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Opinion writing for campus journalists

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These are the slides I used for the online National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) organized by the Department of Education on August 11, 2021.

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Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Editorials: how to write opinion journalism.

editorial writing campus journalism

The “lead editorial” represents the official collective position of the editorial board of a news publication.

More generally, an editorial is a special genre of journalism that aims to inform, persuade, and/or entertain through a well-written short essay. 

Like other forms of journalism, an editorial  uses quotes, facts, and logic to inform readers, and its content is still covered by ethical principles (such as fairness and libel). Unlike a hard news story (which aims for a neutral point of view), an editorial defends an opinion , which could be a non-partisan message about the importance of voting, but could also mean explaining why one candidate is better suited for an elected position than the other candidates.

Opinions that the editors express on the editorial page should stay there — they should not affect any of the news coverage. Individual reporters shouldn’t slant their stories to reflect or rebut editorial opinions.

Note how the webmasters have included the word “Editorial” or “Guest Column” in the headline, so that people sharing links won’t mistake these opinion pieces for neutral news stories. 

  • Editorial: Let health experts accompany cops, police and reformers agree
  • The Guardian view on nature tourism: tread lightly Editorial
  • Will Smith Must Return His Oscar to Restore the Award’s Honor (Guest Column)

Related Terms

  • column : a regularly scheduled article, usually containing an opinion, and often driven by the personality of the author. (Example: Dave Barry )
  • op-ed (guest editorial): a persuasive essay written by a named, individual author, such as a managing editor or other newspaper employee, or a prominent figure from the community. So named because it traditionally appeared on the page opposite the editorials; it is not necessarily the “opposing view” of anyone else’s argument. ( LA Times Op-Ed page ; op-ed written by an AI bot )
  • Why Biden Isn’t Getting Flamed as Being Soft on Terror
  • Student Loan Forgiveness Is an Idea Whose Time Has Gone
  • letter to the editor : a short essay written by a member of the general public, usually responding to a specific story. 

Opinion in Editorials

While you may put a bumper sticker on your car or ad a hashtag to your social media profile  in order to show your allegiance to an issue or philosophy, in the context of persuasive writing, repeating a slogan does not count as presenting an opinion .

My Seton Hill colleagues Michael Carey and Frank Klapak often talk about the difference between your gut reaction to an issue (“Smoking is bad!” or “Don’t tell me what to do!”), and your thoughtful, considered opinion (“A law that prohibits all smoking within 200 yards of school property places an undue burden on school employees with a physical disability, who may have to drive off campus for their smoking breaks, and unfairly makes criminals out of smokers who happen to own houses near school property.”)

An array of bumper-sticker slogans that support one side of an ongoing debate (abortion, smoking, Iraq) does not constitute a political editorial; neither does a list of rhetorical questions (“Does the president think the American people are stupid, or is he just too clueless to know how ridiculous his health care reform really sounds?” or “How does a rich, powerful woman like [name your target] manage to fool so many idiots into thinking she understands the concerns of the working class?”). These are attacks, not thoughtful approaches to exploring how and why diverse groups of people respond in various ways to a complex idea.

A few years ago, a student began an editorial assignment with a draft that was really a rant: “Why are so many classes at SHU only offered every other year?”  While his frustration was understandable, his first draft made no attempt to answer that question — he simply vented his anger, and announced that more courses should be offered every year.

I encouraged him to do what reporters do — find answers.

He talked to some faculty members about the issue, investigating the pros and cons of offering courses more frequently, and and he learned that if these every-other-year courses were offered every year, they would be much less likely to fill up, and therefore more likely to be canceled.

If 10 people take a course that’s offered every other year, then probably only 5 people would take it if it were offered every year.  Now, I personally would love to teach classes to only 5 students… but then who would teach all the  other  courses, the ones that 20 or 40 students need each semester?  We’d have to hire more faculty members to teach those courses.  Where would the money come from to pay for those additional faculty members?  From higher tuition, of course.

There’s usually a reason why things are the way they are. Sometimes it’s a pretty good reason. After you find out the reason, you’re ready to persuade your readers of a superior solution.

