Vin Munch vmunch@wls.lib.ny.us
On Sun, 17 May 1998, Norman J. Jacknis wrote:
> Hi,
>
> At the end of this message is a description of an interesting initiative.
> I would like to talk about this more at our meeting later in the week --
> especially whether WATPA wants to get involved and, if so, which school
> districts we might wish to work with.
>
> Thanks,
> Norm
>
> ===================================
>
> http://www.schoolwire.org/asp.htm
>
>
> ASSOCIATED STUDENT PRESS: the missing link
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Executive Summary:
>
> This initiative creates the nation's first free electronic associated press
> for
> all K-12 newspapers and broadcasts. Student journalism programs represent
> the
> nation's largest network of community-based news organizations, yet each
> now
> publishes in near isolation. This initiative enables students nationwide
> to use
> inexpensive Internet technology to collaborate, research and report
> on-line, but to
> deliver their stories on paper or on air so as to reach school community
> members on
> both sides of the digital divide.
>
> The initiative includes these complementary components that will enable
> journalism programs to grow, if they so choose, into dynamic, responsive,
> community
> publications:
>
> * a web-based ASP "wireroom" enabling students to see and publish each
> others' work
>
> * a customized toolbox that gives students easy. helpful tools and links to
> journalism organizations, news, technical assistance, and regional source
> phone
> books
>
> * a student intern-designed webcrawler that creates (JavaSoft has offered
> assistance) the first self-updating comprehensive list of student papers
> and
> broadcasts
>
> * a pilot mentoring program of professional journalists who assist students
> by e-mail
>
> * periodic "virtual press conferences" with newsworthy national figures
>
> Most such services are now either unaffordable to most schools or
> unavailable altogether. This non-profit program has been the subject of
> stories in
> USA Today and on NBC, resulting in hundreds of inquiries nationwide and a
> student
> intern program. Started by a former Los Angeles Times staff writer, it
> has outgrown
> its volunteer footing. High-profile demonstration projects have shown its
> feasibility.
>
> ASP will work vigorously to develop public/private new media business
> models not only to make ASP itself "sustainable," but to seek new revenue
> streams
> for student journalism programs individually, to encourage the growth of
> new
> programs, and to advocate for universal access to basic communications
> tools for all
> student journalists.
>
> Active and open partnerships with journalism associations, universities,
> school districts, non-profits, news organizations, technology companies,
> and are
> anticipated. An advisory board made up of working journalists, educators,
> and
> technology executives is in formation. It is intended that this service
> will ultimately
> be worldwide, with multilingual editions that serve U.S. immigrant
> student families
> and student news operations abroad.
>
> As visual and text-based journalistic formats converge in the 21st century,
> ASP will offer student broadcasters, writers, photographers, artists,
> editors, and
> computer programmers a chance to work together to create whole new media
> formats
> with tools developers will find it worthwhile to provide for testbed
> purposes in a
> youth market.
>
> Associated Student Press is a non-profit in formation represented fiscally
> by
> Technology Resources in Elementary Education (TREE), a 501.(c)(3)
> 95-4331968.
> Cowles Media Foundation has become ASP's first founding sponsor. The
> Annenberg
> School of Journalism has selected ASP as a pilot project for its first
> high school
> on-line journalism institute summer, 1998.
>
> The Needs: A Host of Inter-Related Opportunities
>
> It is the premise of this initiative that student publications and
> broadcasts
> constitute an enormous underdeveloped resource which, if linked, could
> benefit
> individual students while simultaneously informing and vitalizing whole
> school
> communities.
>
> The nation's largest network of community publications is made up of school
> newspapers produced by high schools, middle schools, and even elementary
> schools.
> Today, these publications function virtually autonomously -- some
> brilliantly, some
> barely surviving. Student journalists rarely see each other's work, and
> meet
> colleagues only if they can afford trips to conventions held by active,
> but regionally
> fragmented student journalism associations nationwide. A few forays into
> student
> news associations have been attempted in the past, but technology was
> primitive,
> funding was almost non-existent, and there was no nation-wide consensus
> as to need
> or mission. Today, extensive input is being sought from students and
> advisers, as
> well as journalism organizations and professional journalists to ensure
> ASP meets its
> goals simply and effectively.
