Archives for April 2013

April 9, 2013 | The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is committed to unbridled scholarly inquiry and criticism. Academic freedom is essential to building the applicable theory that adds to journalism and mass communication knowledge. Evaluation is requisite to this scientific method. And the integrity of journalism and mass communication research should be rigorously evaluated before its publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Such integrity is currently challenged by the recent proliferation of open-access electronic journals that charge author fees for publication, including those that have been described as “predatory.” The standards of manuscript acceptance for these predatory journals may lack rigor, and the quality of their articles may bear scrutiny.

Librarians who monitor the integrity of scholarly journals and bloggers who criticize the predatory nature of some open-access journals have been intimidated with unmerited lawsuits by some of these journal publishers.

Abusive attempts to muzzle unfavorable scholarly evaluations and criticisms carry grave ramifications for librarians and scholars who may express negative opinions about the quality of these journals. Such attempts pose a real and perceived threat to those in the scholarly community. Most likely to be gagged are those who assess professional journals and the institutions that employ journal authors and editors who may criticize these predatory journals. Equally susceptible are the journalism and mass communication programs that employ the communication scholars who may question these publication venues.

AEJMC reaffirms its fundamental belief in the compelling need for academic freedom that underlies evaluation and criticism of the quality of research and of the journals for this research. AEJMC pledges its unwavering support and defense of those who face litigational intimidations in connection with their candid evaluation of research and journals and whose assessment is essential to journalism and mass communication scholarship.

<<PACS

AEJMC Members approved resolutions during the 2013 year.

• Resolution One: April 2, 2013 — AEJMC Resolution: 25th Anniversary of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.

<< AEJMC Resolutions

AEJMC Resolution: 25th Anniversary of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

April 2, 2013

Contact:
Dr. Kyu Ho Youm, AEJMC President
(541) 346-2178
youm@uoegon.edu

The Board of Directors of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) recently passed a resolution regarding the 25^th Anniversary of the Supreme Court significantly reducing the level of First Amendment protection afforded to students’ journalistic speech in the case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.

In the ruling, the Court’s 5-3 majority concluded that schools could lawfully censor student expressions in non-public forum media for any “legitimate pedagogical purpose,” and that among the recognized lawful purposes was the elimination of speech tending to “associate the school with any position other than neutrality on matters of political controversy”.

AEJMC President Kyu Ho Youm of the University of Oregon explains, “Being keenly aware of this year as the 25^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the AEJMC Board of Directors expresses its increasing concern about the negative impact of the case on freedom of the student press. This is all the more so, when the case has been expanded far enough to apply to the college press over the past 16 years. As the leading national organization of postsecondary journalism and mass communication educators, AEJMC wishes to express its strong stand on the unwarranted abuse of Hazelwood as an easy tool of censorship against student journalists on all levels, including that of colleges and universities”.

Resolution:
In recognition of society’s increased reliance on student news-gatherers to fulfill basic community information needs, and the importance of unfiltered information about the performance of educational institutions,

In recognition of the well-documented misapplication of Hazelwood censorship authority to impede the teaching of professional journalistic values and practices, which include the willingness to question the performance of governance institutions,

In recognition that the primary concern of the Supreme Court in Hazelwood was to permit schools to restrict editorial content “unsuitable for immature audiences”, a concern inapplicable at the postsecondary level.

In recognition of the combined 150 years’ experience of states with statutory student free-press guarantees, demonstrating that the Hazelwood level of administrative control is unnecessary for the advancement of legitimate educational objectives,

Be it resolved that:
The Board of Directors of AEJMC declares that no legitimate pedagogical purpose is served by the censorship of student journalism even if it reflects unflatteringly on school policies and programs, candidly discusses sensitive social and political issues, or voices opinions challenging to majority views on matters of public concern. The censorship of such speech is detrimental to effective learning and teaching, and it cannot be justified by reference to “pedagogical concerns.”

Be it further resolved that:
The AEJMC Board of Directors declares that the Hazelwood level of control over student journalistic and editorial expression is incompatible with the effective teaching of journalistic skills, values and practices at the collegiate level, and that institutions of postsecondary education should forswear reliance on Hazelwood as a legitimate source of authority for the governance of student and educator expression.

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