Behind the Scenes: Journalism 101: CGN visits HRVHS

Since the newspaper is my favorite topic, I jumped at the chance. I was alone on the first day and joined by Noah and Chelsea on the second.

We were invited to share our real-world perspective, but I learned something valuable from the students as well — we’ll get to that in a minute.

Though I/we presented to four different classes, the pattern was somewhat the same: We’d start by talking about how we got into journalism and then get into obstacles facing the industry — of which there are many — and some potential solutions — of which there are a few. We talked about what our schedules look like (busy), how many reporters we have covering our four-county region (three full-time), and — which they enjoyed way too much — our most embarrassing moments in print (nothing like sending a paper to press to find all of your mistakes).

They were interested in how we select the letters that run on our opinion page (we don’t; it’s a reflection of whatever is submitted by our Thursday at noon deadline), our letters policy, and how it’s enforced. We talked about the difference between opinion and news (if an article is telling you what to think, it’s opinion; if it’s answering the who, what, where, when, why and how, AND citing sources, it’s news), how to discern if a website is credible (ditto), and how we keep our own biases in check (constant vigilance).

Students were asked where they find the news — TikTok has a lock on the Gen Z market — and most hadn’t thought about how they’d find local candidate information, what elected officials are doing, and/or how national politics affect us on a local level. I watched as realization hit: It’s all in our local paper.

Here’s what the students taught me: There is hope for the newspaper industry yet.

By a show of hands, very few ever pick up a paper — which, to be fair, we already know that based on industry research and our own subscriber list. I was disheartened by the lack of parental subscribers as well, until we passed out copies of our latest editions and watched as these students quickly become absorbed.

Some flipped through looking for people they knew — one girl found her mom, several pointed out classmates. They read the opinion and sports pages. Quite a few began working on the crossword or sudoku puzzles, or on the various Kid Scoop activities.

And the biggest hit? That week’s KFC coupon flyer. When I said they were welcome to take those home, they almost couldn’t believe it — there are coupons in a newspaper?! (Yes!)

Did I care that they were doing crossword puzzles and hording coupons instead of sticking to reading the news? Not at all. Because that’s the great thing about newspapers — there’s something inside for everyone. Not all of it is going to be for you, but I bet anyone can find at least 10 different things that interest them in every edition.

Considering a paper off the rack costs less than a cup of coffee (and even less than that if you subscribe), that’s a pretty good deal. And hey, maybe keep that paper on your kitchen table — you’ll be nurturing the next generation of informed readers.