Student Newspaper Guidelines
Student Newspaper Guidelines
These guidelines are to be read in conjunction with the Student Representation Procedures and all other relevant University laws, by laws, policies, rules, guidelines and procedures.
Formal Role of Student Editors
1)Under Part I of Student Representation Procedures, subsection 180, six student editors of the Western Sydney University Student Newspaper are elected annually through a general election amongst all students. Eligibility to nominate as a Student Editor is restricted to current students.
2)Under Part I, subsection 181, the Student Newspaper shall be published at least twice per semester and is considered the official publication of the SRC.
3)Subsection 182 states that the SRC President and SCC Chairs shall have an opportunity to provide a report for each edition of the Student Newspaper.
4)Under subsection 183, the student editors are deemed solely responsible for the production of the Student Newspaper, subject to any decision of the Publications Committee.
General Conduct
5)Student Editors and Publications Committee members are expected to act professionallyand totreat staff and students with respect and dignity at all times. Meetings and all other interactions are to be free from bullying, harassment, abuse and vilification.Further, Student Editors and Publications Committee members will act honesty, ethically, and in good faith when carrying out their duties. These principles are explained in more detail in theStudent Non-Academic Misconduct Policyand Student Code of Conduct.
Role of the Publications Committee
6)The Publications Committee checksfor any legal issues prior to the paper going to print.
7)Under Student Representation Procedures Part I, subsection 178, the Publications Committee consists of;
- the SRC President(who chairs meetings),
- the Chairs of each SCC,
- the Student Editors,
- the Manager of Student Representation & Participation, and
- the publications staff member.
8)Under Part I, subsection 179, the Publications Committee acts as publisher of all SRC and SCC publications. The Publications Committee exercises editorial and content control over all publications issued by the SRC and SCC’s, provided that such control is ``reasonable’’ and ``restricted to matters’’ which, in the Committee’s opinion, ``may expose the Council or the Committee to any civil or criminal liability, including for defamation, contempt, infringement of copyright, unlawful discrimination or indecency, or promote a candidate running in any student election at Western Sydney University unless that candidate has been endorsed by the Council’’.
9)The Publications Committee is expected to meet before each edition of the student newspaper is printed. The Publications Officer will normally call Publications Committee meetings to ensure that the Committee meets prior to each edition going to print.
10) The Student Publications Officer emails a rough layout of the paper in PDF format together with a summary of legal issues to look out for, to Publications Committee members at least 24 hours before the Publications Committee is due to meet. If members can’t attend the meeting, they can email any responses or issues to the Student Publications Officer.
11) Unless otherwise requested by the Student Editors, the Publications Committee does not have any role in dictating the content or any other aspect of the Student Newspaper, other than its narrow role in providing editorial oversight specifically for legal issues as previously listed.
Role of the Student Publications Officer
12) The Student Publications Officer is employed on a part time basis to help establish the masthead and to coordinate and assist Student Editors with the production of four issues a year. Additionally, the Student Publications Officer is employed to provide Student Editors with some continuity from one year to the next, as well as assist with training and mentoring of the Student Editors.
Student Editors and Decision Making
13) Student Editors will ordinarily make decisions regarding the content and any other aspect of the Student Newspaper via email, or at arranged Student EditorsMeetings.
14) Student Editors Meetings can be called by the Student Publications Officer either on their own accord, or after a request by any two Student Editors.
15) All Student Editors must be notified in writing at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled time of any Student Editors Meeting.
16) The overarching principles of the Journalists’ Code of Ethics are reference points in any disagreement about copy. These principles are fairness, honesty; independence and respect for the rights of others (see End Notes for full Code of Ethics).
17) Where there arises any differences of opinion in relation to any aspect of the Student Newspaper between the student editors, a decision can be reached through a simple majority vote, either via email or at a Student Editors Meeting, provided that all editors have had sufficient time to respond to any decision where it is decided via email (24 hours). In the event of a tied decision, the issue will be referred to the Publications Committee for a decision.
Student Editor Responsibilities & Processes
18) crUWSible editors are encouraged to express interest in,and take carriage of, any aspect of newspaper production – writing, commissioning stories, promotion, distribution, proofreading, layout, design.
