Journalism and media classrooms are spaces where we examine power, truth claims,
representation, and harm. We analyze real events, contested narratives, and institutional failures--
often involving race, gender, class, religion, nationality, and political conflict. These
conversations can be uncomfortable, emotionally charged, and politically sensitive.
Because journalists shape public understanding, this classroom is not only a learning space but
also a training ground for media literacy, professional judgment, ethical reasoning, and
democratic responsibility. These Community Agreements exist to help us engage critically and
respectfully with media texts, lived experiences, and each other, while recognizing how power,
privilege, and positionality shape whose voices are amplified or marginalized in the news.
We will use these agreements during in-class discussions, peer feedback, newsroom simulations,
group reporting projects, and online forums. When tension arises, these agreements provide
shared language for navigating disagreement, accountability, and care.