From Bylines To Backlash: Student Press

Editor's Note: Fahima Akter and Cesar Jimenez from PressPassNYC share their perspectives on press freedom.

Photo by Fahima Akter.

School administrators have a significant influence on student learning, culture, resource management, and well-being, which in turn impacts instruction and achievement. Sometimes, school administration could be a tricky part of managing your newspaper, but knowing how to interact with them can make it easier. Within your school, your administration can manage your paper, depending on the circumstances. 

Having a conversation or a nice relationship with your school administration, including principals, assistant principals, and staff, can bring to light the limits your publication or student newspaper has. Ask what you are allowed to write about, or what the boundaries of the stories you can publish are. Are there any specific topics that your administration wouldn’t want to see on the school's publication? A good relationship with the administration leads to a successful newspaper and if your administrator doesn’t allow you to publish certain things, try asking them the reason or what else you can do so you can publish certain stories.

Getting an interview from your administration

When it comes to interviewing school administration, it can be difficult to navigate on a variety of levels. Some days, people are dealing with a lot on their plates or aren’t in the mood to speak, so a negative interview with someone is a real possibility. But as a student journalist, it is your responsibility to keep your cool and remember to not return the same energy they are giving. For example, if your administrator refuses to give an interview, maybe try talking to them later when they are in a good mood and willing to give you information.

Further elaborating on this, some people in school administration have been “press trained,” meaning they know how to respond during an interview in a way that doesn’t give away important or relevant information. This could cause your interview to hit a dead end. To counter the interview, widen the questions you ask and use the information you have available. For instance, if your administrator gives you a small answer to your question, but it's important for the article you are writing, then quote the administrator on that. Or you can ask open-ended questions. You can use that to your advantage by getting them to reveal more information if you seem to know everything they are telling you. This could lead to huge breakthroughs in bigger stories dealing with the administration. 

Some members of the administration may read your stories and form a negative opinion about them. These stories may be labeled as “controversial” due to the fact that publications reside in schools where certain news or information wouldn’t be shown normally. In this situation, try explaining to the administrator how the article is also important despite their negative opinion of it, or explain to them how your story can prevent further negativity.

Navigating the relationship between student journalism and school administration can be tricky and at times frustrating, but it is also an essential part of creating powerful journalism because a strong backbone is key. By maintaining open communication and understanding limits and how to approach interviews with professionalism within a school setting, student reporters can create trust while still holding their journalistic integrity. Even when facing backlash or pushback, respectfully showing your work and its purpose can help bring to light the importance of student journalism. Ultimately, building a respectful and clear relationship with administration will lead to a stronger and more impactful publication that helps inform the school community and more.