19) Generating and commissioning content is the most significant and important aspect of the production process. Meeting deadlines is essential.
20) Editors meetings are held several times throughout the year, arranged and attended by the Student Publications Officer. Locations may vary throughout the year, accommodating editors’ home campus locations.
21) At these meetings, editors discuss what stories they are working on for the next issue and seek suggestions or assistance in regards to working up a story, if required. Requests for training can be raised at these meetings, or atany other time.
22) Editors are encouraged to discuss ideas for permanent sections orcolumns, design, promotion, distribution, stories they could commission from other students andemerging themes.
23) Any changes to the design template of the newspaper should be discussed and decided upon early in the year, and adhered to in subsequent editions to ensure consistency.
24) Once the bulk of stories have been submitted, after deadline, editors gather with the Publications Officer to decide onstory placement - the “flatplanning’’ process.They look at the flatplan (blank layout of pages) and decide which articles should be placed on certain pages. Editors look at cover design submissions and decide which images they prefer. Design students are encouraged to submit their work for consideration for cover images. Design course lecturers are regularly contacted and requested to elicit and forward on student submissions.
25) If a Student Editor is interested in doing rough layouts, they can meet with the Student Publications Officer (at their home campus if more convenient) for an introduction to the InDesign layout program, and discussion of typical newspaper formats. They may begin by layingout their own article and progress to morelayouts after that.
26) If a Student Editor is interested in proofreading, they can proofread froma PDF of the rough layout, ready a week before the final is sent to the printer.
27) Therough layout PDF is emailed to Student Editors and the Publications Committee about a week before the paper is due at the printers. The Publications Committee (which includes Student Editors) meets a week before the paper is due at the printers to look at the rough layout and raise any defamation, copyright, discrimination issues or anything that could expose the SRC to legal action. The Publications Committee will have at least 24 hours before the meeting to peruse the rough layout PDF, emailed to all members by the Student Publications Officer. Any desired changes to content, headlines, photos and story placement must be decided at this point in time and communicated to the Student Publications Officer who manages the master file, keeping in mind that the Publications Committee is restricted to decisions on legal and candidate exposure, while Student Editors may decide on all other matters.
28) Final design iscurrently done by a Western Sydney University design student.Major designtemplate changes need to be discussed and agreed upon well in advance of any production deadline and preferably at the beginning of the year. Student Editors who wish to take carriage of the final design or design template may do so with the approval of the Student Editor team.
29) Once the edition is designed and proofed, the editors and Publications Committee have 24 hours to peruse and comment on the final version before it is sent to the printer by the Publications Officer.
30) Version control - management of the master file - is maintained by the Student Publications Officer.
Timeframes
31) About two weeks pass from copy deadline to the final version being sent to the printer.
32) Printing, delivery and distribution can take up to one week. It is expected that Student Editors assist with the distribution of the newspaper on their campus by filling the newsstands at the library, SCC rooms, retail outlets, Student Central and other locations on their campus, as well as hand-to-hand distribution where possible.
Off-Deadline
33) Discussions are instigated and formal responses canvased by the Student Publications Officer on issuesthroughout the year, such as the advertising policy.
34) As meetings with all in attendance rarely, if ever, occur, the Student Publications Officer mayvisit the home campus of Student Editors to meet with them in smaller groups or individually.
35) The Student Publications Officer coordinates the overall production process and fills in any gaps to ensure that four editions are published a year.
Complaints
36) Please refer to Part L (Complaints & Dispute Resolution) of the Student Representation Procedures
End Notes:
Journalists’ Code of Ethics (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance):
``Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities. Alliance members engaged in journalism commit themselves to
Honesty, Fairness, Independence, Respect for the rights of others.
Journalists will educate themselves about ethics and apply the following standards:
1. Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.
2. Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.
3. Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source's motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted,respect them in all circumstances.
4. Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.
5. Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.
6. Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.
7. Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.
8. Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a person's vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.
9. Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.
10. Do not plagiarise.
11. Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.
12. Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.
Guidance Clause: Basic values often need interpretation and sometimes come into conflict. Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. Only substantial advancement of the public interest or risk of substantial harm to people allows any standard to be overridden.
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