The Problem
Many high school journalism
programs are being terminated across the nation. The lack of money that many
public schools now face and a decreasing interest in journalism is forcing
districts to stop offering the class. This is because most school
districts think of journalism as simply an elective. However, as an active
writer on Mason High School's newspaper, The Chronicle, I can easily tell you
why journalism is much more than an elective to everyone in the community.
The Reasons
The constant decrease of
journalism classes and high school publications across America comes down to
three factors- money, interest, and social media. School's shrinking budgets,
lack of student enrollment, and social media outlets give districts the excuse
to cut the class becasue students can recieve news through social media. Vikki
Ortiz Healy of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "In an era of tight school budgets, high-stakes testing
and changing news consumption habits, the once time-honored tradition of
offering students the chance to be newspaper reporters has joined the list of
school activities becoming obsolete for today's students."
The Truth
With the creation
of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets, students are under the
impression that they are truly up to date with the news in their community.
However, social media does not provide the same degree of interaction that
comes with newspapers and broadcasts. You see the person's face and you listen
to them tell their story when you sit down and watch a school broadcast. You
get to hear what students have to say in extensive coverage when you pick up
any school paper. You don't get this connection with social media. In a
high school world where students feel surrounded by unknown faces and are
struggling to find their place, journalism makes that world easier to navigate.
At MHS, teachers are refusing to play our broadcast news program, MBC, becasue
they believe there isn't enough time in a class bell. This is
utterly ridiculous. Besides the fact that MBC takes all of about 10
minutes, the program localizes our monsterous school into one community. While
watching the last edition of MBC, I met a boy named Kusha. I had seen Kusha's
face and dark brown hair in the hallway, but had never known who he really was.
MBC changed that. I now know that Kusha is the founder of the Mason Community
Horn Ensemble. Kusha brought adults, teacher, and students together with their
passion for music. I would have never known that without MBC. I also never saw
that post on Instagram. Journalism is essential to a united student body.
Writing for The Chronicle, I have met more people and more amazing stories than
I ever thought possible. Media is not a dying art. Students need to stay
informed and need to hear the stories that I have encountered. For example, I
wrote a story this year about Lauren Hill. Lauren was a basketball player at
Mount Saint Joseph and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors gave her 2
months to live. Lauren continued to stay positive and play the sport she loved
while inspiring thousands of people. I got the chance to talk to her coach
about what he thought about Lauren's character and how she impacted the team.
Without journalism, I would have never talked to Mount Saint Joseph's
basketball coach about his dying player. I doubt many students at MHS would
have heard from his perspective as well. Journalism should be the last class
districts cut on a tight budget, solely because of its power to connect people
with faces and stories that they would not have seen otherwise. I have enjoyed
every moment writing for The Chronicle and I wouldn't give it up for the world.
According to Sally Renaud, executive director of the Illinois Journalism
Education Association,"(Journalism) offers a sense of a vibrant
intellectual community in the school. The kids are thinking, they're reporting
what the other kids are doing, they get outside of themselves. It's bad to lose
that sense of community." I couldn't end this post with a more fitting
quote.
