New Principal exercise
Your principal is new this year and calls you, as editor, in to discuss his views on school publications.
She tells you the following:
• She thinks the paper should be positive in nature since it is a product of the school and its work has an impact on the community. Nothing considered critical of or negative to the community is to be printed.
• She thinks your primary function should be to entertain and inform the school of the positive things going on it.
• She threatens to take away funds if you publish anything offensive or she does not like.
• She wants to read anything controversial before it comes out to protect the school
• The also-new adviser, she says, has been hired to be the censor so she does not have to. She will play the “bad guy” if things get out of hand and the adviser cannot handle the censorship.
How would you respond to each of the points she makes? Base your answers on your knowledge of press law and ethics.