J-Ideas announces fund-raising campaign

Warren Watson, director, announced today the creation of an annual fund-raising campaign to support J-Ideas, Ball State’s scholastic journalism and First Amendment institute.

Parties are invited to give $25 or more to the J-Ideas Foundation to support future activities of the program. Donations are tax deductible. <more>

FIRST VOICES

watson

Little things mean a lot at the Newseum
Indianapolis Star column
by Warren Watson



J-Ideas Director Warren Watson blogs regularly for the Indianapolis Star. Here are his latest offerings:

Landmark First Amendment Research
with School Principals launched at Ball State

Ball State’s First Amendment institute has launched a landmark research project with 5,000 high school principals nationwide.

J-Ideas, a 5-year-old effort to support student journalism and First Amendment awareness, is reaching out to 5,000 principals to gauge their knowledge level and support for the First Amendment of the Constitution. The research coincides with Sunshine Week, a national effort to support Freedom of Information, an important principle of the First Amendment. <more>

Campus free-speech thrives

-Ignoramcer in Palin, Dowd free-speech remarks

-Plainfield pays respect to First Amendment

-Banned Books Week

-Palin-tology

-New President must revive Constitution

-Traditional news misses Edwards escapade

-Protesters' rights fenced off

-Social networking pitfalls

-Bad year for traditional news gatherers

-Baseball and the First Amendment

-Principals and the First Amendment

-Remembering a crusader
-Photo ID law bad for voters
-Thoughts from the annual U.S. editors convention
-Need for print journalism remains
-Sunshine:now more than ever
-Mean-spirited fans
-Peter Jennings' legacy
-The First Amendment at the Alamo
-A New museum for news
-Author creates First Amendment 'primer'
-Unlikely First Amendment hero
-Harrison represented Hoosiers proudly
-Online course wraps for the fall
-Religious freedom for all
-Reading is FUN-damental
-Nothing negative
-Blogs grow in influence, but beware of anonymity
-Parent rides the bench after blog posting
-Student journalist's actions serves profession poorly
-Examining free speech online
-Remembering the courageous Elijah Parish Lovejoy

Archive

More First Thoughts: journalism teacher Tom Gayda speaks out

Student journalists scoop professional press
Gerry
By Gerry Appel

In an era where student journalists are often criticized for poor decision-making, one student newspaper should receive praise after scooping its professional counterparts. <more>

-Principal wrong in pulling paper

Mile high with the First Amendment...
swikle
By Randy Swikle

We were north of the Mile High City near the Rocky Mountains. The principals were voluntarily descending—not from the tall peaks but from their position abutting the summit of school hierarchy. When they reached level ground, we could see each other more clearly. And clear sight leads to insight. <more > 

 		  
   
     
     
     
 
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
  Home > News > Upthegrove letter
     
  Friends,

As you may know by now, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended the student free press bill (HB 1307) to remove high school students from the bill. The provisions of the bill now only apply to public colleges and universities. The bill then passed out of the committee on a party-line vote, with all of the Democrats supporting the bill and all of the Republicans opposing the bill.

In order to secure the votes on the committee, I had to agree to not try to add high school students back into the bill later in the process.

Even though the bill now only applies to college student media, it still faces a rocky road in the Senate. It still needs to make it out of the Senate Rules Committee, and then we will need to secure support from a majority of the Senators, and then the Majority Leader needs to agree to place it on the floor calendar for a vote, and then the Governor will need to not veto it. Your continued support and communication with Senators would be appreciated.

For those of you most interested in the high school portion of the bill, I encourage you to continue to stand up for your college counterparts. Not every college in Washington has a policy in place to fully ensure that their student paper is, indeed, treated as a public forum. Conflicting federal district court cases have created more uncertainty for college journalists. I also believe that passage of the college portion will build support and momentum for addressing high school student media in the future.

Like many of you, I became emotionally attached to this issue and this bill. I know how disappointed and frustrated you are because I am too. The legislative process takes patience and persistence. So while it's OK to be sad about this, I ask you to also have patience and persistence. We all need to continue to champion the cause of student press freedom. You can count on my continued support.

I want to pass along my appreciation and thanks to Brian Schraum, who brought the idea for the bill forward and served as an eloquent spokesperson for the bill in the media around the country and on several public forums. He inspired me to introduce the bill and also inspired my passion for the issue. I also want to thank Mike Hiestand from the Student Press Law Center, who not only provided great legal analysis, but also proved to be a gifted communicator who was able to take complex issues and boil them down into arguments and language that even legislators could understand.

Finally, I was blown away by the tremendous support shown by student journalists and their allies from every corner of the State of Washington. The public hearing on the bill in the House Judiciary Committee was one of the finest moments of the 2007 legislative session. I can't express my appreciation enough to everyone who took the time to travel to Olympia for the hearings or who contacted their legislator.

Please know that YOU educated and inspired legislators to become champions of the issue. You inspired legislators like Rep. Pat Lantz (D-Gig Harbor), Sen. Adam Kline (D-Seattle), Sen. Brian Weinstein (D-Mercer Island), Rep. Brendan Williams (D-Olympia), and Rep. Lynn Kessler (D-Hoquiam). These legislators deserve your thanks and appreciation for their active support and assistance with the bill.

Lets get the college portion passed into law and then recommit ourselves to continuing to "finish the job" in a future legislative session.

Thanks again,

Dave

Dave Upthegrove
State Representative
33rd District
     
     

 

 

 
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Review of Future of the First Amendment

Two Connecticut researchers have become synonymous with the problem of poor First Amendment awareness in the nation’s high schools.

Ken Dautrich and David Yalof, professors at the University of Connecticut and backed by the Knight Foundation, have logged thousands of miles nationwide in developing a series of studies and followups about the First Amendment. more

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SPLC Exec. Director talks to Ball State students about 'Digital Freedom'

IHSPA 2008 State Convention: The Convergention

Bloggers and Online News Users are Better Informed on First Amendment

Dautrich and Yalof Publish book on First Amendment

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  J-IDEAS is funded in part by the 
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's
High School Initiative and Ball State University.		  
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