Charter schools and journalistic ethics
Natasha Levant, from her Facebook entry
Today The Star-Ledger published an op-ed column by a woman identified as Natasha Levant in which she credited the school her son attends, the North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, for “changing” her son’s life and “saving” him. The newspaper described her only as “a resident of Newark and mother of five.”
What the newspaper did not do is identify her as anemployee of the same charter school chain. She is paid to promote the very school she is using the pages of The Star-Ledger to promote. Levant also is employed by the Prudential Insurance Company as an assistant to the media director. Prudential is a financial supporter of North Star and its chief investment officer, Scott Sleyster, sits on the school’s trustee board.
The Society of Professional Journalists has published an ethics code in which it states:
“Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.”
The Star-Ledger did not clearly identify the source of the article it published Sunday under Levant’s byline.
The Star-Ledger repeatedly publishes editorials supporting charter schools, privately-operated but publicly-funded schools that, even according to supporters, drain money away from the traditional public schools in Newark. In October, it specifically editorialized against legislation that would impose a moratorium on the growth of charter schools until a study could be made of their impact on traditional public schools; that is the same position taken by Levant in her article.
Tomorrow, The Star-Ledger undoubtedly will be covering the pro-charter lobbying Charter schools and journalistic ethics | Bob Braun's Ledger:
