The cornerstone of journalism is the truth and being objective. If what you are writing isn’t the truth then it’s a fiction story, not real journalism. Our goal for the Pantera program is to never be inaccurate. Everything we write we have to write with detachment. For example, my sophomore year when I did the religion spread I spent a lot of time researching each religion before I went to interview someone. The research helped me to not ask leading questions and to stay objective. Being well-educated on the topic you are reporting on helps with inaccuracy and staying objective. We must leave all personal bias out of the piece. The only opinionated voice in a piece comes from the quotes of the people we interview. The reporter can not write with bias. A lot of the time people write without realizing they are putting opinions into the piece. One of the most common mistakes is using -ly adverbs.

News/media literacy is the ability to analyze different pieces of news and media. It is researching, talking with others, challenging ideas, and understanding what really is being said in an article/piece. This year in my AP government class we are also doing a mass media course and learning how to become more news literate. This includes doing research on one article per week. We have to find the bias in the piece and the bias of the news outlet. We also have to find the claim of the piece and identify some of the supporting evidence. We then have to relate the piece and it’s bias back to what we are learning in class.

One concern with journalism at times is protecting our first amendment right of freedom of speech and of the press. As part of first amendment rights our school administration and school board cannot tell us what we can and can’t publish. We are allowed to write and report on what we choose to report on, even if it is a sensitive topic. For example, a few years ago our yearbook published a page on vaping. This page took a lot of research, but also had profiles and quotes from students in the school who did vape. To protect the students who vaped, the page had to be done anonymously. The Shield Law also protects against journalists having to reveal confidential sources. This year we are reporting on students in the school who have mental health problems. The page will also be done anonymously to protect student privacy.