About

The Eagle Edition is a student-led publication for Rowlett High School. Student editors determine design and content. Students and the RHS community are encouraged to submit letters to editor and suggestions for both publications.

General Content Policy

Journalistic in nature, the goal of RHS publications is to inform and entertain its audiences in a broad, fair, and accurate manner.  This applies to all subjects that affect readers’ lives. Such stories would fall into the categories of, but are not limited to, lifestyles, academics, organizations, sports, community, and social or political issues.  The entire body of prospective readers at Rowlett High School as well as the community constitute the target audience for our publications.

Coverage

Content focuses on coverage that will meet the wants and needs of the majority of the audience, unless the wants and needs of the audience are in conflict with the principles of scholastic journalism.  No material will be printed that is libelous, irresponsible, advocates an illegal activity, involves obscenity, defamation, fighting words, invasion of privacy, clear or immediate threat to national security, is copyrighted or which has been deemed in poor taste by the adviser and/or editorial board.  While the staff not only allows, but also encourages constructive criticism of the publication before or after distribution, final authority with the content rests solely in the hands of the student journalists and their adviser.  Despite the court ruling in Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier, administrators rely on the adviser and staff to make content decisions.

Corrections

The Eagle Edition reserves the right to go to press with any story with as it stands at deadline, but the staff will continually strive for completeness, which could mean follow-up stories/postings/blogs or opinion pieces.  The staff assumes responsibility for the facts as they are printed.  It is the staff’s responsibility to never include gossip, rumors, or innuendoes in any story.  If mistaken at any point in the publication, The Eagle Edition will post a retraction/correction the following school day.  These corrections are the responsibility of the Editor in Chief and Editorial Board to fix.  If deemed necessary, correction notices may be posted in visible locations at Rowlett High School as well as the publications area of the school website.

Advertising

All advertising must meet the same guidelines as the content policy. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute an endorsement by the school, district, the staff as a whole, or its individual members.  The Eagle Edition reserves the right to reject advertising deemed inappropriate for the intended audience.  Students appearing as models in advertising must sign a model release form and/or have parental consent on file with the publications staff.  The advertising program and rates for each publication are specifically detailed in the ad packet available from the campus publications office.

Letters to the Editor

Signature and contact information is required for all letters to the editor before the letter can be published.   The staff must confirm the authenticity of every letter before printing it.  If the authenticity cannot be confirmed, it cannot be published.  The staff may edit letters for length, grammar, libel, invasion of privacy, and other illegal activities.  After a letter has been edited, however, the staff must show it to the writer and have them sign it to confirm that the changes did not alter the purpose of the letter.  Someone upset about the content of either publication may schedule a face-to-face conference with the adviser, staff, and editorial board within 48 hours of the publication.

Contact Info:

Rowlett High School Publications, 4700 N President George Bush Hwy Garland, TX 75040

Phone: 972-463-1712, extension 62557

Email: klrodger@garlandisd.net