>
> Student journalists are in a pivotal position to act as translators for
> their
> readers and, as a network, to fill critical information gaps. They are
> typically early
> technology adopters who, even in poor schools, use computers to lay out
> the
> newspaper. Most can now -- or soon will be able to -- receive information
> on-line,
> then turn around and publish their stories on paper or on air so as to
> help inform
> administrators, teachers, parents, and students left on the shoulder of
> the information
> superhighway.
>
> Student journalists are a highly motivated, self-selecting cross-section of
> the
> student body. Many are idealistic girls and minorities whose budding
> journalism
> interests should be encouraged and cultivated by corporate media
> organizations. But,
> too often they reap little attention -- good or bad -- from adults. By
> failing to elevate
> their goals - sometimes even to notice their contributions -- we as a
> society miss out
> on an self-generating school-to-work training opportunity that could
> develop
> precisely those skills needed by 21st century workforce managers and
> community
> leaders: literacy, critical thinking, and technological fluency. Studies
> show that
> college students who worked on school newspapers achieve higher grades in
> college
> than other students -- no matter what their majors or career goals --
> because they
> know how to work collaboratively, meet deadlines, write clearly, and
> understand
> multiple points of view.
>
> The intense commercialism of the Web is threatening to undermine these
> diverse, school-based journalism programs. To expand local content,
> corporations
> are increasingly marketing teen sites that pay student writers, bestow
> titles upon
> them, or offer prizes as contest rewards. While these sites may be
> market-appropriate, the wholly forseeable result is a teen-age brain
> drain away from
> school-based programs. ASP does not seek to compete with responsible
> student-developed news product and is especially supportive of
> community-based
> youth newspapers that have filled inner-city voids. Nor will it replace
> programs; it is
> a communications system that links content-makers.
>
> Nonetheless, a real danger exists that school newspapers, many of which are
> foundering financially, will follow the path of high school sports
> programs, with the
> standouts sponsored by high-profile companies and the rest left to
> struggle as they
> can under the guidance of overworked and under-compensated advisers. It
> is a goal
> of this project to facilitate independent reporting, writing and Internet
> skills by
> students so as to support advisers rather than burden them. It should
> also be pointed
> out that, as schools go on-line, many do so without clear guidelines. ASP
> will point
> out that journalistic traditions of responsible content,
> information-assessment
> techniques, and adherence to the First Amendment can serve to ease this
> transition for
> all schools.
>
> Clearly, this program will benefit mainstream media and society at large by
> increasing the pool of diverse and highly qualified future journalists.
> It will directly
> benefit universities by delivering journalism majors who not only know
> how to use
> technology as a reporting tool, but who have experience in taking on
> issues outside
> their campus walls. It should also inure to the benefit of corporate
> technology
> sponsors that will find it in their interest to offer cutting-edge tools
> to students as a
> testbed.
>
> ASP should also help education and community advocates that develop
> campaigns to get students to vote, to stay in school. Few of these groups
> think to
> inform school newspapers of their efforts. Instead, advocates struggle to
> "get the
> word out" by seeking coverage in mainstream media -- which are simply not
> set up to
> meet the needs of hundreds of different communities -- and which many
> students and
> community members never see anyway. The result is a churning of problems
> in poor
> school communities and a failure to involve those who have the most at
> stake: the
> students themselves.
>
> A single concrete example demonstrates how this program might help
> improve school communities. In the spring of 1997, Superintendent of
> Schools
> Delaine Easton informed every California school principal by mail that
> schools
> could qualify for 50% discounts in telecommunications; all they had to do
> was apply.
> At last count, barely half had done so. What might have happened if
> student editors
> had been informed of that news story? If they had conducted an on-line
> press
> conference with the superintendent and published it in their papers?
> Would such
> inaction have been tolerated at so many campuses?
