Law Ethics
&
News Literacy
When creating the Presidential Team (see "Broadcasting") there was a huge emphasis on media literacy surrounding the election. With all of the misinformation that normally circulates elections, this year in particular it seemed of extra importance to inform the student body of valid sources to receive election information from -- and a variety of sources. We would host live streams as a team and have multiple news sources open in various internet tabs, which we would read off before describing a political event. For example, when covering the counting of the Presidential election ballots, I had New York Times, the Hill, and Associated Press News up to interpret their coverage while my partner on the live stream -- Josie Fox -- had Washington Post and Fox News. Our goal was to show how political bias and malinformation is rampant around times of high political importance, and the only way to combat that is through a variety of notable sources. ​
​
When staffers use sources within their articles outside of interviews, I always implore them to ask themselves:
1. Who is Behind the information?
2. What is the evidence supporting the information?
3. What are other sources saying?
​
I developed these questions based off of a media literacy session at NSPA 2020 and I have implemented them in my staff since.
​
The state of Missouri has not passed the New Voices Act. I live in Kansas, which has passed the New Voices Act, but St. Teresa's is located in Missouri. Though my school is a private Catholic institution, and the New Voices Act would not necessarily protect my staff in particular, I still found it important to advocate for the act as a whole.
​
The document to the right is a proposal of a passion project where I am currently advocating for the Missouri state government to pass the HB 2317 bill: a bill that protects New Voices.
​
However, as mentioned, even if this bill was passed it would not protect my staff specifically. I have had many discussions with my staff about developing a relationship with our administration. We have dealt with instances of censorship, strictly due to lack of communication about a piece and a lack of trust in our publication. More of this can be found in my "Self Analytical Essay" in the "About" section.