How widespread are prior review and censorship of high school media? I knew of cases here and there and had a sense that it was increasing, but I wanted to see it.
I had in my mind the image of a world map I’d seen that plotted natural disasters, extreme weather conditions and other notable global happenings. And I had heard of an intensely local map where people could plot troublesome potholes on their neighborhood streets using Google mapping software. I wanted to combine those two ideas in a map where teachers and student editors could plot cases of prior review and censorship at their schools.
I shared my vision with John Bowen and Candace Perkins Bowen at Kent State University, and they found a graduate student, Audrey Wagstaff, who wanted to take this on for her research project. She researched cases through the Student Press Law Center and asked teachers on a Journalism Education Association listserv to send her their examples of censorship and prior review.
Here’s the result of her work since our first conversation in May. Red pins indicate censorship, yellow pins mark prior review and blue pins show landmark court cases. Click on a pin and read details of each incident, including the nature of the stories involved.
Wagstaff is exploring enhancements to the map, including ways to allow people to enter their own incidents. But for now, the map offers a glimpse, at least, at the state of First Amendment freedoms for student journalists in our nation’s schools.
Contribute data for the map by contacting Wagstaff here.