Tips for Writing Editorials

Write tight. Make a single point, in about 400 words. (Guest editorials, written by an invited expert, can tackle a more complex subject, and may be 800 words or even longer. The editorial page editor will work with a submission, helping the writer make his or her case with precise, snappy, expressive phrasing.)

  • Write short, journalism-style  paragraphs — two or three sentences , not the page-long monsters you construct for academic papers.
  • Start with your main point.
  • Avoid “There are many ways that X has been important in recent weeks. One such way is Y.”  Instead, try “X forced itself upon us for the third time this month, when Y happened.”
  • Finish strong.  Don’t just repeat your thesis — bring the reader somewhere.

Pick a topic that  emerges from the news . (That is, your paper is already running a news article on this topic, and you are adding your opinion to the coverage.)

Avoid vague references to “some people say” or “research shows.”  Name names. Interview sources yourself.

  • If you’re writing about a national issue, you probably won’t get a quote from the President of the United States.
  • You might, however, get a quote from a professor who specializes on a topic that’s in the news, or the president of a student club that’s relevant to your story.

Presume that  your opponent has good reasons  for disagreeing with you. Talk to people on the other side, and include some of their eloquent, well-argued points. Carefully and respectfully explain why your position is nevertheless more accurate (or ethical, or practical, or inspirational, or whatever).

  • Avoid trying to make your opinion seem stronger by distorting the other side, either through exaggeration (“Animal rights groups would rather millions of people from cancer than have one animal die during a scientific experiment”) or by using unflattering labels (“nicotine addicts who oppose my right to breathe fresh air…” “reactionary tea-baggers whose pathetic world-view is threatened by Obama’s heroic economic vision…” ).
  • Making “the other side” look evil or stupid may fool people who don’t know what you are talking about, but people who do know something about the subject can (and will) write a letter to the editor correcting your misrepresentations.

Don’t think of your goal as picking a fight with people who make you angry. Instead, try swaying the opinion of a reasonable person who sees the merits of both sides .

Write for something specific (not just against something)

Avoid simply listing complaints, or attacking a silent opponent with a series of aggressive questions that you have no intention of researching. 

Why is the salad bar so expensive this year? For the past several years, the cost of a large salad has gone up 10 cents each fall. This year, it jumped almost a dollar.  Is a salad really worth $3? For just a little more, I could get a hot meal. Why are our food prices so unfair?

Whine, whine, whine! Anybody can churn out a list of complaints  against  topic X.  It’s another thing entirely to come up with a solution, and then make a public statement in its favor.

So, instead of just whining about the high price of a salad, I might instead contact the dining services, and actually ask why the price went up. I might hear the manager tell me that customers had frequently requested more chicken salad and other expensive meat dishes.  My editorial becomes an opportunity to inform, as I explain the reason for the price increase, and make a sensible suggestion — $2.00 greens-only option.

Examples (Two from my blog, one from an online newspaper. Feel free to comment if you wish.)

  • Surprising Sexist Statement from a University Professor  (200 words)
  • About the Golden Rule for Ed Tech Vendors  (400 words, excluding article excerpt)
  • Football Slouches Towards a Former Women’s College  (1600 words)

Additional Readings

A great series from Poynter Online (a craft-centered journalism education website)

  • Introduction
  • The Editorial Critique  by Fred Fiske
  • The Baltimore   Sun Editorial  &  critique
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial  &  critique

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12 Best Editorial Writing Topics With Examples (2024)

Editorial content writing aims to inform or educate readers. Discover relevant editorial writing topics you can use, plus examples to help you in writing.

Editorials let writers share their points of view on different topics. It’s an opinion piece where you must research and find relevant facts that establish your credibility and demonstrate your writing skills. You might use editorial writing as a journalist; in that case, these best journalism tips will get you started! Keep reading to see our editorial writing topics to launch your career.

What Type of Writing is an Editorial?

