About

Code of Ethics

We, the editors and staff members of The Commander, have a duty to ourselves, to our audience, and to the art of journalism. As a publication for University City High School, we strive to publish articles that both entertain and inform our wide audience. Our articles will not cater to a certain population of students, nor will we portray only one kind of opinion. Instead, we will use our platform to give a voice to the various groups at UC High. Our duty is to write accurate, insightful, and entertaining articles about new developments in our community, important issues concerning our students and the sports our students play.

The Commander hopes to foster an open community both within the journalism room and within UC High as a whole. In order to do so, we must walk into brainstorming meetings open to ideas from various sources. We must work with one another to help improve our writing and foster new voices for the newspaper. It is important for editors to maintain a supportive relationship with all staff members of The Commander. Editors must listen to their staff members and keep an open mind when determining which articles go on pages. All ideas with merit should be considered for print, and no idea with merit shall be simply discarded as a result of petty personal preference. Only by keeping an open mind can The Commander be a newspaper that publishes a diverse array of topics that caters to a diverse group of students, without excluding one group or another.

Our responsibility to our audience is twofold; we must be both open-minded when it comes to article topics and stern when it comes to article quality. We shall not publish anything libelous, inaccurate, or slanderous. When writing articles, staff members must conduct honest interviews, which they should record (and ask their subject for permission to record) in order to maintain accuracy. Reporters tasked with writing more investigative or sensitive articles are encouraged to quote-check their articles to be sure that The Commander is only publishing the truth.

All staff members are responsible for meeting the deadlines set for them by their editors. Deadlines are fair, and any staff member who misses a deadline as a result of their own carelessness will receive a citation (a penalty to his or her grade). Editors are responsible for editing their articles and finishing layout in a timely manner. Editors must help their writers by giving advice, while also reprimanding any writer who consistently fails to meet deadlines or turn in quality drafts.

Journalism is an important class at UC High, and being in this class comes with certain privileges. Never should a press pass be used for non-journalism related reasons, nor shall journalism become an excuse to get out of class.

From now until forever, the journalism classroom will be a place to foster open discussion and communication that enables all of its students to learn more about themselves and about the school. By agreeing to follow this code of ethics, we agree to respect the art of journalism and perform our duties as the various staff members of The Commander.