THE WEEKLY SCROLL

January 31, 2022.

The Lede

Supreme Court Switch

Breyer retirement opens door for Biden to appoint a Black woman

At 83, Justice Stephen Breyer shared news of his plans to formally retire from the U. S. Supreme Court at the end of the court term, after a replacement is named.

Breyer’s retirement creates an opportunity for President Joe Biden to appoint a candidate that aligns with his values. In March 2020 during a presidential debate Biden said, “If I’m elected president and have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I’ll appoint the first Black woman to the courts.”

And on the eve of Black History Month, guesses start to pour in on just who his pick will be. 

Former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall/Unsplash

Here’s what you can do:

First, How about an overview of the court’s history? Or even a look into how the court has been changed in number over the years?

February is Black History Month in the U.S., and with Biden’s announcement imminent, it would be interesting to review the two Black Americans who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court: Thurgood Marshall (1967-1991) and Clarence Thomas (1991-present). Marshall and Thomas have left two very different legacies, and Thomas’ wife is making news for her support of former President Donald Trump and the attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Second, Virginia Thomas’ political activism in support of ultra-rightist causes raises ethical questions around conflicts of interest, a key component in journalistic circles. Why not review what potential conflicts of interest you may have on your staff and how you try to mitigate those?

Finally, will this court reverse Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that made abortion access legal in the U.S.? Many legislatures in conservative states — Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah — have already passed “trigger laws” that will make abortion illegal in those states should Roe be overturned, while more liberal states such as New Jersey and Maryland are passing bodily autonomy bills, enshrining access to abortion in their constitutions. Where does your state legislature stand on the issue?

Discovering the answers to these questions will provide a local lens for your readers.

Book Banned

Tennessee school board bans acclaimed graphic novel about Holocaust

A local school board decision drew national attention amid conversations about censorship and targeted curriculums.

The graphic novel “Maus,” written Art Spiegelman, focuses on the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of the author’s parents, exploring topics like mass murder and suicide. It is also the only graphic novel to ever win the Pulitzer Prize.

According to the school board, the novel was removed due to a nude image and profanity. The vote to remove it from the eighth grade language arts curriculum was unanimous.

Spiegelman disagreed with the decision. During a conversation with CNBC News Spiegelman said, “It’s leaving me with my jaw open, like, ‘What?’ … I’ve met so many young people who … have learned things from my book … I also understand that Tennessee is obviously demented.”

Here’s what you can do:

Should censorship at any level be allowed within the school system? What do teachers at your school think about banning books that hold historical significance like “Maus”? Is your local school board considering — or have they already implemented — a ban on any books? Can you obtain a list of books either banned or being considered?

Here’s the American Library Association’s list of 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020.

COVID-19 and CBD

Research suggests CBD could help stop the spread of COVID-19

Could CBD be the answer to curing COVID?

At the University of Chicago, Marsha Rosner led a team of researchers in a new study that tested the effect of CBD against the Coronavirus. While the early results are promising, Rosner said the only way to know for sure is through a clinical trial. “We really don’t want people running out and taking random cannabinoids,” Rosner said. 

Many scientists are worried that the CBD market will skyrocket, driven by misinformation about what the product has the power to do. Until clinical trials are completed, there is not enough sufficient evidence to link CBD to stopping the virus.

Here’s what you can do:

Do students and members of your community use CBD products? How do they feel about this new research?

Scientific stories can be difficult to report on because of the medical jargon used in journals and papers. The most important thing to do here is to research, research, research. Make sure you reference credited sources before reporting so that you don’t spread misinformation.

It’s An Honor

WPM deadline nears

Friday, Feb. 4 is the final day to enter the Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest

You are now able to submit entries for one of our 35 Writing, Photo, and Multimedia Contest categories.

Last year saw more than 3,100 entries from the U.S., South Korea, Canada and China, and 320 students were honored. Here is the slideshow of the 2021 winners, including all first-, second- and third-place entries. Here are all the winners, including all the honorable mentions.

Entries in most writing, photo and design categories will cost $7, while more detailed categories (Multimedia Features Package, In-Depth Team Reporting, Documentary Film, for example) will cost $15 each.

The deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 4. All entries must have been published online or in a publication, either school-based or professional.

Benz Scholarship

Applications open for adviser scholarship

Quill and Scroll will award the $500 Lester G. Benz Scholarship to an adviser who undertakes a professional development activity over the summer or in the 2022-23 academic year.

The award can be used to attend a National High School Journalism Conference, to pay for tuition for a university course in a relevant subject area, or for a summer workshop, such as MediaNow, the JEA Summer Advisers Institute or a local summer workshop in your state, to name a few.

Applications are now being accepted. Deadline is April 15, 2022.

The award is named after former Quill and Scroll Executive Director Lester G. Benz.

Last year’s winner was Shari Chumley from Tupelo High School in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Student scholarship applications will open March 1, 2022.

What’s Viral?

Brady retires! (Maybe)

Too-eager journalists create confusion over star QB’s decision

Oops.

A couple of ESPN journalists found themselves in a controversy Saturday when they tweeted that Tom Brady — probably the greatest quarterback in the history of professional football — would retire from the game at age 44 after 22 seasons in the NFL. Brady led the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to seven Super Bowl championships — six in New England and one in Tampa.

