Journalists seek the truth

Journalists+seek+the+truth

Gigi Youngbauer, Writer

Most people have a desire for the truth. However, often these means getting hands dirty and digging up one’s own information. Who takes on this challenge? Journalists, the ones who spread far more than simple fact reports. Journalists are storytellers, the eyes and ears behind the news, the people in the action so the truth spreads further than behind closed doors.

Journalism teaches students how to step out of their comfort zone and take action with what is going on around them. Socially, they learn new ways of interacting with individuals, from interviews to group projects with the common goal of informing the public of the truth. All news stories and reports done globally are at the hands of journalists and their hard work to spread awareness to everyone that is not a firsthand witness.

Reporting to the public gives each journalist their own timeline, when the event takes place, getting the story finished, editing, and publishing, all within a set amount of time so their audience can stay informed. Every high school student knows the importance of a deadline, but journalists know better than an average student how to work well in time-sensitive situations. Knowing deadlines and the priority to get things done well on time helps students as they grow from a high school setting to college and onto the rest of their life. Basic skills such as time management are much more useful when practiced at a young age to be carried on for the future.

The elements of journalism spread further than just reporting stories. Journalists build important relationships with others who have some of the same interests. Working alongside other writers in the same environment can help a student with their writing skills, from bouncing ideas off of each other to teaching others new styles of writing and constructive criticism. Peer input can be more meaningful than something from a teacher or adviser. Similar-minded people can sometimes better understand each other and appeal to an audience better than others. When a student is surrounded by others with the same interests and goals, it encourages them to continue to work hard and impress those around them, a hardworking student goes much further academically than those that do not have academics as a priority.

Student journalism sets basic precedents of important skills many kids will value as they go throughout life. Time management, social skills, stepping out of your comfort zone, and hard work are all prevalent where ever a student may go after they finish high school; workforce or college, every student is bound to benefit from learning and practicing these meaningful skills journalism teaches a high school student.

Journalism at Oshkosh North is all about the students, they run the show. When our biggest events this year took place, our student journalists were the first people to be on the scene, ready to take action and spread the word to everyone else. Before our transition to online publication, our writers worked fast to gather the information for our stories and get everything ready for publication. When we had the lockdown in November, our writers were quick to get the story and conduct interviews with peers and teachers. The lockdown story was also a dual effort, allowing two of our journalists to work together, help each other with writing, bounce ideas off each other to produce a stronger story. The students behind the stories at Oshkosh North work hard to get word out to everyone, they go out of the way to gather facts for stories, become dedicated to their topics, work alongside each other to strengthen their reports, and learn how to get out of their comfort zone whether it be conducting an interview or taking photos of the action right before their eyes. Student journalism is one of the best ways to prep high school kids for the real world to come, each student must have the passion to write, the passion to educate others; from there, the possibilities are endless.