So is it OK for these two athlete-journalists to write the story for the newspaper? Nope.

Look at these relevant passages from the NSPA Model Code of Ethics published last year:
(1.2) Keep yourself, the reporter, out of print. It’s not about you; it’s about the readers/listeners/viewers you serve. For the most part, student reporters and editors should not appear in the media they represent unless they are legitimate newsmakers. In those cases, the particular student journalists should have no influence on the coverage, and any conflict of interest should be disclosed.
(2.9) Disclose any potential conflict of interest by a journalist or news medium. For example, conflicts of interests could involve personal relationships with news subjects or sources, associations with organizations, gifts and “perks” and vested interests in issues or events.
(5.4) Hold no obligation to news sources and newsmakers. Journalists and news media should avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest.
(5.6) Declare any personal or unavoidable conflict of interest, perceived or certain, in covering stories or participating in editorial or policy decisions.
(5.11) Guard against participating in any school organizations or activities that would significantly create a conflict of interest. Journalists particularly should avoid holding office in student government, or they should be prepared to recuse themselves in either journalism or government forums when decision-making could pose a conflict of interest.

Students who are newsmakers and who are also on the staff should not be placed in the awkward position of having to also cover the story. They deserve to be treated as newsmakers and interviewed in proportion to their participation in the news. If one of these students is the star athlete, it would be expected for the reporter to interview her. The athlete should not have to write her own quotes for this story, nor should she have to be excluded simply because she is on the staff.

This situation is an excellent teaching opportunity for the editors. They should not try to influence the coverage. They should demonstrate leadership by recognizing the conflict of interest, disclosing it and allowing another editor shepherd the coverage. That’s how these students uphold good journalism — what we would expect any good editor to do.

The complete NSPA Model Code of Ethics can be downloaded at The Wheel: Resources You Don’t Want to Reinvent.

What a great idea. The traditional idea would probably be to publish several reviews as 300-word stories, put a few cover shots to accompany the reviews and call it a day. I responded with the suggestions below, which I have expanded here.

This is a perfect opportunity to:
1. Collaborate with library media specialists at your school
2. Present the information in an easy-to-read chart

Consider doing a chart where the structure is established in advance. Each student will know before beginning his or her research and writing just how much is necessary to write for the final product, and the reviews will end up about the same length.

Work with your students to develop the categories (a project editor can do this, too). You’ll have the basics like title, author, genre, a 25-word synopsis and a cover shot (used from a legitimate source). Ask the media specialists to suggest some for a variety of readers, such as ELL or reluctant readers. They might also have suggestions for additional reading (“If you liked ___, you might try ___.”). Include where the book is available (library or store).

Students could interview someone who read the book and explain why he or she liked (or didn’t like) the book. That’s a good opportunity to reinforce interviewing and questioning skills. Specific questions will yield better answers (e.g. “What did you like about the book’s characters and why?” instead of “What did you think of the book?” This question could be the same throughout the category or could change for each book.

When planning a chart, determining the look in advance is helpful. When students see a sample, they know that they need to return from their research and interview with an appropriate amount of information to fit the space. No need for a 30-minute interview for a 50-word question-response section.

Another option would be to divide the charts into several sections. For example, books about teens, books on college-level reading lists, classics, lesser-known books by famous authors, books published this millennium.

Use a rating only if everyone agrees on the rating criteria in advance and if the definitions are published on the page. Someone might be too generous and someone else stingy.

There are lots of ways to make this into a feature in the paper that will serve the dual purposes of educating your readers and actually getting them to read the content. What a great reader service, too. Compile a bunch of these at the beginning of the year but run them as a smaller themed chart each issue (books about holidays, books about the next step in life, books about family relationships, nonfiction books, etc.).