>
> PROGRAM ELEMENTS
>
> Associated Student Press
>
> The wireroom that is the heart of the ASP will be an on-line list of
> constantly
> updating stories, broadcasts, and images submitted by student journalists
> or their
> advisors. Much in the manner editors currently read an Associated Press
> wire,
> students will be able to peruse each others' work and download any
> content they
> wish to re-publish. They may also upload their own work for republishing.
> Students
> will also be encouraged to collaborate independently. This means an
> editorial
> cartoonist from one school might illustrate an editorial written by a
> student far away,
> or that two or more students will be able jointly report a single trend
> story.
>
> Upon joining ASP, students and advisers will be asked to read and sign
> agreements requiring them to adhere to standard journalism ethics and
> permissions
> practices. ASP will be automatically notified when material is copied for
> reprint so
> students may learn which papers carried their work. Though the Associated
> Press is
> not formally involved in this project, it is a model in that it
> encourages all members
> to work together without requiring any of them to alter their individual
> styles,
> standards or missions. Specialized wires, such as regional and sports,
> will be
> developed.
>
> This ASP website will be for its users only; a simple, user-friendly,
> password-protected cgi-based program with appealing graphics designed for
> functionality.
>
> Database
>
> Unlike professional journalists, students can't simply call up each other's
> work on a computer or send for clips from the library. The goal here is
> to provide a
> Nexis-style search engine that will dynamically update all content on all
> student
> newspapers worldwide. This is an enormous job, but not a cutting-edge
> technical
> challenge. Partnerships will be sought with commercial companies to help
> shoulder
> this burden.
>
> In the meantime, upon launch, a site-based search engine will enable
> students
> to search all stories submitted to the Associated Student Press wireroom.
>
> Student Toolbox
>
> This is a working interface that indirectly suggests ways for students to
> improve and enhance their reporting, their reach, and their skills.
> Included are links
> to: virtual press conferences, education action sites, a threaded student
> discussion,
> freeware and software sites that encourage creative use of the web, and
> other tools
> now being developed. Students will be encouraged to contribute their own
> tools to
> this box, and their contributions in this arena, as in others, will be
> noted.
>
> Emphasis will be on simple, workable links that can be used by most school
> computers. An example: Opera, a Finland-based company that makes
> streamlined
> browsers that run easily on 386 computers, has agreed to donate 100
> copies to
> student editors. Efforts will be made to notify ASP members of
> inexpensive, useful
> tools.
>
> Virtual Press Conferences
>
> Working with appropriate partners, the Associated Student Press will seek
> to schedule on-line "press conferences" with figures of national interest
> to student
> journalists and their readers. These may include public officials,
> athletes, authors,
> artists, professors, inventors, community leaders, business executives.
> To participate,
> students submit questions electronically, but write stories that later
> appear in school
> newspapers or broadcasts. Stories may also be submitted to the ASP
> wireroom.
>
> A demonstration project featuring FCC Chair Reed Hundt was held at the
> spring, 1997 convention of the Journalism Education Assn/National Student
> Press
> Assn. DemocracyNet, which broadcasts Congressional hearings on-line, has
> also
> indicated its interest in working with ASP.
>
> The Associated Student Press Annual Project
>
> This project, targeted for year two, should become a named annual effort
> developed with such partners as PBS, the Center for Investigative
> Reporting, IRE, or
> major university journalism departments. It will encourage students to
> work together
> with media professionals to gather detailed data, photos, anecdotes,
> video, etc. that
> can appear in a mainstream media documentary or publication. Topics might
> delve
> into an issue ignored or superficially treated in the press. One example:
> TV ratings
> systems, do they work? Another: the impact of the $2.25-billion Universal
> Service
> subsidy for school technology. Who's applying? Are funds equitably
> distributed?
> What sorts of technologies are schools choosing? Are students benefiting
> from them?
> Could students, using dynamic database software, produce a web-based
> story
> showing our nation's "crumbling schools?"
>
> For more information:
>
> Laurie Becklund
> voice. 213-856-4223 or 888-213-NEWS
> fax. 213-856-0673
> becklund@earthlink.net
>
> Temporary ASP logo designed by Trey Csar,
> Editor-in-chief, The Predator,
> Boca Raton Community High School
>
>
>
>