Student newspaper in Faribault goes to Web to avoid censorship

Last update: January 11, 2009 - 8:14 AM

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RE: ch3201

Just as I questioned your criticism of the students' actions, you could legitimate question my own for the superintendent's. … read more Philosophically I have a major problem with almost all forms of censorship. But I certainly recognize that there needs to be some limits to freedom of speech (e.g., yelling fire in a crowded room). As a general rule, I think censorship is only acceptable if it somehow makes the world better than the alternative. ThatÃ¢â¬â¢s easy to see when we forbid yelling fire in a crowded room, but I think itÃ¢â¬â¢s hard to see how censoring this article made things better (and, according to the superintendent himself, he was going to censor it). The story got out anyways, which should have been completely foreseeable given itÃ¢â¬â¢s quite newsworthy, particularly for a small town. So, the students all found out about the story anyway (indeed, many probably already knew it). The one thing I can see as a possible good thing is that the school couldnÃ¢â¬â¢t be held liable for any taunting of the teacherÃ¢â¬â¢s kids. But, IÃ¢â¬â¢m not sure if the school could have been liable for that anyway, since IÃ¢â¬â¢m not a lawyer. ThatÃ¢â¬â¢s something the school districtÃ¢â¬â¢s lawyer could have looked into. As for my assumptions about the superintendentÃ¢â¬â¢s intentions, IÃ¢â¬â¢m pretty comfortable with them. From the FDNÃ¢â¬â¢s article: Ã¢â¬ÅStepaniak told the Daily News he had made up his mind on Friday to Ã¢â¬Ëstop any article that mentions her name,Ã¢â¬â¢ though he was uncomfortable taking such an extreme stand.Ã¢â¬Â I think that makes his intentions pretty clear.

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FARIBAULT -- About a month after the Faribault High School student newspaper was shut down by the district's superintendent, student journalists are taking their stories to the Internet.

The owner of a company that creates websites for student publications is offering student editors of the Echo a free site.

"We wanted to make sure they had a chance to keep publishing," said Jason Wallestad, owner of School Newspapers Online. "Our goal is to help student journalism as much as we can."

Superintendent Bob Stepaniak stopped the paper from being printed Dec. 14 after student editors refused to let him see an article before publication about the investigation into a middle-school teacher.

The website, truthwithecho.com, is under development and will likely have its name changed, Echo editor Christen Hildebrandt said. It will cover school news and events, but won't have any association with the district or use any of its resources, he said.

Hildebrandt said the website will be updated more frequently than the newspaper -- the Echo was published monthly. In addition, it will include creative writing, columns and photography.

Because the website isn't funded by the district, administrators have no control over content.

Stepaniak said he wasn't surprised a website was created.

"It's well within their right," he said. "Any group of students could put together a website like that. That's the way life is in this electronic age."

Kelly Zwagerman, a teacher at the high school and adviser for the Echo, will help the students outside of her school duties. The site, she said, will be run by the students and her role will be minimal -- she'll attend meetings and edit stories or offer guidelines for ethics.

"I'm very excited to see what students can do without the threat of censorship," she said. "Still, there has to be guidelines."

Meanwhile, the district is looking at the policy governing the Echo. Stepaniak and the Echo staff have each claimed the policy supports their view.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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