Law/Ethics/News Literacy

Commitment to Diversity

Law, Ethics and News Literacy

In the ODYSSEY Media Group, we put a heavy focus on ethics and knowledge of basic journalistic law. I am intentional about fairness to my stakeholders and try to write with my community's interests in mind. Any time someone lets me interview them about an important topic, they are giving me a piece of themself, and I try to treat them with respect the best I can.

Journalistic Rights

Left: TALK IT OUT: Anna Shaikun asks a question at an ODYSSEY Media Group press conference. The Clarke County School District recently altered its policies on media coverage, which led me and fellow OMG Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell to initiate a meeting with CCSD Executive Director of Public Relations Cyndee Moore and other officials. “The policy change required all media outlets, including student media, to contact the district PR department if they wanted to interview district-level personnel. This worried our leadership team greatly,” Shaikun said. “Molly and I called the Student Press Law Center, and they encouraged us and our counterparts at at Cedar BluePrints Magazine to confront the district decision. We initiated a meeting where we realized that this policy was actually more efficient and could benefit our staffers.” Photo by Aza Khan

Shattered Glass

Left: CRASHING DOWN: In the Journalism I class, we watch the film "Shattered Glass," about an unethical journalist who faces consequences for fabricating stories. We took notes and responded to several prompts, making this stick out in my head as an example of what could happen if we don't conform to journalistic ethics and laws. "'Shattered Glass' haunts me to this day, and I think it struck a healthy fear of fake news into everyone in my J1 class," Shaikun said. "People like Stephen Glass are the reason we use transcriptions and do multiple rounds of fact-checking to ensure our stories are accurate." Photo free use of imdb.com

SPJ Code of Ethics

Right: ETHICAL, PRACTICAL: The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics lists the four core tenets of ethical journalism. The Production class had a lesson on the SPJ Code of Ethics, where I took notes and annotated extensively. “I agree with the four tenets listed here, and I think it's important to have these listed out so that student journalists understand ethical dilemmas,” Shaikun said. “It’s rare for someone in our class to be intentionally malicious with their writing, which likely stems from teaching this.” Image fair use of the Society of Professional Journalists

Media Literacy Project

Left: GET LIT: ODYSSEY Media Group staffers are expected to regularly consume news, both from our publication and others. My Media Literacy Project was an effective way to improve my critical journalistic lens. “We look at Pacemaker pages and award-winning pieces so that we can see what good journalism really is,” Shaikun said. “Looking critically at our work, other student journalism, and professional stories really allows us to move forward with our writing.” Document by Anna Shaikun and David Ragsdale

Bryan Barks notes

Right: TAKE NOTE: Anna Shaikun takes notes on a poster at the ODYSSEY Media Group Summer Workshop. I have taken notes on several areas of journalistic ethics presented by alumni like journalist and 2008-09 OMG Editor-in-Chief Bryan Barks. “Bryan Barks’ talk gave me a lot of insight about reporting on mental health and how that affects the community, even things as simple as saying ‘substance abuse disorder’ instead of ‘addiction,’” Shaikun said. “I’m so grateful that Barks came back to present to my generations of OMG staffers, even though she graduated over a decade ago.” Photo by Aza Khan