What is an editorial opinion piece, 1. science and health, 2. environmental challenges, 3. social media and social networking, 4. devices and technology, 5. finances and the economy, 6. sports and entertainment, 7. significant past events, 8. social issues, 9. controversial topics, 10. current events, 11. “future of” editorials, 12. versus editorials, what are some essential rules for writing an editorial, what is the difference between an editorial and a blog post.

Editorial writing topics

Editorial content writing is the opposite of content made to sell products. Instead, this type of writing is focused on entertaining, educating, or informing readers. It’s all to attract them to want to know your business further. With consistency, you improve your engagement and lay the foundation for a target audience loyal to your content.

Opinion pieces, as their name suggests, are articles published in periodicals, magazines, and newspapers presenting the writers’ opinions on a specific topic. These pieces can be signed or unassigned by the writer and are produced to offer readers a wide range of views about the subject. Below are interesting editorial topics you can use.

Editorials about science and health are usually selected by professionals who want to share their reviews or opinions on a specific subject in their specialized field. They help the readers understand natural phenomena, new products or technology related to science, research studies or methods, and claims made by fellow professionals, companies, or organizations.

Some examples are:

  • The Sudden Outbreak of Swine Flu
  • Bioterrorism and Its Effects on a Country
  • Science in a Time of Crisis: Communication, Engagement and the Lived Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Junk Foods’ Negative Impacts on Children’s Growth
  • Quick Meals and How They Contribute to Obesity in the US

Editorial writers for this topic must know how these challenges work and affect society. These environmental issues coax the readers to take the problems tackled in these pieces more seriously as they identify threats to humans and our ecosystems with reliable research and data.

  • Tackling Our Biggest Environmental Challenges
  • Global Warming, Climate Change, and Their Effects on People and Animals
  • The Positive Impacts of Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
  • How Oil Spills Destroy Bodies of Water
  • Should We Decrease Companies’ Carbon Credits ?

Social media and social networking

Because social networking sites only became prevalent post-2004, research regarding their adverse consequences has yet to be thoroughly scoured. Additionally, brainstorming about editorials on social media is easier for the younger generations since they’ve been exposed to it for longer and have first-hand experience with its effects.

  • The Different Pressures of Social Media
  • Do We Need Stricter Cyber Crime Laws?
  • Reality Shows and How They Alter Teenager’s View of the Real World

Editorials on technology often link devices and their influence on a group, usually students or employees who operate these devices in their daily activities. Pieces about this topic delve into the contributions and drawbacks of technology regarding convenience, innovation, and well-being.

  • Why Technology Can Be a Catalyst for Social Good
  • The Ethical Issues Concerning Nanotechnology
  • The Risks of Giving Toddlers Phones
  • General Data Protection Regulation: Are You Protected Enough?

Finances and the economy are always relevant subjects, and topics linked to them never run out. Therefore, many editorial pieces are prompted by constant analysis of economic trends, issues, and practices within a county, country, and globally. Editorial articles also explain how ripple effects affect an individual’s wealth.

  • The Big Quit: Why Millenials Are Tired of Working
  • Economic Recession and Its Effects
  • Saving the Economy or Saving Lives: An Unnecessary Choice
  • Causes of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

If you’re writing for your school newspaper, see these excellent examples of newspaper headlines .

This topic highlights lifestyle, media updates, and game news reports. Sports can also focus on a coach, team, or player’s profile, where the editorial writer comments and analyzes their style and gameplay. It can also brush other sports subjects, such as the Iran football team who refused to sing their national anthem amidst the Mahsa Amini protests .

  • Is Qatar the Right Host for the FIFA World Cup ?
  • What To Know About the Latest NBA Season
  • What Went Wrong With Rambo: The Video Game ?
  • Steroids and Doping for Sports
  • Habits: A Pandemic of Lost Routines

Middle and high school students find this topic more manageable to discuss since the information they need is already available. The editorial writer can examine a subject they relate with, like their ethnicity or personal experiences, to make the piece more compelling. They can also probe extreme historical events and reflect on their ongoing effects on current times.

