kan. (C. Dow Tate, adviser)
Runners-up
Andrea Johnson, Southside High School, Fort Smith, Ark. (Susan Colyer, MJE, adviser)
Jackson Brook, Palo Alto (Calif.) High School, (Paul Kandell, adviser)
Gabe Rodriguez, Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mark Newton, MJE, adviser)
Daniel Bodden, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo. (Aaron Manfull, MJE, adviser)
Mia Karr, Harrisonburg (Va.) High School (Valerie Kibler, CJE, adviser)
Nicholas Fiorillo, Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) High School (Vincent DeMiero, adviser).
2015 Aspiring Young Journalist
Declan Palmer, Sierra Middle School, Parker, Colo. (Jed Palmer, CJE, adviser)
Jonathan Rogers, MJE
Professional Outreach Committee Chair
Iowa City High School
1900 Morningside Dr.
Iowa City, IA 52245
319-855-2559
jashmore.rogers@gmail.com
For outreach, I have been working with the JEA team on updating our booth with new banners, handouts from journalism organizations, new JEA Digital Media connections and fresh candy for the fall conference season. I represented JEA at the International Society for Technology Educators and the Iowa Technology Education Conference, posted highlights on JEADigitalmedia.org and will be attending the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention in Minneapolis in November. At the ISTE conference in Philadelphia I met with Flipboard, who proposed a collaboration on a high school journalism magazine. The details for this collaboration are still being worked out with a possible release this fall.
A big thanks to Linda Barrington and Brian Wilson for easing my transition into this position. I look forward to developing this position over the next few years.
Linda Barrington, MJE
Mentoring Committee Chair
Mount Mary University
2900 N. Menomonee River Pkwy
Milwaukee, WI 53222
lbarring@wi.rr.com
Mentor Committee members: Linda Barrington, MJE; Bill Flechtner, MJE; Peggy Gregory, CJE; Gary Lindsay, MJE; Mary Anne McCloud, Carmen Wendt, MJE. All committee members are also mentors.
Active mentors: In addition to the six committee members, we have 35 other mentors: Bob Bair, Linda Ballew, Ron Bonadonna, Karen Boone, Vicki Brennan, Marilyn Chapman, Phyllis Cooper, Wayne Dunn, Carol Eanes, Megan Fitzgerald, Dianne Gum, Cornelia Harris, Janice Hatfield, Ray Hopfer, Sandy Jacoby, Sheila Jones, Konnie Krislock, Joy Lessard, Kay Locey, Casey Nichols, Nancy Olson, Katherine Patrick, Mike Riley, Carol Smith, Steve Slagle, Nora Stephens, Carol Strauss, Katharine Swan, Steve Unruhe, Ann Visser, Dave Wallner, Carmen Wendt, Jo Zimmerman, Stan Zoller and Kathy Zweibel.
Changes and what we’ve learned: We continue to receive requests for mentors at conventions, on our website, through email and sometimes via scholastic press association events in various states. More requests for mentors from people in states without mentors means that we are doing more long-distance mentoring in those places. Last year, five mentees were mentored through long-distance pairing. This year, 14 long-distance mentees are already signed up. With 14 percent of mentees receiving long-distance mentoring, we hope this will provide a stimulus to those state scholastic press associations to join the program next year. Because of long-distance mentoring, we now have mentees in nine states that don’t have mentors: Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, as well as Washington, D.C., Colombia and Japan.
This summer we trained eight new mentors at JEA Advisers Institute: Bob Bair (Nebraska), Linda Ballew (Montana), Karen Boone and Ray Hopfer (Oregon), Vicki Brennan and Megan Fitzgerald (Florida), Katherine Patrick (Wyoming) and Steve Unruhe (North Carolina). In addition, three retired/inactive mentors are returning as part-time mentors.
We have learned that partnering with JEA’s Outreach Academy at the national conventions is a good way to find new mentees. Our Mentor Forum room and their meeting room are next to each other; we eat together in the Outreach Academy room. This gives us a chance to talk to them about the program, and they can meet mentors right away. This collaboration is also supportive of the goals of the Outreach Academy, which seeks support for these new teachers throughout the year and not just at the convention.
We need to learn more about broadcast, as many of our mentees are doing this. We have only one mentor who has the experience to help them, but he has a full load of mentees already. More of us need to learn how to help broadcast advisers. The JEA Digital Committee has wonderful resources for broadcast on its website and we can use that for support. Last January we had a discussion with someone from the Society for Professional Journalists. They are starting a mentoring program and wanted our advice and feedback. When we needed broadcast mentors this summer, we turned to this contact at SPJ. He agreed to mentor a new teacher in his area, not as part of our program, but just so she would have the assistance she needed. This may be another solution to this challenge, partnering with broadcast professionals to help new broadcast teachers.
Honors, awards and successes: We are pleased that Angela Filo from the Yellow Chair Foundation will be honored by JEA as a Friend of Scholastic Journalism. She will receive the award at the spring convention.
Our biggest program success continues to be the retention rate of our mentees. Last year we had 88 mentees. Seventy-five are continuing this year, giving the program a retention rate of 85.4 percent in 2014-2015. That is a 7 percent increase over the previous year’s 78 percent retention rate. Both years’ retention rates exceed the national average. We are always interested in the reasons why some of our mentees do not remain in journalism. Some of them were transferred to another school; one will be attending divinity school; another is moving to Mongolia; a couple mentees cited lack of administrative support; two programs were cut from the budget; one mentee cited health reasons.
Each year mentors report that several mentees and former mentees are becoming active in their state associations. Two San Diego mentees were the local chairs for the JEA/NSPA in spring 2014. Many are now in leadership positions around the country. Twelve former mentees have been JEA Rising Stars in the past five years. Currently, two former mentees are JEA state directors, one is a JEA committee chair, one serves on the board of Quill and Scroll, one is in charge of a JEA subcommittee and 20 are on the boards of state scholastic press associations. A growing number are teaching at summer journalism workshops around the country. One is a curriculum leader for the JEA Curriculum Initiative. Certainly, some of