3rd year High school students at INS Pla Marcell in Cardedeu: journalists for a day.
What is news? Something important to us, something that affects many people, something that shocks us … How do newspapers decide what news is? What are their criteria? It depends on who writes them, what their interests are, whether they intend to influence or sell something …
3rd year High School students at Institut Pla Marcell in the town of Cardedeu (Barcelona) who took part in Junior Report’s Media Workshops to know what it’s really like to be reporters and how a paper is done: from the search of news until they’re published on the front page.
Hoy la actualidad ha entrado en un aula del @INS_Pla_Marcell! Los alumnos han aprendido a ser periodistas ?? …. y lo hemos contado en directo a través de https://t.co/hDqJ0rfnGc. Como siempre, de la mano de @texthelp#JRPlaMarcell #juniorreport #actualidadenelaula pic.twitter.com/XOvktpjUBk
— Junior Report (@JuniorReport_) December 20, 2017
The same students kept track of everything that was happening on Junior report’s Instagram.
A paper: what is it for?
Newspapers have a main function: to inform in an unbiased and plural way, speaking about everything that the people are interested in. As well as giving news, they can also offer services (weather forecast, what’s on TV or coming soon in theaters) and entertainment (hobbies, short stories, opinion articles).
At the same time, newspapers are a product that is sold. They are part of a business and the firms that own them need to obtain benefits: which is why they include advertising.
Finally, a newspaper can be an important means of influence to defend ideas or support certain political parties. It is important to keep this in mind when we inform ourselves!
Seguim amb el taller… els nanos molt interessats analitzant els diaris… @INS_Pla_Marcell pic.twitter.com/UOSTkMxxxT
— Tomas Mercadal (@tomas_mercadal) December 20, 2017
News in school corridors!
After learning some of Journalism’s basics and looking through some newspapers, it was now their turn!
Pla Marcell’s students went all around the school to find some news that they could use for their own paper: the opening of the project fair, an unsuccessful basketball tournament, a fight between the headmaster and a rooster…
Està passant ara al @INS_Pla_Marcell els nostres alumnes de 3r busquen per l'institut notícies ben fresques… què hauran sabut? avui anb l'assessorament @juniorreportlv pic.twitter.com/y3U35g6luE
— Àngels Rguez (@angeles_rguezb) December 20, 2017
Divided into groups, the students have had to analyze their news, write the headlines and prioritize the information to decide which are more important and should take up more space on the front cover.
Just like in big papers, each editorial board has had to defend its news and argue the decisions made: What makes one news more important than the others? Does the main news always need a picture with it? Can we use tabloid to attract more readers?
At the end of the day, what people think of our work and image will depend on how we deal with t’he information.
Journalists work to tell things that happen or interest people. There are often different versions of the same story, but it is important to contrast information and never stop asking until you get the truth!
Translated by Chaplin’s Languages | Find out more in Junior Report
