Here's an interesting link about HS Journalism.
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=681616
Seems Shasta High lost its paper over a controversial story on flag-burning. I'd like at least three of you to read this and comment.
Another interesting topic on personal freedoms has been the Supreme Court's decision on gun control in DC. Today's Bee had a very interesting Op Ed piece... kind of challenged my thinking.
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3 comments:
I think the real concern is figuring out where to draw the line. It seems like Connor Kennedy wanted to graduate with a bang, and he achieved this goal. It just seems random having prom pictures with the American flag burning...was there even a story in the issue about flag desecration?
This story inspires me to have our print issue out before the elections. There'd be tons of room for editorials.
Back to the story-I'm confused as to how this got approved in the first place. The adviser was quoted as if she disapproved of the cover. How did the paper get printed then?
In the end, it's all about 1st Amendment rights. The new Editor-in-Chief has the paper back, although on probation. I know Mr. Nichols communicates with Mr. Garrision about controversial stories that are upcoming, so overall...it seems like The Volcano lacks leadership and communication.
I think that the Staff of the newspaper must have been dumb for letting the flag-burning get printed in the first place. Even though we have freedom of speech, there are still important rules and things that just should not be said.
It seemed kind of a random picture to be put on the front, especially with all the prom pictures included on the front also. I'm not quite sure, but it did not seem like there was even a story written in the paper following up on the picture, so that made it even more random.
Anyway, hopefully our staff does not have to deal with anything like that this coming year and I'm very excited to be part of RHS Flash.
I don't necessarily have a problem with flag-burning, it is a legitimate, if controversial, form of expression. It is in no way an unprecedented means of showing dissapproval for the government and can be an excellent, not to mention very obvious way to show what you really think.
However, it is a very strong message with severe consequences. Many people find it to be offensive, and often times for good reason. In extreme cases, it might be acceptable, but it should never be used, as Mallory said, to go out with a bang. It is easily one of the strongest messages that you can send, and therefore should not be taken lightly. In the end, I believe that flag-burning should be used more as a last resort, when you cannnot get your message across in any other way.
So, it was probably a good thing that the staff was put on probation. When it is used with such ease and regarded as nothing more than a joke, flag-burning can only be devisive and will serve to offend more people than it attracts.
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