Recharged after a spot of optimism
Journalism is a frustrating and everchanging industry.
As time marches on, it’s nothing new that each fresh generation that enters the business has the ability to either change it for the better or work to completely tear the house down.
Admittedly, I often get discouraged with both the increased value placed on infotainmentdriven clickbait by younger professionals in this business and stubborn older journalists who refuse to acknowledge the direction the business is headed or the potential of the people coming up behind them.
In terms of my career, I happen to fall right in the middle. I got into journalism before social media really took off for the industry, but I was still green enough to learn early on that the only way to be successful in this business is to be innovative.
On Tuesday, though, I had the pleasure of interacting with the next generation of aspiring journalists at the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association’s 2018 Convention and I can assure you, the future is bright.
Hundreds of enthusiastic young scholars descended on the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford for the event and the first session I led focused on opinion writing and knowing your audience.
After judging the annual high school newspaper contest, I was thoroughly impressed with the way school papers are promoting opinions amid their traditional news coverage. Opinion writing is becoming a lost craft, as the lines separating it from objective reporting become increasingly blurred.
They may just be students now, but coming from someone who’s small rural high school didn’t have a functional student newspaper, I feel confident saying they are miles ahead of many.
Apart from professional development of the next generation, it is important to note at least one study from the Virginia-based Newspaper Association of America, which claims students with journalism experience in high school scored higher than non-journalism students in areas like ACT composite score and college freshman grade point average.
So, these scholars are already well on their way to success, even if they don’t choose journalism as a career.
By the close of the session, I was blown away by the enthusiasm and curiosity of the room full of students. I provided an anecdote about being poked in the chest by someone opposed to the LGBT community, and one student responded by showing me a scar on his lip where he said he was punched during an argument defending gay people.
I was questioned about how to properly handle readers who take issue with opinions and was asked to explain the balancing act that is operating an opinion page to best reflect the views of your audience.
Many of the students were surprised to find out how much of a premium is placed on presenting as many views as possible … far from the liberal “fake news” assumption many students likely hear at home.
In the afternoon session, SDN news reporter Logan Kirkland and I led a session about covering the recent LGBT Pride parade in Starkville. The audience was substantially larger than we expected and were all genuinely interested in learning about the ins and outs of covering such a nuanced story.
Primarily, the students were concerned with seeing a story through from beginning to end. Luckily, Logan gave an informative firsthand account of the challenges and victories during this story, and I feel the students were able to take away some important professional knowledge that many will never get the chance to have.
After the session was over, several appreciative students asked us to pose for photos with them and beamed at the opportunity to learn from us. I was in complete shock because we in the media are not accustomed to appreciation.
At the end of the day’s festivities, my biggest takeaway came in the form of how important organizations like the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association are.
If it were not for the efforts of this organization and the hardworking people that make it possible, scores of students across the state may never have the opportunity to realize they have a passion for journalism. And that alone can be a dangerous notion in a world where it is becoming more common than ever for the powers that be to run roughshod over the facts.
Apart from promoting media literacy, it is crucial that we in the journalism industry, along with our academic counterparts, work to cultivate the next generation of journalists. Luckily for these youngsters, though, organizations like the MSPA are giving it an unrivaled effort.
Ryan Phillips is the executive editor of the Starkville Daily News and Daily Times Leader. The views expressed in this column are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of either paper or their staffs.