Editorial Policy

Land Acknowledgement

The Portrait publication recognizes that East Lansing High School occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg-Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Botawatomi peoples. The high school resides on land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

Mission Statement

The Portrait staff seeks to inform the East Lansing High School student body, staff and larger community through accurate, truthful and honest reporting. 

Code of Ethics

The Portrait staff follows ethical standards set out in the Society for Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.

A source can be granted anonymity. It will only be offered if information cannot be found elsewhere and/or if revealing the name can cause harm to source or someone else.

Death

Should a student or staff member die at any time during the current coverage period, East Lansing High Student Media will treat the death in a tasteful, respectful manner.

In the yearbook people section with student/staff portraits, the portrait of that person will appear as it would under normal circumstances. Next to the portrait will appear birth date and date of passing unless the death occurs after the book’s final deadline, which is generally March 21. If deadlines allow, the death may be covered as a news event on social media or on Portrait website, if deemed appropriate by the editorial board, although no obituary or other memorial item will appear in the yearbook. Families and/or friends or other parties may purchase space for a memorial or tribute to appear in the advertising section of the yearbook, and may do so at the “early-bird” pricing structure regardless of purchase date, but advertising space generally is available only August-December and production of these pages is complete by January.

Students may choose to cover the death as a news story and/or possible feature in the next issue of Portrait depending on the situation, including cause of death and timing. The editors will communicate with the family of the deceased in order to hear their wishes as part of this process. It is the aim of the staff to handle any such situation in a fair and sensitive manner.

Students may use social media to post a memorial within a one-week window of a student or staff member death depending on the situation, including cause of death and timing. Posts will follow a consistent format to provide name, years of life and a copy of the school portrait image (pending availability) with the consent of the family.

Comment Section

Portrait has a comment section available for appropriate responses. Inappropriate responses will be deleted and the user may be censored or expelled. Inappropriate responses may include slurs or be sexually vulgar. Portrait expects commenters to be respectful to other people and topics.

Opinion Policy 

Should Portrait allow someone who is not a member of staff to contribute, they are not permitted to include hate speech, harassment or to directly/indirectly bully a person(s). Furthermore, those on Portrait staff will not write anything that qualifies as such. Opinions are not necessarily the opinions of the writer or publication.

Freedom of the Press

Portrait journalists are protected by shield law and work uncensored. We do not censor staff or lie. Administrators are not entitled to prior review, though it may be granted for specific articles.

Press Access 

Journalists with the accurate year and photo on their press pass will be granted access to events for free if they are covering the event for the publication.

Role of Adviser

Portrait’s adviser is a support for all of the staff and a teacher at ELHS. They are available for questions and are part of the editing process.

Editorial Policy

Errors/ Corrections

Should Portrait publish incorrect information, the journalist is responsible for correcting the mistake as soon as possible.  Once corrected, at the bottom of the page there will be clarification on where the correction was, what it was, and when it was corrected. Portrait takes our responsibility to be accurate seriously. 

Advertising

While Portrait does use advertisements, we will not advertise anything that could impair a students mental or physical health. We will not use ads that reinforce harmful stereotypes or that objectify people. This will be decided in a joint collaboration within staff. Political ads don’t necessarily reflect the publications opinions. 

Bullying

Should bullying be reported via tip line or noticed by us, it will be turned over to and investigated by administration. If caught, Portrait has a zero tolerance policy and the user will not be allowed to comment ever again. Bullying by students falls under board policy for discipline through East Lansing Public Schools. 

Code of Conduct

Portrait has high expectations of its staff and expects professionalism. It is protocol to ask to record an interview and fact check. Staff will avoid conflicts of interest to the best of their ability.

Multimedia Policy

Portrait may use photographs not taken by staff members, which will be labeled as Courtesy Photos. Portrait may also outsource for artwork if this occurs then the artist’s  name will be provided on the caption of the art. 

Portrait will not publish photographs or identifying information of students who appear on the “No Photograph” list held by school administration. 

Diversity clause

Portrait knows diversity is crucial to accurately represent ELHS. We do our best not to repeat sources or topics. We are constantly attempting to include new and more ways to cover different genders, grades, race/ethnicities, cultures, socioeconomic status’ and skill sets. Portrait equally covers girls and boys sports. Because of this policy, we aren’t restricted to our staff and who we know, tips for article ideas go a long way.