  • The Boston Tea Party of 1997
  • A Glimpse of the Past: A Look at Black History

An unsigned editorial relays a newspaper’s stand on a social issue in a professional setting. The piece scrutinizes the social problems and shares most of the editorial board’s opinion on such matters. These social issues depend on various factors, such as pending cases, laws, and politics, that impact many people in a society.

  • The Necessity of College Schooling
  • Legal Recognition of Same-sex Marriage Should Proceed
  • Capital Punishment Be Mandatory in All States
  • Pardoning Student Loan: Is It Fair?

Controversial topics are subjects that rouse arguments and stir clashing groups who disapprove of another’s mindset. These themes spark debate among opposing parties with strong views, biases, or prejudices.

An editorial reveals both of the parties’ viewpoints and remains objective. It presents facts pertinent to the topic, such as why a partaker dramatically insists on or resists changes or if any participants are open to negotiations.

  • Legalization of Marijuana: What Comes Next?
  • Should Students Grade Their Teachers?
  • What Follows Roe v Wade: It Doesn’t Stop Here

Journalists and other professional writers must keep up to speed to tackle current events and deliver fresh news. Readers are encouraged to read the most recent stories that pique their interest. Editorials that use current events intend to attract attention and keep the audience up-to-date on the latest affairs worldwide.

  • The Victory of New Government Candidates
  • The Russian and Ukrainian War
  • Are You a Victim of Voter Fraud?

Here’s a tip, when there’s little happening in your field, check out these newspaper column ideas to be inspired on what to write next.

A good editorial knows how to keep its readers curious by opening a discussion regarding thought-provoking issues and posing possibilities. These editorials aim to educate and persuade readers to do something in support of or against the topic with facts and data.

  • Future of Organic Food
  • Future for Printed Journals
  • Future of Smartphones
  • Our Future is Uncertain and Stressful

Versus editorials compare and contrast two conflicting themes or ideas and expound on why they are opposed. If you’re wondering, an op-ed is not the same as an editorial. An op-ed is usually placed opposite the editorial and written by an individual not affiliated with the editorial team or the newspaper. Some examples of this are:

  • ‘Faith vs. Fact:’ Why Religion and Science Are Mutually Incompatible
  • Darwinism vs. Creationism
  • Healthcare in Denmark vs. Healthcare in the US

FAQs About Editorial Writing Topics

Editorials are not meant to advertise anything. They are pieces that state the writer’s objective opinion based on evidence and in-depth research. An editorial must analyze the topic with supporting facts from unbiased sources and either inform, persuade, criticize, or praise. It should also be entertaining to read.

The main difference between blogs and editorials is their reliance on facts and research. If blogs let writers share their personal beliefs, editorials offer expert opinions. Additionally, blogs adopt a casual tone and avoid jargon, whereas editorials have a more professional style to convince readers of the pieces’ credibility.

editorial writing campus journalism

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Campus journalism: Shaping minds from schools to societies

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  • by Rachelle Nessia
  • Jan. 17, 2024 5:50 pm in Features

Campus newspapers provide  a platform that serves as an excellent training ground for aspiring journalists. 

This is how Siquijor Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Pasaol describes the Division Schools Press Conference (DSPC) which the Department of Education (DepEd) organizes regularly.

She said the DSPC is more than just a competition as it offers opportunities for young journalists to hone their skills. 

“It is an opportunity to get exposure, good experience and skills that they can use when they venture into the real world outside of the school and learn what real journalism is all about,” said Pasaol in her message during the recent provincial DSPC 2024 in Siquijor. 

She added that the annual competition helps the campus journalists sharpen their skills, articulate their ideas, thoughts, opinions, and views on various issues. 

 “If people cannot express their opinion properly, they become rebels in society,” Pasaol said. 

She also urged writers and their coaches to put a higher value on learning and experience and not just on winning the competition. 

“Winning is just secondary. What is important are the things that you will learn from here, and later on the things that you are going to apply when you go out outside of the society,” she added.

editorial writing campus journalism

In Siquijor, aspiring journalists from seven school districts pitted their skills and talents in writing during the recent DSPC 2024 held at the Candaping National High School in Candaping B, Maria, Siquijor. 

