Young journalists exhibit passion
BY JAMES TYREE
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Published: November 3, 2009
I was scrambling around the apartment last week, looking for a newspaper to find a rundown on weekend activities. Spotting one next to the couch, I picked it up and started going through the pages.
It actually took a few seconds for me to realize that this wasn’t
The Oklahoman’s Norman section or even the
Oklahoma Daily from the
University of Oklahoma, but rather the Tiger Tribune from
Norman High School.
"Really? Wow.”
The paper looked pretty good. Now, upon closer inspection the photos weren’t quite as crisp and some articles were rightly targeted toward high school students, its audience. Still, the pictures were descriptive, the layout was excellent, and the articles were varied and pretty well-written.
My high school newspaper was pretty good back in the day and racked up its share of awards, but it was nothing like what Norman High School — and a number of other high schools around the state — are producing today.
Some of those potential future journalists from throughout the state will visit
Norman on Nov. 16 for the
Oklahoma Scholastic Media/Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association fall workshop to be at OU.
There is plenty of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing about the future of journalism, and again, rightly so. Readership and viewership of traditional newspapers and broadcast media are down. Blogging and social networking activity is up, and that’s on top of a recession that has shed millions of jobs in many industries.
But looking at that Tiger Tribune last week and checking out its content bolstered my confidence in the future of journalism, regardless of what it may look like. It also showed me that print media isn’t close to dying, at least not yet.
The OSM/OIPA will be another reminder.
Not every teenager who shows up will go into journalism, in fact, many won’t. But past participants who did stick with it have shown amazing promise.
But the most encouraging sign, trivial as it may seem, was the sight of my daughter ignoring the TV and choosing instead to read some of the Tiger Tribune.
It’s always nice to see the next generation read the paper.
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