Brady followed immediately by claiming that he hasn’t made the decision yet.

His agent wrote this confusing statement for Brady:

“I understand the advance speculation about Tom’s future,” Yee wrote on Saturday. “Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well anybody, so that should be soon.”

Here’s what you can do:

So what does it mean? Brady may very well retire, and he may announce it today. Or next week. It’s likely the journalists were right, but the public’s response to Schefter and Darlington was predictably negative.

How would your news organization cover news like this? Ideally, a journalist with confirmed information would then check with the subject of the news and write a story, not just Tweet information.

Professional high-level and proven journalists such as Schefter and Darlington do it because they’ve proven to  have reliable sources. In your case, as novice journalists, you probably don’t have the credibility built up to do such a thing.

It’s a great discussion to have about what kind of sources and information qualify as full confirmation that a story is true. Don’t rush to publish if you don’t have something nailed down 100 percent.

Fashion never dies

Fashion icons Manfred Thierry Mugler and André Leon Talley dead, but their legacy lives

Outlandish, iconic French designer Manfred Thierry Mugler died at 73 last week after defining hate couture since 1973.

Throughout his career Mugler dressed celebrities like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Diana Ross, and Kim Kardashian in beautiful, creative designs. He wasn’t the only legendary fashion Icon to die recently.

André Leon Talley also died this month at 73 years old. Talley was a fashion journalist who was a director and editor at Vogue magazine. In his memoir The Chiffon Trenches, released in May 2020, Talley wrote about being raised by his grandmother in segregated Durham, North Carolina. He said going to church with her sparked his passion for fashion.

Here’s what you can do:

Writing obituaries doesn’t always have to be sad and bleak. You want to shed light on the changes that person made in their life and celebrate them. Features on someone after their death come from looking into things they said, wrote, or made during their life and talking to people who were close to them.

There are many ways you can cement someone’s memory in publications. This feature about Talley from NPR is a conversation about his legacy through a podcast.

This article from Beyond The Dash shows how to create a good feature obituary. Some things you want to keep in mind are that you want to make a feature much more in-depth than a normal news obituary and you often want to use a creative story format using literary devices to tell a story with perspective.

Journalism can help to keep the memory of legendary celebrities and community members alive after death.

Media bias helps no one

Child actor who was once typecast as the “fat kid” shows the label sticks with him today

Robert Capron, who played Rowley in Diary of a Wimpy Kid sat down with The New Yorker to discuss how being perpetually labeled as the “fat kid” in movies, was damaging for the young actor. At 11 years old, he was immediately made into a stereotype that he desperately wanted to escape.

Typecasting is popular in movies and television and it can hurt audiences who can relate to certain characters. The stereotype assigned to Capron as a child followed him through adulthood as his acting career continued. He landed fewer parts or was only sought out for “heavier” roles.

Capron’s discussion with the publication shed light on the detriments of stereotyping in media as it continues to occur in much of the popular media we consume.

Here’s what you can do:

Movies and TV shows aren’t the only forms of media infected with stereotyping. News publications need to work on making sure every voice is represented equally and fairly.

Stereotyping in the media has a significant effect on how different identities and minorities are perceived. The SPJ Code of Ethics states, “Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.”

Facing History has a lesson on how to minimize bias in the media that runs students through a practice of providing accurate and ethical reporting without stereotyping. The lesson includes a reminder that journalists need to keep their own biases in mind because we use our rational minds to come up with as much evidence as possible that confirms our existing emotions, ideas, and beliefs about a given subject.

Sorry you don’t get free college, here’s some free college!

Mistake made at Michigan school leads to an apology in the form of free tuition

Officials at Central Michigan University mistakenly told students that they would receive full-ride scholarships to the university, and when they realized the mistake they attempted to make it up to the students — by giving them scholarships anyway.

58 students were notified about the awards but staff said that technology malfunctions caused the messages to be sent to all those students.

The school understood that they made a mistake, took responsibility for it, and even made up for it no matter how much it cost them.

Here’s what you can do:

Journalists make mistakes too, even if we hate to admit it. When you do, it’s not the end of the world. The first thing you should do when you make a mistake, is reach out to your editor or advisor. I’s also a good idea to offer phrasing for the correction, because as the writer you have the best idea of what the correction should look like.

The Open Notebook offers a guide for how to handle mistakes as a journalist and overcome them. The guide says that a critical aspect of mistake correction involves communication between the journalist and the person the mistake involved. For instance, if a story included a misspelling of someone’s name or misstated their gender, it’s important to apologize as soon as possible.

If you fail to print a correction and apologize, your audience may lose faith in you or your publication. Just remain transparent and honest with your audience.

Just A Thought

Ethical Journalism

Episode 34: Ethics with Patrick Johnson, Part One

Quill and Scroll sat down with scholar, journalism adviser and all-around ethical guy Patrick Johnson about Quill and Scroll’s eight principles (loyalty, friendship, truth, learning, leadership, initiative, integrity and judgement) and how they intersect with journalistic codes of ethics. He tells some compelling personal stories and provides student-journalists with some valuable advice. This is the first of two. Check for Episode 35 in early February.

“To me what ethics means, especially at the high school level and the college level, is it helps you become a better person regardless of the career you pick,” —Patrick Johnson