New Voices USA is a network of state-by-state campaigns to pass anti-censorship legislation that will grant extra protections to student journalists. The movement is inspired by the success in North Dakota, where in 2015, the state legislature unanimously passed a bill that ensures the free-speech rights of journalism students in public… Continue reading New Voices State Tracker
As a high-school student in Sioux Falls, S.D., Adam Morfeld was threatened with expulsion for distributing a homemade "underground" newspaper. Funny thing about those high-school troublemakers: Sometimes they have long memories. In 2018, state senator Adam Morfeld sat before the Nebraska Senate Judiciary Committee to explain why he's proposing a law (LB 886) to protect… Continue reading ‘Husker Do! Live from Lincoln Senate, students take center stage
Kent State University's journalism school has released video highlights of a symposium that brought together press-freedom advocates from across the country to exchange strategies for effective legislative advocacy. Attendees got an intensive lobbying boot camp from Rebecca Snyder of the Maryland-D.C.-Delaware Press Association, who led the successful New Voices of Maryland movement leading to enactment… Continue reading Tips for effective advocacy, from Kent State’s Legislation Conference
The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of speech, yet we are limited.… Continue reading A Texas student reflects on hitting the Hazelwood ceiling
New Voices of Florida got a jumpstart in St. Petersburg from the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The national media education organization's Scholastic Journalism division made New Voices a prominent part of its 2017 midwinter conference. Ben Mullin, managing editor of Poynter.com, gave attendees from Florida, Colorado, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, and North… Continue reading AEJMC brings New Voices Florida together
By Hillary Aerts DeVoss Let me preface this entry by saying this much: My students have never been punished for anything they’ve produced, nor have they been given a list of topics that they can’t cover. That’s what made this exercise so interesting. When I posted the results on Facebook, which I hadn’t originally intended… Continue reading What would you report on if you could report on anything?
The full story of the New Voices Movement is long, full of plot twists, protagonists and antagonists galore - stretching all the way back to 1969 and Mary Beth Tinker's black arm band. I've had the pleasure and honor of being closely involved with this movement to legislatively counteract Hazelwood, to protect colleges from Hazelwood… Continue reading Four Years In
New Jersey has a second shot at passing a New Voices bill, and New Jersey student journalists have been presenting their case in an impressive show of civic engagement. The Garden State Scholastic Press Association interviewed Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center, to get more information on the legislation. In… Continue reading Student Press Law Center executive director gives interview about New Jersey’s New Voices law
An Illinois bill protecting student journalists’ rights was signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner Friday and is effective immediately. The state had existing protections for college journalists, but the bill adds similar protections for students in public high schools as well. Students in public high schools will now have a legally protected right to choose what… Continue reading Illinois governor signs landmark measure protecting high school journalists against censorship
New Voices: Whenever your teacher taught the class about the history of journalism in America, what case stood out to you the most? Hope Johnson: Without a doubt, the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case. I went home that day and researched the case for hours. N.V.: Why did that case stand out the most to you?… Continue reading Q and A with Hope Johnson
