The importance of student journalism | Lillee Sheckles | TEDxBrown County Schools
A Brown County High School senior argues that journalism is a vital, yet undervalued, educational subject because it develops crucial soft skills like professional emailing, time management, and writing in one's own words. She supports this by citing a Newspaper Association of America study showing academically superior ACT scores for students with journalism experience, and demonstrates this with an example of covering a "TEDed practice speech" at BCHS.
## Speakers & Context
- Lily Sheckles: Senior at Brown County High School.
- Passionate about practicing accurate, passionate, and inclusive storytelling through student journalism programs.
- Believes media classes have the power to change minds, hearts, and change schools for the better.
- Internship experience with the local Brown County newspaper.
## Theses & Positions
- Journalism is a life-altering experience that provides more than just assignments, allowing students to have a direct say in what they write.
- Journalism education benefits students academically, specifically increasing writing skills, communication skills, and self-confidence.
- Journalism teaches students *how to write the real facts and news*, which complements English classes by providing a "media feel" for formal grammar lessons.
- Journalism develops essential "soft skills" valuable in adult life, including formal professional emailing and strong time management abilities.
- The ability to create something in your own words is a key skill taught in journalism that is crucial for writing reports or essays.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Journalism class:** A subject that provides an avenue for students to practice storytelling through a real-world lens, moving beyond mere academic assignment fulfillment.
- **Soft skills of journalism:** Valuable, non-technical abilities such as formal email writing, time management, and writing original content.
- **Formal email writing:** Necessary skill for professional communication, including greeting a recipient, clearly introducing oneself, and stating the purpose of an interview.
- **Media feel:** The application of formal grammar learned in English to the context of reporting real facts and news (e.g., publishing in a newspaper).
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Journalistic storytelling process:** Determining the topic, planning the interview (what to ask and when to send the email), gathering facts, and writing the final piece.
- **Developing a story:** Requires structuring narrative elements, such as correctly identifying the who, what, when, and where (and why).
- **Journalistic paragraphing:** Technique allowing an entire paragraph to be created with just one sentence.
- **Tense requirement:** Narratives written for publication must be reported in the past tense (e.g., using "she added" instead of "she said").
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Early experience:** Was initially drawn to biomedical classes because her mom and sister were going to school to be nurses.
- **Turning point:** Switched focus after taking the yearbook class for a fine art credit.
- **Ongoing deadline structure:** Has a deadline every Thursday to send a story to editors before noon, or risk losing a feature for the following week.
- **Book deadline:** May 10th is the deadline for all yearbook spreads to be done to ensure publication for paying parents and students.
- **Local Event Timeline:** The BCHS TEDed practice speech occurred on Monday, April 15th.
- **Major Upcoming Event:** The Brown County TEDx event is scheduled for May 18th, 2024.
## Named Entities
- Brown County High School (BCHS): High school where the speaker is a senior.
- Newspaper Association of America (NAA): Organization that created the cited study.
- Brown County: Local area frequently referenced in the speaker's journalism work.
## Numbers & Data
- Study sample size: **31,700** students.
- Percentage of students surveyed: **20%** of the students surveyed had taken a journalism class.
- ACT score difference: Journalism experience was linked to **higher** scores for students who had the experience.
## Examples & Cases
- **Personal Skill Gains:** Increased knowledge of grammar and developed better social skills, such as gaining confidence in an interview (in person or via email).
- **Academic Proof:** A graph showing ACT test scores were higher for students with journalism experience (dark green) compared to those without.
- **Journalistic Writing Example (TEDed Speech):** The article reported the BCHS TEDed practice speech occurred on Monday, April 15th, noting the event allowed members to bring family and friends.
- **Job Writing Example:** Demonstrated the need to write professional emails for college work or job applications.
- **Yearbook Example:** Illustrates the importance of planning to avoid a "waste of all the students and parents who paid a pretty penny for an unfinished book."
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **The Remote Control:** Metaphor used to represent taking control of her own future ("I took the remote control in life and press play on my future in journalism").
- **Email:** Highlighted as a crucial communication tool for professional correspondence with editors and advisors.
- **Yearbook:** Specific product used in the speaker's school experience.
- **TEDed (TED practice):** Practice setting for TED talks held at BCHS.
## References Cited
- A study created by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Journalism vs. English:** English teaches formal grammar and the genres of non-fiction and fiction books, while journalism teaches how to write the *real facts and news*, suggesting they complement rather than compete.
- **Online vs. Print:** Acknowledges that because "not everybody looks for the newspaper anymore," journalism must be accessible via platforms like social media.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The belief that media classes *are* inherently superior because they combine skill development with practical application, even if English is necessary first.
## Methodology
- **Research:** Citing a specific study from the NAA to establish a quantitative link between journalism education and academic performance (ACT scores).
- **Skill Demonstration:** Outlining the structure of a professional email and illustrating time management via hard deadlines (weekly/yearbook).
- **Case Study:** Using the BCHS TEDed event coverage as a detailed, structured piece of published journalistic writing.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Journalism provides a comprehensive set of transferable skills (social skills, email writing, time management, originality) that are crucial for college and careers.
- Everyone should consider journalism because it offers diverse career paths (graphic design, photography, social media, marketing, yearbook) and builds skills through structured practice.
- The ultimate takeaway is that journalism equips students with the tools to *tell their story* and actively participate in shaping their communities.
## Implications & Consequences
- Lack of journalism classes means students miss out on learning how to translate abstract knowledge into accessible, fact-based, and engaging narratives for the public.
- The failure to manage deadlines in journalism has tangible consequences, such as an entire yearbook spread not getting published.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"You Hold the Remote. The Importance of Journalism in Schools."* (Talk Title)
- *"I was able to show confidence in an interview, whether that be in person or through an email, and I finally had the chance to have a say in something that I write."*
- *"I took the remote control in life and press play on my future in journalism."*
- *"English teaches formal grammar, journalism spends it to give it a media feel."*
- *"I send more emails in a day than I do texts. And I'm only 18 years old."*
- *"If they're not done, they won't get published. Then that's a waste of all the students and parents who paid a pretty penny for an unfinished book."*
- *"Paragraphs are different when it comes to journalistic writing, because you can create an entire paragraph with just one sentence."*
- *"I think it's really important to practice now instead of later."*
- *"In a student's life, you have social skills, formal email writing, different career paths all wrapped up into one thing: journalism."*