News Engagement Day encourages student journalists

The ninth annual News Engagement Day focuses on news engagement and allowing for student voices to be heard, Oct. 4. The event’s primary focus, according to the website, is to “encourage engagement with news and promote understanding about the principles and processes of journalism in a democratic society.”

NED began under the leadership of then AEJMC president Paula Poindexter on Oct. 7, 2014. The day was born out of the idea that the public as a whole was becoming increasingly disinterested in and uneducated about news and news engagement.

Over the years, it has grown to a national event focused on encouraging the public to spend a day consuming the news. This allows people to stay informed and put action to their First Amendment rights, including freedom of speech and press.

Student voices are so often silenced and censored, most recently with the public suspension of journalism advisor Adriana Chavira at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in the LAUSD.

Believing their rights at The Pearl Post to be too important, the student-led team refused to change any part of the factual, relevant article they had written about vaccine mandates in the LA school district.

In the months since, the students petitioned with the Student Press Law Center in an attempt to draw attention to the unlawful suspension. The SPLC ruled that the article was completely lawful, but it still took the district months to undo the suspension.

With this in mind, The Feather staff takes the day to define their rights as student journalists in California, as well as engage with their school on the importance of credible news.

Senior Ayden Blowers affirms that staying active in the news is not only important, but a duty people have to their community.

“I think it’s important to stay up to date on the news depending on what the news is and what is happening in and around our community,” Blowers said. “A lot of people should know and they don’t know because there’s a lot going on that people should know about.”

Tryphena Guwana, ‘24, does still believe that staying informed in the news is important, even if it may be difficult for people, including teens.

“I think that a lot of the news that we see in the mainstream media is very negative nowadays and it makes us sad,” Guwana said. “But I still think it’s important to stay informed so we know what’s going on.”

Amanda Johnson | The Feather Online

On this year’s News Engagement Day, The Feather Online took to their Instagram to introduce the editing staff for the 2022-23 school year.

Editor-in-Chief – Emma Calderon
Editor-in-Chief – Amanda Johnson
Photo Editor – Taylor Beckworth
Photo Editor – Aubrey Graham
Video Editor – Micah Friesen
Creative Editor – Summer Foshee

Johnson, ‘23, believes that the true meaning of “news engagement” is not only reading articles, but gathering different perspectives, various sources, and checking for credibility and reliability.

“Being engaged in the news is very important, there’s no doubt about that. But that doesn’t mean just reading a story and being done with it. You have to do research, because only then will you be able to form your own opinions,” Johnson said. “I think a big problem with people today is that they’d rather be handed things, they don’t want to have to think too hard for themselves. Our generation has the power to change that.”

Calderon, ‘23, believes that staying aware and engaged in news and developments can change a person’s outlook.

“News engagement is what metamorphoses a person’s intellectual level to understand the state of the world they reside in,” Calderon said. “In a society where many news sources are biased and unreliable, it is an extremely useful tool to know the source’s dependability.”

We’ve skipped to the good part because #NewsEngagementDay is in full swing! Keep sharing your activities and enter the Tik Tok contest. pic.twitter.com/qwPmTt3mhy

— News Engagement Day (@newsengagement) October 4, 2022

Here at The Feather Online, we are your voice, and we believe your voice matters. Despite the obstacles that student journalists today may face, we have a responsibility to you – a responsibility to keep you informed and to allow your voice to be heard.

Share your support for News Engagement Day and the importance of journalism by reading and commenting on articles and liking and commenting on The Feather Online’s Instagram. If you have an idea for an article or something you believe deserves coverage, send it to The Feather via email.

Check with The Feather’s Instagram today to get a real time look into our promotion of News Engagement Day. Make sure to follow up with #newsengagementday and check in with News Engagement Day’s Instagram account.

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