LAW AND ETHICS

Hazelwood has really taken a toll on our paper, but we've worked hard to overcome that obstacle. Being editor-in-chief of a paper under prior review, it took me a while to gain confidence in publishing things that pushed the boundaries of school journalism. Getting my feature on student Natalie Mendoza (shown in the "Writing" tab) to pass through prior review was one of my proudest accomplishments as a student journalist. I knew it had to be professional and unbiased, so whether my own political beliefs aligned with that of the student needed to be cast aside. By constructing the article without slant toward either side, I was able to walk a line I previously thought couldn't be touched. In the same print publication, we covered the shooting at Fort Lauderdale Airport and the inauguration of President Trump. I sought out parent consent for students who expressed their political views just to ensure that they understood the implications of doing so. All of these were artfully crafted and edited to remain unbiased, and eventually all articles passed through prior review with no edits or concerns from our principal.

Navigating prior review

The free speech issue

While, Constitutionally, hate speech is protected, the Lariat will not endorse it. This was a decision we made as an editorial board and, in my opinion, one of the most important decisions we've made about our image. However, this brings up the subtle differences between rejecting hate speech and censoring free speech. We, as a paper, condone students' ability to speak freely about any issue (we even wrote an editorial on it). Therefore, when we find an article that has concerning rhetoric, we discuss it with multiple editors. While this has only caused a major concern a few times while I've been editor-in-chief, I will not disclose the topics of these dilemmas to protect the authors. What we try to do is highlight the concerning parts so the author has the chance to reword them in a way that still conveys their overall message but doesn't target any one group.

Transparency

I believe that accountable journalism is a dialogue between media and constituents. As such, I added a publication-specific page of guidelines to our website, which urged readers to contact our editorial board with any concerns. That page can be found here, and the script can be found below.

The Lariat is the newspaper of Cooper City High School in South Florida. We are entirely student run and are dedicated to giving students a voice. We believe that the skills learned in journalism go far beyond reporting and into life, giving staff members the tools they need to make positive change in the world.

Like any publication, the Lariat has guidelines and procedures that must be followed to ensure quality content.

Accountability to our readership

Factual errors: While we try our hardest to find multiple reliable sources and fact check information, we understand that sometimes errors slip through in the editing process. As part of our goal to stay accountable our readership, any complaints about factual errors may be directed to lariateic@gmail.com, which will reach our editor-in-chief. All incidents will be investigated and the proper action will be taken.

Misquoting: If you or someone you know has been misquoted by the Lariat, whether in a minor or major fashion, you can also direct the complaint to lariateic@gmail.com.

Quality content

Furthermore, the Lariat is dedicated to making sure that readers gain something from our articles. We take measures to ensure that our writers and photographers are constructing information in the most honest and truthful way possible. All articles go through an intense editing cycle, and all articles will have at least three rounds of edits before being published in print or online. While our online site is aimed at producing quicker, more accessible content, we do not compromise quality in doing so.

Editorial policy

All articles marked “opinion” reflect the views of the author. All articles marked “editorial” reflect the views of the publication. Because most of our editorials are written by a single author after a publication discussion and consensus, we do give the author’s name in the byline. Opinion articles that are deemed to be hate speech by multiple editors will not be published. While we believe in the right to free speech, we do not believe in the right to belittle, harm, or marginalize others.

Who is Brock Landers?

Brock Landers is a fictitious staff writer. The name “Brock Landers” will be placed as the byline of an article under one of two conditions:

Heavy editing. If the final draft of the article required such intense revision from the editorial staff that the voice is no longer that of the author, but the article still holds content that is valuable to the student body, the article will be published with a Brock Landers byline.
Author anonymity. In some cases, our authors choose not to disclose their identities. The Lariat will only allow this under special circumstances, as we do understand that it harms the article’s credibility.

Please note that any article published under the pseudonym Brock Landers is still highly credible. We have deemed it worthy of publication because of its content and style, so do not be alarmed.

As always, we encourage readers to engage critically with our publication, be it print or online. Any questions, comments, or concerns can be directed to the aforementioned email.

Covering sensitive topics

While we previously avoided potentially upsetting topics, we've begun to branch out and cover the hard-hitting news that's most relevant to our students. In doing so, we always make sure that no article makes light of a difficult issue, nor belittles members of a particular community. Take our coverage of the FLL shooting, for example (found in "Leadership"). Many of our students were affected by this tragedy, so we had to ensure that they both got a voice and were given the proper importance. This was part of our effort to give a voice to the voiceless, because many students didn't feel they had a proper platform upon which to express their grief. In covering the issue, we gave the students a voice, but also handled it very carefully, which resulted in a well-executed, sensitive article that addressed a large issue in the community.