From March 5 – 9, we will be celebrating the importance of journalism and our First Amendment right to educate society. Newspapers and other news media are often a constant in people’s lives.
People are constantly absorbing news; from long-standing routines like reading the morning paper with a cup of coffee, to more recent trends such as scrolling through Twitter during the day, journalism is hopefully helping people develop informed thoughts and decisions.
Newspapers have always been a critical part of our society, but the purpose of the newspaper today has since evolved far from how newspapers started. In the beginning, newspapers were the only widespread source of current events.
Today, now more than ever, the right to free speech is more in question than it has been before. Trust in the newspaper and other media has been compromised. Social media has begun to evaluate the role of news on their platforms.
Reading the news may no longer be a daily habit for most people, but it is crucial to be educated on current events. Newspapers are a vital part of community, both at the local and national level.
In college, people are a little more removed from current events. Regardless, the importance of newspaper in the college environment is undoubtedly important. From the education staff members receive in improving their writing skills and styles to the growth for other platforms, such as web and social media, journalism has the power to change lives. In addition, college newspapers educate students and staff members on events and information that directly affect them and improve community.
For us, education has always been at the heart of our organization. For our staff, this means focusing on growth, goal setting and personal and professional development. Our newsroom has never not been a classroom (except for the two weeks when we met in the Monadnock community room). Regardless of space, however, our staff is one that is always learning.
But more than this, Newspaper in Education Week is not about us. It is about our community, about education on a larger scale. As a part of SNHU, we recognize that our integral value of truth is really just about education and about being a resource for our community. It’s about maintaining integrity and honesty in tumultuous times and about being just a little bit disruptive, as truth and education ought to be.
While reading the newspaper may not be the most common past time, we hope that this week, you push yourself to stay educated, to celebrate the ability to stay engaged and to practice active citizenship every day.
Stay tuned to our social media (@PenmenPress) every day this week for facts, key historical moments and amazing journalists in history!
