High school paper to publish story of student in adult entertainment industry

Posted here since the story linked involves student journalism and free press rights. No Poin, just porn (maybe). Wait until it's posted, though ...

High school newspaper fights Lodi district over story about student in adult entertainment

 

I support their right to publish. But is it necessary? I was 13 years old when my freshman year started. Did I need to be reading about that?

 

A 13 year old is doing a lot more than just reading about porn these days.

 

It’s well established on here that my values trend more conservative than the rest of this board, so while I agree with you, I also say “so what?” I don’t think it’s necessary for the school district and taxpayers to provide a vehicle for that kind of story for 13-year-olds to read. For God’s sake, I didn’t even have pubes then, I don’t think.

But again, they have the right to publish, absolutely.

 

This isn’t a story about what it’s like to go down on a Ron Jeremy wannabe.

 

I'm thinking the subject may be working in a strip club rather than films. Or maybe a webcam site?

Probably beats flipping burgers.

 

"The story, according to student editor Bailey Kirkeby, primarily focuses on the hardships the student experienced, such as failing freshman year. Kirkeby, who wrote the story, said it also includes information about the adult entertainment industry such as pay scale and occupational risks."

I have not read the story but I imagine the most obscene part of it will be the use of the phrase "adult entertainment industry."

I do think there is an argument against publishing it centered around protecting the student's right to privacy, especially in a setting such as high school where bullying and sexual harassment is rampant. However, if the student willingly agreed to be interviewed and divulge information (and possibly even instigated the idea for the story), then it's fair game.

 

Great training ground, that school ...

This is not the first time Duffel and the newspaper have clashed with the school.

In 2013, then-Principal Shirley McNichols was asked to resign after she confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper until the district ordered her to release them. The newspaper’s story on the school’s outdated safety plan made headlines as far as Australia.

In 2011 another principal, Daryl Camp, resigned after a battle with the paper, which he asked to review. The staff was pursuing a story about how Camp lost master keys for the school, which cost the district thousands of dollars to replace.

“Our job is to teach the students to question every time their voice is silenced,” Duffel said. “And if we fail to do that as educators, then we failed to do our job.”

 

The story is fine to run in the free speech sense.

Reading through the Web site, it would seem a lot of the stories are tilted toward contentious. Which is OK. The media's allowed to pick fights and stir up shit. It does feel like stirring stuff up is the purpose of more than a few of the stories, though.

 

Has the actual story been posted online yet? Sounds like a hell of a "get" to me - Obviously, there are plenty of 'newcomers' into that industry each year, so I think a good feature or profile on one of them could be really interesting, since it is an incredibly popular aspect of life that doesn't get much ink because of its subject nature. If the story is properly written and edited, it shouldn't be any more 'obscene' or disturbing than any other story they could read in the Bee or a local paper out there, or, you know, "Lord of the Flies" or "To Kill A Mockingbird."

 

I love that story. Go, kids!

 

I was on a college paper with some guys who thought that way. And they were stirring up shit under pseudonym bylines.

We put a stop to that nonsense fast.