8/9/2019 Holly Drankhan

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72%60%

28%

  Teenagers carelessly discard the

latest issue of their high school pa-

 per. They make a collage of forgotten

dedication on the lunch room oor.

Little do they appreciate the hard-

ships their peers overcame to create

such a publication. Little do they real-

ize that those fallen newspapers carry

with them the hopes of their creators.

The Price of Creativity

As Rachel Limb from Roches-

ter Adams put it, the battle to fund

school paper is a “catch-22”—Jour-

nalists want to do more. Doing more

would cost more. Higher costs would

mean lower sales. And without the

money, there are fewer possibilities.

Censorship Controversy

It is the duty of a journalist to tell

[the story. The whole story. The objec-

tive story. The honest story. But prior 

review often disapproves of cover-

ing ‘controversial’ issues, such as

teenage suicide or explicit dancing.

Angry parents at Dexter High School

even went so far as to form a blog

against Dexter’s paper, “The Squall,”

urging others to “clean up DHS.” How-

ever, the staff remains undeterred, pre-

  pared to uncover the truth—even if it

means getting their hands a little dirty.

Opening Doors

Publishing online has proven to be

a fresh solution to many publications’

 problems. It allows the freedom to cov-

er edgy, intriguing topics with less op-

 position from school administrators. It

avoids many of the costs associated with

 printing a periodical. Finally, it caters

to the trends of student readers, reach-

ing out across their preferred medium.

Beating the Odds

With so many obstacles stacked

against them, it is a wonder student

 journalists have not given up the fght.

They do not possess the man-power 

of the Romans. They have no Chi-

nese gunpowder or Viking vessels.

But they do have a relentless curios-

ity and inner-voice. An urge to learn

more. An unwavering enthusiasm.

And an innovative community to

share with, learn from, and progress.

It is time to step behind the com-

  puter, behind the notepad, and

  behind the lens to give these pio-

neers the recognition they deserve.

   [The New Face of 

 Journalism    By Holly Drankhan

  The lilies have been ordered.

The casket positioned. The dirge

cued. A somber obituary begins.“We are gathered here to-

day to mourn the end of 

the newspaper industry…”

Or are we? It seems that ev-

ery critic is anxious to pro-

nounce newspaper journalism

as at-lined. The truth is that

  journalism, in some shape or 

form, will never cease to exist.

That is at least until some

strange celestial event or alien

invasion changes the world as

we know it (But hey, that would

make one heck of a news story!).Because, you see, there is al-

ways a story to be told, an opin-

ion to be shared. Journalism will

always fnd value in ground-

ing an audience whose grasp

of reality is being corrupted

  by carrot-colored umpa-lump-

as with mile-high hair puffs.

And although the engine may

stall and sputter at times, a

new generation of Fords is us-

ing an innovative set of tools

to fne-tune yesterday’s product

until it purrs at a new decibel.Blogs, Twitter, and tum-

  blr are making today’s news

more accessible in these tech-

nologically-advanced times,

  breaking down the barrier be-

tween journalists and consum-

ers one cyber brick at a time.

There is no better time

to join the conversation.

5  reasons why journalists make better college students

Extra! Extra!

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Self-sufciency- can work alone

and utilize available resources

Timeliness- accustomed to meet-

ing deadlines

Sociability- able to get out of their 

comfort zone to talk to others

Productivity- uses criticism con-

structively to re-invent

Awareness- always open to the

volitile world around them

A Half-Hearted

Eulogy

Is the newspaper really dead? Give your 

opinion at www.pawprintsnewspaper.com

Is this good-bye for newspaper journalism?

 By Holly Drankhan

*18 high schoolers surveyed