Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press….”

-The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

“The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.”

-Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Eagle Valley Student Media seeks to inform, educate and serve the community of Eagle Valley High School.

Eagle Valley Student Media is the official student-produced medium of news and information published/produced by Eagle Valley Student Media students. Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate have been established as designated public forums for student editors to inform and educate their readers as well as for the discussion of issues of concern to their audience. It will not be reviewed or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution. Advisers may – and should – coach and discuss content during the writing process.

Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate is determined by and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials or the school itself, its student editorial board and responsible student staff members assume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication.

Electronic media (including online, broadcast and podcast media) produced by Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate students are entitled to the same protections – and subjected to the same freedoms and responsibilities – as media produced for print publication. As such they will not be subject to prior review or restraint.

Student journalists may use print and electronic media to report news and information, to communicate with other students and individuals, to ask questions of and consult with experts and to gather material to meet their newsgathering and research needs.

Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate and its staff are protected by and bound to the principles of the First Amendment and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various laws and court decisions implementing those principles.

Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate will not publish any material determined by student editors or the student editorial board to be unprotected, that is, material that is libelous, obscene, materially disruptive of the school process, an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright or a promotion of products or services unlawful (illegal) as to minors as defined by state or federal law.

Definitions and examples for the above instances of unprotected speech can be found in Law of the Student Press published by the Student Press Law Center.

The editorial board, which consists of the staff’s student editors and producers, will determine the content, including all unsigned editorials. The views stated in editorials represent that of a majority of the editorial board. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author.

Eagle Valley Student Media and The Devils’ Advocate may accept letters to the editor, guest columns and news releases from students, faculty, administrators, community residents and the general public. We ask that letters to the editor, guest columns or other submissions be 300 words or less and contain the author’s name, address and signature. All submissions will be verified.

The Eagle Valley Student Media editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter or column or other submission and/OR return it for revision if it contains unprotected speech or grammatical errors that could hamper its meaning. Deadlines for letters and columns will be determined by each year’s student staff, allowing sufficient time for verification of authorship prior to publication.

A comment may be removed, without notice to the commenter, if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Messages containing profanity, obscenity, or words that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or hateful in some other way.
• Threats or encouragement of violence and/or other illegal behavior.
• Disclosure of personal and/or private information about any individual, including (but not limited to) the writer of the piece or the writer of another comment.
• The comment is written under the name or username of an individual other than the author of the comment.

Staff members will strive to correct errors prior to publication; however, if the editorial board determines a significant error is printed, the editorial board will determine the manner and timeliness of a correction.

The staff of the Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate will strive to report all issues in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical manner, according to the Canons of Professional Journalism developed by the Society for Professional Journalists. The Canons of Professional Journalism include a code of ethics concerning accuracy, responsibility, integrity, conflict of interest, impartiality, fair play, freedom of the press, independence, sensationalism, personal privacy, obstruction of justice, creditability and advertising.

The adviser will not act as a censor or determine the content of the paper. The adviser will offer advice and instruction, following the Code of Ethics for Advisers established by the Journalism Education Association as well as the Canons of Professional Journalism. School officials shall not fire or otherwise discipline advisers for content in student media that is determined and published by the student staff.

The student editors, producers, and staff who want appropriate outside legal advice regarding proposed content – should seek attorneys knowledgeable in media law such as those of the Student Press Law Center. Final content decisions and responsibility shall remain with the student editorial board.

Eagle Valley Student Media, EVTV, and The Devils’ Advocate will not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dissent or controversy.

The Eagle Valley Student Media editorial board reserves the right to accept or reject any ad in accordance with its advertising policy.

Electronic manipulations changing the essential truth of the photo or illustration will be clearly labeled if used.

The duly appointed editor or co-editors shall interpret and enforce this editorial policy.