Time to get journalistic Jayne Papa, feature editor

Research done, notes written down, information cited, shots, quotes taken and there’s our story. The typical things that a student journalist does to create a perfect story whether it’s written or whether it’s edited into a video.

From February 20th to the 26th, a very important week for student journalists in the U.S. occurred; scholastic journalism week. According to  http://www.uiltexas.org/leaguer/article/ideas-for-scholastic-journalism-week-feb.-20-26, the Journalism Education Association has designated this week as the Scholastic Journalism Week and during this week, students from schools around the nation went to look for ways that they were going to celebrate for their journalism programs and inform the public of the benefits of scholastic journalism.

“We could’ve all done a special project and done stories on it,” said Natalie Silva, junior.

According to http://jea.org/home/news-events-2/scholastic-journalism-week/, there were certain journalistic events organized for the students for each day of the week.

Monday: Media Day. Students spent time on researching different journalists throughout history and the impact they have on journalism today. Students were frees to discuss about the impact that journalism has in their lives today.

Tuesday: Take it to The Community Day. On this day students were able to promote themselves and what their publications or staff do.  One interesting idea was that each staff member was assigned a portrait of themselves that displayed their personality.

Wednesday: We can! This day students could discuss about what journalism means to them and why it’s so important. They also set goals about what more they were able to do and how they could improve. Last year more than 1,000 student journalists took the pledge to be Transparent, Accountable and Open in their practice of journalism, and they now carry the TAO of Journalism Seal on their work.

Thursday: Thank you! During this day, students spent some time thanking every one that has helped them with their publications. Various acknowledgements were expected from the journalists to thank their staff.

Friday: Free Speech Friday! On this day students were free to give any kind of ideas that they had. Journalism is a broad field that is based on true facts, reporting, writing, broadcasting but also stating one’s opinion and speaking freely.

For those who are most interested in journalism and all of the activities mentioned above, here is a piece of advice:

 “Always seek the truth and report to your ability,” said broadcast teacher Mrs. Robinson. That is what student journalists are required to do and should always keep in their minds in order to reach greater achievements in the field of journalism.

 “Being a journalist doesn’t mean that one has to study to be one. I think that every student can be a journalist even without studying journalism. Today everyone can report because everyone has to do so as a communicator. Studying can help you become a doctor or a mathematician , but a part of a journalistic skills exist in everybody  and help to communicate and to be able to report and analyse things,” said professional journalist, Robert Papa.

When asked about how to encourage student journalists, he added: “Read a lot and practice everyday, start reporting for local news and simple things that will help prepare for  the big screen and the real papers.”