Thursday is the unofficial Support Student Journalism Day, and student-run newsrooms across the country will publish editorials to call attention to the challenges student press face.
The movement — Save Student Newsrooms — sheds light on the students who are fighting for editorial and financial independence.
The Temple News is extremely fortunate to receive some financial support from the Klein College of Media and Communication, which helps us maintain our editorial independence. Some student-run newspapers aren’t as lucky and face censorship and budget cuts that compromise their reporting and can lead them to shut down their newsrooms forever.
But we need student journalists now more than ever. They act as legitimately as professional news outlets. In some areas, students serve as the only news publication, because local newsrooms have gone out of business.
Student newsrooms are also experiencing increased levels of censorship, through methods like theft of newspapers, slashing budgets or removing faculty advisers when student journalists refuse to fall to university pressure, FIRE reported in its 2018 student censorship review.
We urge the Temple community to consider donating to a college newspaper, including The Temple News, to support student journalists. These students are producing some of the most comprehensive, innovative news coverage all while balancing classes, internships and other jobs.
The Pitt News’ staff produced extensive news coverage of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting last year. These students covered national news with the same poise and integrity as any other outlet on the scene.
The Tulane Hullabaloo’s Intersections, a section for the intersection of its student identities, inspired us to take a hard look at the inclusivity of our coverage and add our own Intersection. We hope other outlets learn from the Hullabaloo’s inclusive space.
These are a few examples of high-quality journalism produced by students, and we urge you to support a student-run newspaper. Pick up a copy, share an article online, or donate to a newsroom.
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