Feather Philosophy Statements

Feather philosophy

While many schools across the country are abandoning, shuttering or shrinking their journalism programs, Fresno Christian publications students and The Feather Online believes that publications classes are exactly what students need in order to be relevant both in and out of high school.

Today’s students are “doing school” vastly different than what their older siblings, parents and grandparents did in the recent past. While the term backpack journalism was coined in the mid 1990s as a way to encourage print journalists to provide additional video for TV, a large percentage of students today are expected to engage in reporting, storytelling, opinion writing with support, use photography and videography skills on top of research writing within the community, classrooms and and via the internet.

We live in a digital age where almost everyone has a smart device that can access documents, interviews, websites, video, and photos. We all hold computers in our hands. Digital media is revolutionizing our world and we need to know how to access, use and produce content for most careers today. Businesses want hire students who are media savvy, can research, write, edit, illustrate, provide soundbites and present all of their work with accuracy, honesty and respect.

Our vision

Publication students learn how to read their audience’s needs, gather information, collaborate with their peers, analyze the data, and publish with an angle, motive and purpose with appropriate verified support. The Feather Online sets out to model this philosophy for Fresno Christian and teen followers throughout the world.

The Feather Online’s goal is to utilize a multi-media online platform that covers issues that reflect, represent, inform, educate and entertain the Fresno Christian student body through campus and community news, features, profiles, opinions, reviews and sports activities. We aim to share these through many ways including, the written word, podcast, photography and video. The staff also seeks to provide a forum for editorials, columns, blogs, letters to the editor, and guest articles/blogs and vlogs and encourages students to comment, repost and share via the comment section and social media, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Vimeo.

Additionally, community and national events and places of interest will be covered when found applicable to student concerns and interest. The newspaper will not cover city, state, national or international news unless there is a tie to current students and their activities, need to know or interest. This is one area the paper seeks to improve.

The Feather Online will also strive to improve its visual media and post social media in real time to its offerings, better integrating them during the 2019-2020 school year. In the past, slideshows, audio slideshows, videos, podcasts, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook were extras; however, these media are now seen as mainstream parts of the daily edition.

Feather Online philosophy statements last updated February 2020