REP: EDUCATION BEAT

Dear Students,

Please work on education beat today. Also, refer to what we had discussed in the class. Add whatever best you can.

All the best.

INTRODUCTION

Education defines the lives of the people living in a community. Education is not limited to the classroom, as it takes place anywhere and everywhere. Holding such a crucial part in lives of the people, education is one of the most important news beats in journalism.

The education beat is a wide umbrella, covering everything from preschool through higher education, and from school funding to learning outcomes. 

With the education beat reporting, the readers get to know the latest on education. The education sector is fast evolving with new innovations and technologies. With the recent happenings in the world, the education beat is there to inform the audience of the recent happenings in the education system so as to adjust or take precautions. This beat also brings to light the excellence and progress of the education sector in a particular community, state or country.

Reporters covering education need to understand the structure, staffing and economics of the school systems they cover, which may vary widely. They should be prepared to decipher statistics and to compare budgets over time to see where the money goes and what happens as a result. Covering education also means tracking statistical data such as dropout and graduation rates, teacher retention and vacancy rates, principal turnover and the results of high-stakes testing. 

Areas covered in education beat:

Following are the areas which are covered in education beat:

•     School board and PTA meetings

•     Voices of schoolchildren, parents, college students etc.

•     Structure, staffing and economics of the school systems and other educational institutions

•     tracking statistical data such as dropout and graduation rates

•     teacher retention and vacancy rates

•     principal turnover and the results of high-stakes testing

•     policy issues like the certification process for teachers or efforts to end social promotion

•     Ranking schools’ performance  considering demographics like race, income or parents’ education.

•     Reporting on cutoffs of the colleges

•     Technologies used in the educational sector

•     Funds allocated the sector

•     Public and private schooling and what is happening in universities and colleges regarding academic activities and developments

•     co-curricular activities, unions are highlighted in the news stories

•      literacy rate and programmes to increase literacy rate

•     adult education

•      Trends in classrooms teaching and dozens of other significant problems can also be reported.

Skills required for the reporters:

Some of the necessary skills for education reporting have remained consistent across decades, even generations. Education journalists have always needed to know how to evaluate schools based on both qualitative and quantitative measures, how to interview children effectively, and how to analyse a budget.

Other skills have emerged and expanded in recent years. It’s increasingly important that education reporters be able to organise and analyse data using spreadsheet programs like Excel, for instance, given that many school districts and states now make data available only in that form.

•      Size up school

Reporters need to be able to assess the quality and nature of a school quickly, but carefully. They must pay attention to whether students are engaged in work, teachers are professional and prepared, and administrators have a motivating and organising effect on the school.

•     Analyse budgets and statistics

At every level of education — school, district, university, state or federal — education journalists must be able to read and decipher budgets, spotting trends, gaps, or aberrations in the intake and outflow of money for schools. They must be comfortable with numbers, as they will frequently be awash in them.

•     Interviewing children

Education reporters must learn how to interview students effectively and with sensitivity.

•      Use technology and social media

Education journalists need to be comfortable telling their stories using multiple platforms. They should also be able to generate story ideas and engage with readers via social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

•     Understand political dynamics

Education reporters need to be skilful in detecting when school politics are in play at the local, state, and federal levels. School board members, teachers’ unions, and administrators all engage in political tugs for control or power. Governors, lawmakers, and mayors sometimes promote specific education policies or changes with broader political goals or ambitions in sight.

•     Know open meetings and public record laws

Education journalists should familiarise themselves with relevant open meetings laws so they will know if — and when — a school board, charter school board, or state board of education might be in violation. They should also know which types of documents and records are available to the public and which ones are not. And they must know how, and when, to file an open records request.

•    Use spreadsheets and database programs

Education journalists must possess at least basic proficiency with spreadsheet and database programs, because state, school district and college data increasingly are available only in spreadsheet form. Reporters will also find that knowledge of these programs enhances their ability to sort, summarise, and analyse education-related data of all types, including test scores.

•     Report and interview on a broad range of subjects

Unlike journalists who perform a very specialised role at a news organisation, such as restaurant or art critics, education journalists must be both specialists and generalists. Most education reporters will find they have to cover a broad range of stories, including politics, business, breaking news, and human interest. They will have to cultivate a wide variety of sources.

Ethics of education beat reporting:

Journalists on all beats routinely face important ethical questions. But that is especially true for education reporters, because their work involves covering children. Some ethical decisions are black and white: Education reporters should never, for instance, interview a young child about a sensitive topic like sexual abuse without the permission and presence of a trusted adult. But many issues are grey areas: Thoughtful journalists might reach different conclusions, and even the most careful, experienced reporters can misread a situation or make a mistake.

The following guidelines aim to help steer journalists through some of the murkier ethical terrain they will undoubtedly encounter when reporting on children, families, and education.

•     Be explicit on the front end

when visiting classrooms and schools, education reporters should try to ensure — whenever practically possible — that employees and students know who they are and the purpose of the visit.

•     Be permissive on the back end

While reporting on young people, journalists and media organisations should be more flexible when it comes to such issues as unnamed sources and the retraction of controversial quotes.

•     Never accept work you would not feel comfortable disclosing publicly

An education journalist might consider doing freelance work for a local foundation uninvolved in school-related causes. But if the foundation advocates on education issues, then the assignment would likely pose a conflict.

•     Weigh carefully the public’s need to know against an individual’s right to privacy

After learning as much about the context as possible, reporters should ask whether there is a broad public interest in exposing the information.

•     Don’t condescend, but err on the side of assuming naivety

Education journalists should assume minors are not familiar with concepts such as on and off-the-record, and do not fully grasp the implications of media exposure. They should explain to children that articles or videos about them can live indefinitely on the Web, reaching readers and viewers they might not have anticipated, including relatives, friends, and strangers.

•     First, do no harm

Journalists should be careful not to add to a child’s trauma or pain when reporting highly sensitive or controversial stories.

•     Verify online information

Education journalists should make sure they do not get sloppy — by copying and pasting information from online sites, or repeating unverified statements made by students online.

SOURCES OF EDUCATION BEAT

•     School newspaper and magazines

•     Colleges

•     Universities

•     Autonomous college and institutions

•     Research papers

•     Education departments

•     Government schools

•     NCERT resource center

•     Students

•     Teachers

•     Parents

•     National education associations

•     Education writers’ association

•     HRD Ministry

•     University grants commission

CONCLUSION

This article provides an overview of the education beat, which is a crucial part of Journalism. The horizon of education reporting is very wide.

These days many reporters are trying to concentrate on Education reporting which focuses on young people. For the reporters, educational stories are easy to cover which includes exam scores, campus stories, and sports. They can also cover the safety regulations of the students or underpaid teachers in an academy. For example, in India, the reporter announces the results of entrance or final results of schools and colleges.

The education system, its merits and demerits are the main sphere of education reporting.

The education reporter is normally expected to cover activities at all levels of the research and schooling system from policy making to the teachers in the classrooms.

The education beat offers the opportunity for many routine stories as well as major news breaks, features and interpretative pieces.

Examples of education beat can be read on the following link:

https://beats.eckovation.com/

https://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html

References:

1. https://newslab.org/beat-reporting-education/

2. https://beats.eckovation.com/

3. https://www.ewa.org/new-education-beat

4. https://www.ewa.org/reporter-guide/standards-ethics-education-reporters#

Himani Jindal

 Department of Journalism LSR, Batch of 2022

(Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal)