by News Decoder | 21 Jun 2023 | Education, Educators' Catalog, Journalism
To get good stories you need to start with simple questions. The answers will be complicated. Reporters at a press conference raise their hands to ask a question. (Credit: Comstock) What’s your question? Journalists ask questions. Lots and lots and lots of questions....
In this piece, News Decoder editors help students develop a line of inquiry and questioning that can lead to solutions journalism. To get good stories, students should start with simple questions with big answers.
Exercise: After students read the article, have them brainstorm simple questions about the world around them that may lead to a great story. Perhaps students are curious about the options on their school lunch menu, or about why football is called “soccer” in some countries. Students should then consider who they may ask/interview to answer their question. This activity may be paired with a classroom writing assignment. If students produce a finished story, they are eligible to pitch the article to our team, with the possibility of publication on our site.
by Marcy Burstiner | 19 Jun 2023 | Journalism
To be globally aware, we depend on journalists around the world who risk their freedom and very lives to keep us informed. A mural depicting slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is drawn on part of Israel’s controversial separation barrier, in...
by Joyce Yang | 26 May 2023 | Faculty in the Spotlight, News Decoder Updates, Tatnall School
Carrie Simpson of The Tatnall School centers global awareness, activism and inquiry in her teaching. She wins this month’s Faculty Spotlight award. News Decoder’s faculty point person at The Tatnall School, Carrie Simpson. (Carrie Simpson) In the first year of...
by Keya Dutt | 23 May 2023 | Asia, Human Rights, Journalism, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
For Parisa Haidari, staying alive after the Taliban came to power meant leaving journalism. But that wasn’t enough. Parisa Haidari made her way more than 3,100 miles from Afghanistan to Italy. This article, by high school student Keya Dutt, was produced out of...
by Rafiullah Nikzad | 12 May 2023 | Asia, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Journalism
For 20 years Afghan journalists could report without fear or favor. With the Taliban in control they are out of favor and under intense fear. Many have fled. Afghan journalists attend a press conference of a former president Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan, 13...
Guest writer Rafiullah Nikzad shares his experience as a journalist forced to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control in 2021. This article underscores the importance of a free press, in line with News Decoder’s mission to amplify voices that are under-reported and under-heard.
Exercise: Read the article together as a class, then launch a discussion on the importance of a free press. What does independent journalism bring to a country? Why might some governments seek to censor what is published? What are the social, political, economic and legal frameworks that underpin a free press? Have students investigate the level of press freedom in your country, using the Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders. You may consider having students conduct a comparative analysis of several country case studies.
