Still Fighting
Student Press Freedom Day is usually about protecting student journalists. This year, it's about fighting to protect the rights of all journalists.
Last year, Nebraska failed the assignment. Legislative Bill 1071 would have provided protection for both high school and post-secondary students, extending freedom of speech and freedom of the press safeguards to each group. It didn’t make it out of committee.
Worse yet, Nebraska wasn’t the only state where legislation to protect student journalists flopped. Six more states—Arizona, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—also couldn’t get what the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) calls “New Voices” bills across the finish line.
Part of the reason is that most folks don’t even know student journalists aren’t protected under the First Amendment. As JMM pointed out last year, it all stems back to a 1988 Supreme Court case, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. The student newspaper at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis was set to publish stories “about their peers’ experiences with teen pregnancy and the impact of divorce.” The school’s principal, however, deleted the pages that contained the stories before they went to press. He also didn’t tell the students. The kids sued. It went to the Supreme Court, which, in a 5-3 decision, said that the “paper was sponsored by the school and, as such, the school had a legitimate interest in preventing the publication of articles that it deemed inappropriate and that might appear to have the imprimatur of the school.” Translation: Schools can censor student journalists.
Since then, the SPLC the has been trying to press statehouses to provide students the protections Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier removed. It’s been slow going. Last year, Minnesota became just the 18th state to grant protections to student journalists. Several more are making a run at it again this year. Missouri and New York are trying for the third year in a row, while Arizona is back for the second time. Connecticut and Kentucky are fresh to the New Voices campaign. Sadly, none of the bills have seen much action since they were introduced, all of them sitting in some committee or other since January.
Which is why, every year in late February, the SPLC celebrates Student Press Freedom Day. It’s a journalist’s holiday designed to bring awareness to the issues faced by the student press, though all are welcome to join the festivities on Feb. 27. There are Zoom webinars including one on the threats AI and school-monitoring software pose to student journalists. There are lesson plans for high school teachers to preach the free speech bible. And there are campus events across the country, college newspapers hosting guest speakers, bake sales, and more to spread the word.
Here on Drake’s campus our student newspaper The Times-Delphic is setting up a QR code scavenger hunt of sorts. The paper received a grant from the Louis E. Ingelhart First Amendment Program to help fund five floor vinyl floor mats that will be set up across the journalism school. Each sports a fact about either the First Amendment or one of its four major tenants—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion, and Freedom to Assemble and Petition. QR codes will take students, faculty, and others to discussion prompts about the First Amendment.
It's an important conversation, especially these days. While we’ve been a country for almost 250 years, we’re still fighting to preserve the First Amendment. Just Friday, the Associated Press sued three White House officials, Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. It stems from AP’s refusal to change the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” despite Pres. Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the body of water.
AP issued guidance to all that use its style guide to stay with the Gulf’s traditional name. This irked Trump and his staff, who then barred the AP from attending press events not just at the White House, but also Mar-a-Lago and on Air Force One. Trump even commented that the move was retribution for ignoring his order.
“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump said last week.
In the lawsuit, the AP says that this direct retribution is a violation of the AP’s freedom of speech, the administration attacking the AP’s editorial independence. Plenty of others agree, including ardent Trump supporters Newsmax and Fox News. The conservative news networks have, along with 38 other news organizations, signed a letter the White House Correspondents Association demanding the Trump administration allow the AP back into the pressroom.
Ultimately, the lawsuit shows that press freedom continues to need protecting—for working journalists and those who aspire to be them. While Student Press Freedom Day might be focused on protecting the rights of student journalists, it’s a chance to get behind all journalists who are holding power to account—something we need now more than ever.
Read of the Week
Like expected, the “Saturday Night Live” 50th Anniversary special was roughly as entertaining as the 40th Anniversary special, which is to say not very funny. It was more about the celebrities gathered in the room and the flashbacks to endlessly funnier skits gone by than it was about the nostalgia-laden new material that aired. Even so, plenty of folks tuned in to see Will Farrell, Tina Fey, and Eddie Murphy, et al.
But the best thing about the SNL anniversary wasn’t even produced by NBC (though the documentaries on Peacock were actually very good). It was a write-around profile of Lorne Michaels from Vulture. The piece, simply titled “After Lorne,” not only detailed his rise to comedy supremacy, but also dug into the question of who will replace Michaels when he finally retires. Or maybe it’s the end of the show. Who knows? But Reeves Wiedeman does an incredible job of unpacking it all while never talking to Michaels about his plans. It’s long, so get comfy and settle in. But it is so worth it.
Even More Reading
The American Society of Magazine Editors, better known as ASME, released its list of National Magazine Awards finalists. These days, the contest covers way more than just paper and ink magazines. It’s a showcase of the best content across platforms, from podcasting to video to newsletters to photography. New powerhouses like The Marshall Project, ProPublica, and Eater grab awards alongside traditional legacy media brands like The New Yorker and Esquire. Every click provides a new bit of delight. You can get the full list of finalists here. Just be careful. You could lose hours to all the great stories linked on that one page—though, again, it’s totally worth it.
Be a Dotdash Meredith Apprentice
You can work for the largest magazine media company in America. The DotDash Meredith Apprenticeship Program allows ambitious journalists and graphic designers the opportunity to earn both academic credit and gain professional, portfolio-level work experience.
Selected students commit to working 15-20 hours per week at DotDash Meredith both semesters of either their junior or senior year. Apprentices earn a minimum of $15 an hour as well as up to three credits per semester.
To apply either share a Google Drive link or send an email to jeff.inman@drake.edu containing a cover letter, resume, and (if applicable) up to five work samples all contained in one PDF by 5 p.m. Fri., March 14. Interviews will be held the last week of March. For more info contact Prof. Inman at the above email address.
