About

About The San Diego High School Journalism Club

The Journalism Club supports both The Russ and Caver News Network, San Diego High School’s resources for community-based journalism. We operate online in prose, photography and video, through select social media, and in print. Our focus is our online news site, while our social media efforts support and supplement that effort. Semester print editions which feature the best work of that term is an evolving goal.

The goal of the Journalism Club is to be a nationally-renowned, student-led program that serves our students, staff, school, and community. We aim to become an award-winning source by holding ourselves to the highest of journalistic standards as we provide relevant and engaging news and information.

The focus of the Journalism Club is first on our San Diego High School community. We may also report on local and regional news, providing an important service by filling an urgent and significant need in our contemporary society. Coverage of national or international topics is generally limited to those matters directly impacting our school or our community.

Mission Statement, 2025-2026

To publish news, information and opinion articles for and about student, faculty and administration activities, interests and policies.

To maintain high ethical standards with regard to fairness, personal and legal rights, responsibilities and accuracy.

To provide a forum for free and responsible expression of student opinion and present well-balanced, locally researched coverage of issues of broader student interest.

To strive for a high level of competency in the technical aspects of writing, including grammar, spelling, clarity and precision.

To increase the scope and depth of our staff and our coverage in order to heighten mutual understanding and awareness throughout our entire school community.

Student Press as Public Forum

The public forum teaches democracy in action by allowing students the rights granted American citizens in the First and Fourteenth amendments. The integrity of the school is protected by Supreme Court decisions that permit censorship of material that can be reasonably forecast to cause “substantial disruption” of schoolwork or discipline, or as an invasion of the rights of others. By making the school press a public forum, the school thereby encourages students to develop mature judgement and exert meaningful responsibility. The public forum allows student journalists necessary freedom to rest and weigh their opinions while gaining awareness of laws regarding libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy. If a school adopts a written policy not to exercise prior review or prior restraint, court decisions indicate that a school will likely be protected from liability.

Policy Statement

Published in ongoing updates, the student journalism of San Diego High School is a public forum, with its student editorial board making all decisions concerning its contents.

Unsigned editorials express the views of the majority of the editorial board.

Letters to the editor are welcomed and will be published as space allows. Letters must be signed, although the staff may withhold the name on request. The news site reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and clarity, and all letters are subject to laws governing obscenity, libel, privacy and disruption of the school process, as are all contents of the site.

Opinions in letters are not necessarily those of the staff, nor should any opinion expressed in a public forum be construed as the opinion or policy of the administration, unless so attributed.

Take-Down Policy, 2025-2026

The Journalism Club acts as a steward of the public forum and an advocate for the pursuit of truth. Therefore, it holds itself to the highest standards of integrity, accuracy, and accountability. In keeping with these values, the following policy shall govern requests to remove or alter previously published material, whether in print or digital format.

1. Presumption of Publication Integrity. Once published, content will not be removed or altered except under exceptional circumstances. We believe in the historical and educational value of our published record and strive to reflect the truth of events as they were originally reported.
2. Criteria for Take-Down Consideration. A formal request for the removal or alteration of published material must be submitted in writing and may be considered if it meets one or more of the following criteria:
   • The published content contains demonstrable factual inaccuracies or misrepresentations that could cause unwarranted harm.
   • The content constitutes libel, invasion of privacy, or plagiarism, verified upon thorough review.
   • The subject of the article is a minor at the time of publication and expresses a credible concern for personal safety or mental well-being.
   • A legal authority has issued a directive or recommendation for removal.
3. Review Procedure. Upon receipt of a take-down request, the editorial board, in consultation with the faculty advisor, shall:
   • Acknowledge receipt within five school days.
   • Conduct a prompt, good-faith review of the request and the article in question.
   • Provide a written decision within ten school days of the review’s conclusion, stating whether the request has been granted or denied, along with the rationale.
4. Possible Outcomes. The editorial board may, at its discretion:
   • Deny the request and retain the article as published.
   • Issue a correction, clarification, or editor’s note appended to the original article.
   • In rare and compelling cases, remove the article from public access while maintaining an internal record.
5. Appeals Process. Should a requester wish to appeal the decision, they may submit a written appeal to the faculty advisor, who shall bring the matter before a panel consisting of the club’s executive officers and an impartial faculty representative. The panel’s decision shall be final.
6. Preservation of the Historical Record. All original content, including corrected or removed pieces, shall be archived for educational purposes and accountability. A log of all take-down requests and their outcomes shall be maintained by the editorial board.

The Journalism Club upholds the right to a free and responsible student press as protected by California Education Code § 48907 and other applicable laws. Our editorial decisions reflect a commitment to thoughtful discourse, ethical reporting, and the enduring values of scholastic journalism.