Writing poetry helps 14-year-old Jaeda Liddell handle pent-up emotions. She gives voice to the anxieties and concerns of an entire generation. This article, by high school student Jaeda Liddell, was produced out of News Decoder’s school partnership program. Jaeda is...
Social media influencers from Europe and North America are flocking to South Korea’s capital, Seoul, to tap into the K-pop craze and boost earnings. Banners featuring Jimin, a member of South Korean K-pop band BTS, are displayed in Busan, South Korea, 12 October...
Swiss citizens are burying cotton underpants and tea bags in their gardens and fields to help scientists assess the quality of soil in the Alpine nation. (Photo courtesy of Beweisstück Unterhose) This article, by high school student Luis Eberl, was produced out of...
Student reporter Luis Eberl of Realgymnasium Rämibühl in Zurich, Switzerland, interviewed scientist Marcel van der Heijden of the University of Zurich about an experiment to find ways to slow down or prevent soil deterioration caused by erosion, construction, pesticides and drought. The project invites citizens to test their own soil by planting tea bags and cotton underpants – two common household items – and then testing the level of deterioration. Eberl shows how scientists are engaging everyday people in climate change projects to demonstrate that individuals’ small actions can lead to global solutions.
Exercise: Interviewing an expert for a story is a great way to get information to readers that might not be reported elsewhere. Have students think of an issue that would be important to report and see if they can identify an expert who might be good to interview for a story on that issue.
Tennis pros can leverage social media to win lucrative endorsements. But they can also be the target of abuse that threatens their mental health. Naomi Osaka reacts after missing a point during a tennis match in Madrid, Spain, 9 May 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)...
Social media platforms, not mainstream outlets, shape how many young people see the world. Naomi Osaka, one of the world’s best and most recognizable tennis players, has skillfully leveraged social media to build a sizable and loyal fan base. When she snubbed the mainstream media at the 2021 French Open, many of her followers glimpsed only a vulnerable young woman, harassed and persecuted by the mainstream media. Rachel Roth of The Hewitt School has provided a more nuanced look at Osaka’s relationship with the press, which has both hounded and enriched her. Roth interviewed former top tennis pro Patrick McEnroe and a Columbia University professor to produce a well-rounded account of Osaka’s rocky rapport with journalists.
Exercise: Ask your students to choose a social media star from entertainment or sport and look at how the image of themselves that they cultivate on social media compares with coverage in mainstream media.
Dmytro Shelukhin is a Ukrainian working for a UK investment bank. But like many émigrés, he is finding meaning helping his home nation fight Russia. Dmytro Shelukhin on the way to Ukraine with war materiel (photo courtesy of Dmytro Shelukhin) For the past eight years,...
Like many big global news stories, the war in Ukraine has released a tsunami of ink, making it difficult for journalists to find a fresh angle. Jeffrey Mo, a fellow at the University of Toronto, manages to break new ground with a simple story about a Ukrainian émigré who sends war matériel to armed forces in his embattled home country. Mo lets Dmytro Shelukhin, a Ukrainian working for a UK investment bank, be the protagonist of the story, which discreetly underscores both the high stakes involved in the conflict and the depth of Ukrainian defiance.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify an issue dominating the news around the world – such as climate change or human rights – and to find a local angle. Then they should interview someone directly involved in the local matter and write a story capturing that person’s experiences and thoughts.
The school in the U.S. state of Delaware becomes News Decoder’s 23rd academic partner with a focus on building 21st-century global skills. Faculty at The Tatnall School in Delaware gather for a News Decoder information session. The Tatnall School in the U.S....
Drugs, self-harm and sex are its staples. Is the prize-winning U.S. TV show ‘Euphoria’ a threat to impressionable youth? If so, what to do? Cast members of the U.S. TV drama series “Euphoria,” in Los Angeles, California, 4 June 2019 (Photo by...
Immigrants around the world often face discrimination. But they can help drive economic growth and in my country are among the best educated. Protesters in Zurich demonstrate against an initiative that would limit the number of migrant workers in Switzerland, 9...
Many students have strong convictions about issues, so strong that their perspective can be clouded. So we encourage students to base their reporting on solid data and authoritative sources. In her story about immigrants in Switzerland, Nina Bugajska of Realgymnasium Rämibühl in Zurich cites a global polling company, a German data specialist, the Swiss federal statistics office and a Swiss consulting company, and she interviews a university professor, giving her a solid foundation for her look into the important role that immigrants play in Switzerland’s economy. Immigration is a topic that is easily manipulated by political demagogues, making Bugajska’s story a valuable contribution to clear thinking.
Exercise: Ask your students to choose a controversial topic and then find authoritative data, relevant to the issue, that is collected by official authorities, academics or private companies. They should then summarize what the data says about the issue.
Catcalling, car honking and indecent exposure are rarely punished, but street harassment can seriously harm a woman’s mental health. Women walk past construction workers in New York on 28 October 2010. Although these men did not harass any of the passersby,...
Kai Lengwiler of Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich examined Switzerland’s fight against drugs, winning News Decoder’s 11th Storytelling Contest. Winners of the 11th News Decoder Storytelling Contest A video report by a high school student in Zurich examining...