Internships, Fellowships, and More
• Act fast, Conde Nast has given folks a week to apply for its summer internships. There’s art, video, social, and editorial positions on offer both in the U.S. and, if you happen to be fluent in French, at Conde Nast’s Paris offices. Positions run June-August, with some variety of start dates. You’ll be in the office four days a week and WFH on Fridays. Pay is $25 an hour. Oh, and you must be a rising senior. Applications are due Feb. 27. Get all the info on the available positions here.
• The ad agency WorkInProgress is looking for summer Art and Copywriter interns. They’re the best paying internships JMM has ever seen. The gigs pay $50—yes, $50—an hour. You’ll work June-August, 40 hours a week, on actual campaigns for Domino’s, Sling TV, and more. The position is hybrid, requiring you to be in WIP’s Boulder, Colorado, offices every Tuesday and Thursday. Bonus: The job descriptions are actually really funny. Get all the info here.
• Texas Highways magazine is hiring a summer editorial intern. The Lone-Star State’s official travel magazine, the award-winning pub covers everything Texas offers up. You’ll be a part of that, handing everything from fact-checking to social content creation. The gig is based in Austin. Pay is $18 an hour, and you’ll work a full 40-hour week. To be eligible you need to have over 60 college credits completed and working toward a degree in journalism, creative writing, or a related field. The deadline to apply is March 15. Get the full rundown here.
• Iowa PBS wants a summer Production Editorial Intern. You’ll work with producers and videographers to help create some of Iowa PBS’s original content. You’ll work on ongoing series “Iowa Life” and “Road Trip Iowa,” as well as some incredible special projects. Pay is $14 an hour. There will be some nights and weekends involved, and even occasional travel for work. Apply by March 6. Get the details here.
• Her Campus is back, this time looking for a summer New & Politics Intern. You’ll be writing and editing timely news articles, working on larger editorial projects and packages, interviewing talent and expert sources, and more. You must be a undergrad and able to receive credit for the experience. The position is remote. Click here for more info.
• Travel-focused integrated marketing firm MMGY Global is looking for a summer social media intern with serious wanderlust. Over your 10 weeks with the company, you’ll help strategize and execute social media campaigns across various platforms with an emphasis on TikTok and Reels. Pay is $14 an hour. You’ll work 32 hours a week. The position is in-person, so you’ll have to spend your summer in Overland Park, Kansas, just outside of Paul Rudd’s hometown, Kansas City. Get more info and apply here.
• Ad agency Fallon’s career page says it is looking for a few new weirdos. In this case, they mean summer interns. The ad agency is looking for an undisclosed number of “the most hustling, talented individuals” to work June 2-Aug. 8 at the company’s Minneapolis or New York offices. The preference is on candidates who could be hired when the internship is over, meaning recent college grads get first stab at positions. Pay is $20. The deadline to apply is March 7. You can get more info from this LinkedIn post, or apply on the company’s career page.
• Science needs a News Writer intern. The full-time six-month position comes with pay ($19.50 an hour) and benefits. It runs July through December. Hybrid, based out of the brand’s Washington, D.C., office, is preferred, but fully remote candidates will be considered. Click here for more info.
• The Quad City Times is looking for a summer news intern. The full-time 10-week position will have you crossing the Mississippi multiple times, covering news in the Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, and Rock Island for the print and digital editions of both the Quad-City Times and the Dispatch-Argus. Fair warning: You’ll work some nights and weekends. No word on pay. Click here to apply.
• CNN is looking for an intern for “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” the network’s weekly world affairs show. The 11-week internship starts in June and will have you pitching ideas, researching guests, and more. You must be a rising junior, senior, or graduate student for this 35-40 hhour per week gig. Pay is $19 an hour for undergrads, $25 per hour for graduate students. You also need to be able to be in the CNN’s New York studios Thursdays, Fridays, and occasionally Sundays. Deadline to apply is Feb. 28. Get the full rundown here.
• CNN also needs a social publishing and newsletter intern at its Atlanta headquarters. Same deal: 11-week gig starting in June; 35-40 hours per week; hybrid set-up; rising junior or senior or graduate student requirement; deadline to apply is Feb. 28. No pay listed on this one, though. Get more info here.
• Warner Bros. Discovery has 117 summer internships listed, including positions like the Food Network & HGTV Commerce Editorial internship and a Documentary Production internship. Seriously, there’s a ridiculous number of cool gigs here. And they are paid, though that depends on the job. Positions are available in New York, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and other cities. For the full list, click here.
• The American Prospect is looking for summer editorial interns that can create narrative interpretations of complex issues. Summer interns can be remote, hybrid, or based in Washington D.C. and work May through August. Full and part-time positions are available. Pay is $17.50. Deadline to apply is March 17. Get more info here.
• The Conversation US wants a summer editorial intern to help edit local news stories written by academics targeted at either Detroit or Philadelphia—very specific. Preference will be given to those with ties to the area. The full-time gig pays $15 an hour. The position is remote but with the option to work in-person in Boston or New York. Deadline to apply is March 7. For more info or to apply, click here.
• Sports streamer GameChanger is looking is looking for a summer Social Media intern to help create content for Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. The full-time gig pays $30 an hour (yes, you read that right) and runs June 8-Aug. 15. The positios is remote, but includes a trip to New York City for training. For more info, click here.
Heard a Real Doozy?
Do you have some essential info did you get a trip to the White House like WHO Radio’s JD Snover (MMJ, ’24)? If so, then let JMM know by sending that juicy news on over to jeff.inman@drake.edu. JMM will treat it these great videos by former Vox video producer Christophe Haubursin, who shows how he reports the story as he’s doing it, giving everyone a better understanding of how we do what we do, and tell everyone about it.
Finally, college students need these alarms to wake up for class on time.