Campus  journalists competed in the following categories: news writing, editorial writing, feature writing, photojournalism, copy reading and headline writing, sports writing, editorial cartooning, column writing, science and technology writing, and scriptwriting and radio broadcasting. 

The first place winners will represent the province in the regional DSPC. 

editorial writing campus journalism

Win or lose, give your best

For Liam Vladimir Bonachita-Eraham, a member of the winning team from Siquijor State College in the Radio Broadcasting and Scriptwriting – Secondary English Category, the DSPC helped him see the value of being part of a team. 

"Overall, it was a transformative experience as the DSPC has not only sharpened my writing and broadcasting skills but has also instilled in me a deeper sense of responsibility and teamwork," said Liam. 

His brother, Yuri Demitri Bonachita Eraham, who is part of the same team, is grateful that the competition also opened doors for him that would help him in his future career. 

“Honestly, I was surprised by our victory, as I didn't anticipate winning due to the tight competition. It's a great feeling to have our hard work paid off, and our victory is a testament to the dedication of our team. I'm very grateful for receiving the special award for Best in Technical Application and excited about the doors that winning the DSPC has opened for me and for continued learning and advancement both academically and as an individual,” said  Yuri.

Best News Presenter Francis Jane Inopia, also of the same winning group, said winning would not have been possible without the cooperation of all members of the group and the full support of the coach. 

“Thanks to them, all our effort did not go to waste. And I am very delighted because I did not just win a competition but also friendships,” she said. 

For 11-year-old Grade 6 pupil Vince Mariae Anding Guillepa from Enrique Villanueva Central School, participating in the DSPC itself is already a victory. 

She said the experience was worthwhile due to the excitement, challenges, and lessons she learned in the entire day.

“There were many of us (contestants), nakuyawan pud ko (I was nervous) but I was also challenged to give my best,” Vince said. 

Vince won 5th place in the Feature Writing Contest- Elementary English Category.

The National Schools Press Conference is conducted every year in line with Republic Act 7079 or the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 to promote the growth and development of the campus press. (RAC/PIA Siquijor)

  • Campus journalism
  • Division Schools Press Conference (DSPC)

About the Author

editorial writing campus journalism

Rachelle Nessia

Assistant Regional Head

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International Journalism

June 15, 2005.

Summer 2005

Editorial Dilemmas at an Independent Magazine in Moscow

Masha gessen.

editorial writing campus journalism

Essentially, we were left with two choices for covering these verdicts. Either we’d do a large feature piece or a column. But there were two complicating factors: The party in question, the National Bolsheviks, is an organization with a checkered past and an odious name; in addition, this would be our first redesigned issue, and it would be coming out more than a month after the verdicts—meaning that our decision to cover them would be a noticeable statement. And it was a statement that seemed important: The verdicts were a major milestone and, in positioning our publication, it was important for us to show our readers that we’d noticed.

Weighing the Idea of a Column

RELATED ARTICLE “Fear and Self-Censorship in Vladimir Putin’s Russia” – By Masha Gessen The option the editor and I initially favored was asking the leader of the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) to write the opening column for this issue. The column’s standing title is best translated as “Sensations,” and in it authors are asked to examine a feeling or use a small incident to illustrate a larger truth of our lives today. We envisioned the party leader perhaps describing what his day had been like as he called the attorneys for 42 young members of his organization currently in detention and awaiting trial, 10 of whom are underage. There were two arguments in favor of assigning this column. First, the leader of the NBP is Eduard Limonov, one of Russia’s most accomplished and best-known writers, who was the author of many bestsellers long before he began his unlikely political career. Second, because of Limonov’s fame as a writer and his increasing notoriety as a politician, the column would attract a lot of readers.

