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Key Finding 7

Most administrators say they would like to see their school expand existing student media, but lack of financial resources is the main obstacle.

"Support for the teaching of student media and First Amendment has to come from the top down, from the superintendent of schools to the principal to the adviser to the student. Too often the newspaper adviser is "the new kid on the block" who is far more interested in getting tenure than rocking the boat. Support among fellow teachers often is lacking as well. It gets disheartening very quickly when you're one person fighting against many."  

-Richard Holden, Executive Director
Dow Jones Newspaper Fund

"Given the information age explosion, it seems logical for schools to offer a solid understanding of the news media as part of the overall school curriculum. With it, students would also become more aware of their Constitutional rights.''  

-Jack Dvorak, Director, High School Journalism Institute
Professor, School of Journalism, Indiana University

"The report is a call to action. Scholastic media training organizations must also focus on principals and administrators. They can make or break programs. One suggestion: let's develop for-credit courses in the student media and First Amendment and tailor them for the principals. This would show them how they can balance all their concerns AND encourage student media and expression."  

-Warren Watson, Director, J-Ideas
Ball State University

An overwhelming majority (85 percent) of administrators say they would like to see their schools expand existing student media programs. However, they also feel that many obstacles stand in the way.

The following graphic shows that after budgeting constraints, the No. 2-ranked obstacle is student apathy. Additionally, because student media is not a priority among high school officials and there's a lack of support from school district officials, even among extracurricular activities, journalism is not often recognized as an important priority. The potential controversy that student media might generate was considered less of an obstacle.

What current obstacles stand in the way of your school expanding its student media programs?

Mean rating on scale from 0-10: 0 = not an obstacle and 10 = major obstacle

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