Proposed Bill Favoring Student Journalists

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State officials consider a bill offering greater protection to student media.

It would prevent schools from limiting what student’s cover.  

On–campus media outlets like The Spectrum at NDSU allow student journalists to play on their textbook knowledge and build on their craft.

Editor-In-Chief Sam Herder says, “Our reporters have always had great creative freedom to write their stories. We are student journalists and we do make mistakes.”

Journalists in public high schools and state funded colleges would have the freedom to cover a story in the manner they wish without worrying about the upper hand.

State Rep. Alex Looysen (R-Jamestown) says, “The hope is that we can get more journalists and have them discuss things in public and in the proper journalism terms. It will help them learn more and create better journalists.

NDSU professors believe this bill is a movement in the right direction and something students will benefit from.

Advertising Professor Elizabeth Crawford Ph.D. says, “We’re supposed to be a place where students learn to formulate ideas and exchange them freely and I feel that anything that would impede that would really undermine the mission of the university.

Communication Department Chair Mark Meister Ph. D. says, “Prior restraint and journalism are not congruent. They shouldn’t even be thought of in the same sentence in a society based on freedom of expression and ideas.”

When you remove the fear factor a student may feel in covering a topic the way they intend new doors of possibility are opened.

Crawford adds, “I think it would really open the horizons. I feel often times students are afraid of angering the university or any repercussions that may occur from a story that someone might not like so having that freedom in being like I am legally covered by this law.”

College media outlets allow students to practice their journalism skills and gain valuable real world experience.

Herder says, “Overall just working for a college newspaper, going out and finding stories, unique angles and seeing what the students are talking about, going out and covering it. I think that’s great experience whether you want to be a journalist out of college or not.”

If the bill is passed it could go into effect as early as this summer.