Story Pitches Demonstrate News Sense

Monday is story assignment day for the first print edition of Horizons. Although Pub II students and editors propose their own stories, Pub I students are provided a list of story ideas to pick from for the first issue.

On Wednesday, I took the Pub II students and editors out of the classroom for a brainstorming session to begin a list of stories for the rest of the class.

One student suggested we run an article about the new apartment developments springing up around downtown (including one directly adjacent to HCC). She pointed out that most did not seem affordable for students at the college, and wondered aloud why that might be.

Another student suggested someone write about HCC’s mascot. The college has had one for years, but most people have not seen or heard of it.

A third suggestion involved a simple News You Can Use piece about the services available on the third floor of Beacon Hall. Among other things, the floor hosts several recreational rooms, the Student Activities office, and the Women’s and Men’s centers. Yet because so few students have classes there, newer students tend not to know what’s available.

There were also the perennial favorites - things like faculty and club spotlights. Almost every issue of the paper includes a few of these.

I was struck by the development of these students’ news sense. They were outspoken in their desire to fulfill the basic journalistic duties of covering issues at and around the college. They were mindful of the needs of their audience, as well as maintaining the newspaper’s ties to the organizations within the community. And their suggestions were creative.

This is part of the genius surrounding the program. There is enough guidance to give students a strong background in the principles and practices of journalism. At the same time, there is a high degree of autonomy, which allows them to “own” the work. Finally, because of the team dynamics stressed during workshops, editing, distribution, and so forth, the staff members often develop close-knit relationships that can last years.