Laws and Ethics
In the day and age of technology and scrutiny of our actions, it is important to keep ourselves accountable and moral. It is the utmost importance to deliver information to our readers that is quality and fact-checked. We as journalists need to understand the impact our stories can have and always question if we are being ethical in the process of gathering information.
Responsibility Contract
During my time as the website/technology director, I realized how much power my position had when I set up all the accounts from our social media to our project management. In total, there are 13 different accounts that the administrative staff have access to. These staff members include the editor-in-chief, social media director, the Website/Technology Director, and the advisor. It would be very easy for an administrative member to abuse their power and tarnish the reputation of Ka Mōʻī. There was really no policy or contract that we had to sign and it was based purely on trust between the advisor and member. When I took over as the Website/Technology Director, our website had a virus, and settings that were not supposed to have been touched were deleted causing the website to be buggy. The reason for this policy contract is to set the ground rules on representing Ka Mōʻī, the standards we need to operate at, and also a written document that can be shown to school administrators in the event an admin member abuses their power and posts inappropriate material on any Ka Mōʻī media platforms.
Multiple Perspective
When I was drafting the postponement of Song Contest article, I gathered testimony from many students and faculty. One of my sources said that we had postponed song contest once before, but I confirmed it with many other sources that this was the first time that Kamehameha Schools has ever postponed a Song Contest. I interviewed several students who all agreed that it really sucks to have our song contest postponed, but it was the right call. One of the faculty had commented about the amount of money already invested into the event and all of the effort students
have put in to perfect their skills. I pulled quotes from the administrators who made the ultimate decision to postpone and also the statement made from the communications department. Being the first time that something of this magnitude has happened before, I felt the immense weight on my shoulder to get all of my information correct and presentable. I asked two librarians if we have ever had Song Contest postponed before and both said this was a first. I also played the broadcast of the announcement multiple times to ensure my quotes were accurate. Even though it was breaking news, I cross referenced all of the information I had and made sure all of my information, names, and quotes were correct.