City Voice Charter

MISSION STATEMENT

The City Voice school newspaper exists to promote freedom of expression and create opportunities for City High Middle students. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, the opportunity to write, the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to discuss, the opportunity to share opinions, and the opportunity to be published. The denial of any of these opportunities from students is permissible under certain conditions but not to be taken lightly. Violations of the Guidelines and Responsibilities must be demonstrated before opportunities can be denied.

TRANSPARENCY

In the event of any decision, action, or veto, anyone has the right to publish a statement about or transcript of the discussion or vote in the newspaper.

GUIDELINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

All participating members of The City Voice must follow certain guidelines and adhere to certain responsibilities when taking advantage of the opportunities the club offers. These guidelines include:

  • All current events journalism must be based on factual information from at least two reliable sources.
  • All opinion writing must express the explained opinions of the writer.
  • All reviews must begin with the age rating of the reviewed title, using official US Motion Picture Association film ratings for movies and shows and the amazon.com “Reading Age” range for books.
  • All claims must be supported by evidence.
  • The City Voice does not tolerate any form of hate speech, defined herein as “abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation.”
  • The City Voice does not tolerate obscenity as defined by Miller v. California
  • The City Voice does not tolerate any infringement on the intellectual property of others, including but not limited to the duplication of research, ideas, writing or images without proper acknowledgement.
  • Treat everyone with respect.

It is understood that the above guidelines should remain an overall framework even if they do not account for the intricacies of specific situations. Any violation of the above, whether in the specific or the abstract, may be grounds for the denial of certain opportunities.

LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

As The City Voice is a student led newspaper, the general student membership is the largest and most important branch of the club. In all cases, the other three branches should do their best to assess the thoughts and opinions of the general membership and act accordingly. In general, all decisions should be made by general anonymous vote among all members, but it is understood that this is rarely convenient. In many cases it is acceptable for members of the editorial board or the faculty advisor to make decisions on issues that are urgent, or even unimportant, without consulting the general membership. However, should any member wish to call an anonymous vote or start a discussion about any issue or decision, this must be supported. 

EDITORIAL BOARD

The editorial board consists of four student editors. To ensure that the editorial board has experience and understanding, members of the editorial board must have contributed to The City Voice for at least one year prior to their appointment and must have published at least ten articles. Members of the editorial board may not serve for more than two consecutive school years.

At the end of each school year (May), any student member of The City Voice may apply for consideration as a new member of the editorial board. The editorial board must then review the applications and present their recommendations to the faculty advisor, who makes the final decision as to the makeup of the editorial board for the following year. Any member of the editorial board may also be removed at this time, even if they have only served one year. 

ROLE OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The role of the editorial board is to advise any and all contributors to help them to make their writing more clear, concise, and effective, regardless of content. The editorial board takes a neutral position on most issues and will support any and all writing that adheres to the guidelines and responsibilities.

EDITORIAL BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Advising writers to make their writing most effective
  • Enforcing the guidelines and responsibilities

EDITOR IN CHIEF

The editor in chief is an exemplary student journalist who serves as the student leader of the editorial board, guiding the publication’s tone and style. The editor in chief, like all students, may participate in general votes, but does not participate in editorial board votes except in the case of a tie, in which case the editor in chief becomes the deciding vote. The editor in chief is appointed from among the editorial board by the faculty advisor based on the recommendation of the previous editor in chief.

EDITOR IN CHIEF RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Running the newspaper’s website and preparing weekly editions
  • Producing the weekly City Voice TV broadcast
  • Managing the newspaper’s social media accounts
  • Providing the faculty advisor with information about the latest publication by 7:00 PM Thursday night
  • Serving as the primary student voice of the editorial board, and as the primary representative of The City Voice to City High Middle students and administration

FACULTY ADVISOR

The faculty advisor is a teacher at City High Middle who advises the student newspaper. The faculty advisor has the power to veto any decision of the editorial board or general membership, except in the case of a unanimous student vote.

FACULTY ADVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Advising students
  • Reviewing the final draft of each week’s publication
  • Representing the school and GRPS in editorial decisions

OTHER POLICY CLARIFICATIONS

  • While we support freedom of speech, The City Voice is a limited public forum reserved for student expression. The student editorial board reserves the right to make decisions about what content is published.
  • The City Voice contains no advertising at this time and collects no information about users with the intent to advertise.

Approved 8/28/2021 by majority student vote.