Student Media’s Mission Statement

The Department of Student Media at Saint Xavier University’s mission is to educate and train its students to be ethical, trustworthy, and technically advanced broadcasters and journalists.

 

Department Objectives

The Department of Student Media at Saint Xavier University subscribes to the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education in setting Standards, Guidelines, and Assessments. Student Media objectives are: 

 

  • To provide a practical training ground for students, especially Communication majors, to learn and develop their skills in broadcasting, journalism, writing, storytelling, public relations, event planning, podcasting, social media, and marketing and promotions.
  • To provide fair and truthful coverage and commentary of news and events affecting the Saint Xavier community.
  • To act as a university outreach to the campus community by promoting services, activities and events occurring on campus.
  • To provide a public forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the Saint Xavier Community.
  • To operate a fiscally responsible organization and to ensure the ability to serve the University in years to come.
  • Allow students the opportunity to work as part of a larger organization working towards a set of predetermined student set goals.
  • Serve as a “lab setting” for Communication majors to apply what they learn in the classroom to a practical environment.

 

Learning Outcomes for Student Media

 

The Xavierite (Student Newspaper)

  1. Students will be able to run, oversee, and plan the day-to-day operations of a newspaper.
  2. Students will be able to identify and describe best journalism practices.
  3. Students will be able to identify what are “newsworthy” stories to write about.
  4. Students will be able to write articles employing the inverted pyramid style of writing. 
  5. Students will be able to conduct research for articles and interviews.

WXAV 88.3FM (Student Radio Station)

  1. Students will be able to run, oversee, and plan the day-to-day operations of a radio station.
  2. Students will be able to follow FCC broadcasting guidelines.
  3. Students will be able to use all of the audio equipment employed at the radio station.
  4. Students will be able to research and develop a “rundown” sheet to organize their programs. 
  5. Students will be able to describe and follow WXAV’s station clock.

 

Department Wide

  1.  Students will be able to produce media content that is accessible to a large and diverse audience. 
  2.  Students will be able to target their target audience. 
  3.  Students will be able to describe and follow the Department’s Ethical Code of Conduct for its student workers.
  4. Students will be able to utilize the Adobe Cloud Suite in producing content.

 

Student Media’s Code of Ethics

The famous journalist Herbert Bayard Swope said in the 1920s: “The first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that it is fair.”  This is especially true for any media organization that produces content that is news based and informative. Whether it’s news and sports, music and entertainment, or commentary on a subject, media informs people and is viewed as a voice of authority. Therefore, it is imperative that all students involved in Student Media take this responsibility seriously. Below is the Code of Ethics all students involved in Student Media will follow:

 

  1. Accuracy and Fairness

The Department of Student Media will produce content and reporting that is fair, based on fact, and provide all party holders an opportunity to share their perspective on a subject, event, or action. Student broadcasters and journalists will research information from proven reliable sources that can be verified, and present the information from a neutral perspective.

  1. Fact-Based Reporting

All publications will contain fact-based material that is well-researched and verifiable. Any post(s) that are shown not to contain this will be reviewed and corrected, and our audience will be notified of the error and correction.

  1. Diversity of Opinion

Saint Xavier University is home to a diverse campus population. One with different opinions on all aspects of life. Student Media aims to produce content where the diversity of those opinions is discussed and explored in a respectful, educational, and welcoming way. We will not always agree with one another, but it is important to see another individual’s point of view and understand how they came to that conclusion.

  1. Impartiality

 A reporter’s commitment is to the truth, no matter where the truth leads them. It’s the goal of Student Media to report the truth accurately and fairly and will do so regardless of the popularity of the truth. It is also not the job of a news journalist to share their opinion in a news story. Only facts should be in the story. Any and all commentary will be located in the Opinions section and be labeled as such.

  1. Errors and Corrections

It is the goal of Student Media to present information as accurately as possible, however mistakes can and do happen. When the student staff is notified of a possible error, they will review the content, confirm an error is there or not, and run a correction if the error is shown to be there. The error will be fixed, and at the bottom of the article, a correction notification will be listed identifying the error, how it was corrected, when it was corrected, and a statement of apology. A spoken correction will be listed with anything broadcasted and will follow the same format.

 

Adopted by Student Media, July 18, 2023.