Other editors on our staff—there are seven of us altogether—disagreed, and their main reservation concerned Limonov’s reputation. He’d made some extremely nationalist pronouncements in the past, and though now he seemed to tout a strictly pro-democracy line, his name and his party’s still make many people uncomfortable. And in a time when the political lines were shifting, Russians were back to that uncomfortable situation in which all who oppose the regime have to stick together, regardless of their individual political views. But our fear was that by erring on the side of solidarity we would send the wrong message—if we did this, it would seem as though we were willing to own Limonov’s reputation as well as his words.

As we talked more about our approach to this story, it became increasingly clear that this shifting political landscape—and the place the NBP held in it—was what we needed to focus attention on. This awareness became the solution to our dilemma. For this issue, I ended up writing a piece on the National Bolshevik Party and how it fit into the ever-changing environment of Russian opposition politics. The story ended up exploring what is so wrong with Russia today that allows the National Bolsheviks to embody the role of the government’s strongest opposition.

Letters to Khodorkovsky

Reaction to the piece was just what we wanted. People talked about it, and a lot of them clearly felt uncomfortable with it. There was no indication the article irked anyone close to the Kremlin, yet I felt we’d done a very good piece of journalism.

Of course, before long, another dilemma surfaced. We came up with the idea of making the jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky—perhaps the world’s most famous and wealthiest inmate—a regular columnist in the magazine. We didn’t want him writing biweekly political manifestoes (although he has published a couple in other publications). Rather, we’d grown fascinated with the new phenomenon of thousands of people writing to Khodorkovsky in jail. Most simply write to express their support, yet hundreds of women have declared their love for him in their letters, and many people ask his opinion on a variety of topics. In a sense, he has come to symbolize a kind of higher wisdom: People seem to believe that someone who had it all and has lost it and is now alone with his thoughts, yet seems to have held it together and kept his sense of humor, is possessed of a knowledge we all would like to possess.

We approached Khodorkovsky to ask if we could publish some of his correspondence and also start routing our readers’ letters to him. He agreed, and we started to fashion a sort of Khodorkovsky advice column. To say this idea made managers of our publishing house nervous would be a significant understatement. One of them threatened to resign if we went ahead with the plan. The fear was that advertisers would flee, distribution would collapse, and the Kremlin would squash us. In the end, though, we were able to convince our publishing colleagues that no disaster was in the offing. No one quit, and we started running the column in mid-April.

Readers’ reaction has been good. Letters to Khodorkovsky are pouring in. But on the production side, the new column is a nightmare. Each letter, and each edit, requires a ridiculous number of steps to complete. But the biggest problem so far is Khodorkovsky has not turned out to be a very good writer. He gets wonderfully written letters, asking him, for example, to reflect on how many lives he has had, and responds in the stilted manner of a politician running for office. We are hoping he’ll relax after a while and hit his stride.

We are also mindful that there is something very wrong with this editorial decision if we are publishing the words and thoughts of a bad writer simply because he is in jail. But the most significant lesson so far has been that in today’s Russia, most of us can get away with just about as much as we dare to get away with. The trick is not to rush to censor oneself.

Masha Gessen, a 2004 Nieman Fellow, is deputy editor of Bolshoy Gorod, an independent magazine based in Moscow.

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Summer 2004: journalist’s trade introduction, publisher, editor and reporter, the press and the presidency.

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The fire of campus journalism

I never knew what to say whenever I was asked why I became a campus journalist. It’s not like I had a go-to answer sitting comfortably in my mind at all times. Not until recently when I, together with other Central Luzon-based campus journalists, was invited to give a short statement for the 90th founding anniversary of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines .

As a campus journalist, I was taught — nay, conditioned — that journalism should always be unbiased; news reports should not be tainted with personal opinions; and, articles, in general, should be angled from objectivity. Growing accustomed to this, I have always viewed traditional reportage as easy and can only be perceived (and digested) like a piece of cake.

It wasn’t always the case with me. Maybe I was just going through puberty as I started rejecting glittery cakes and was only channeling my newfound teenage angst into writing during my last year in high school. In fact, once under my editorship, the official printed copies were all pulled out from the possession of the student body because of an editorial piece I wrote regarding the lack of anti-smoking policies and signages within campus premises, even calling the matter “a call for death.” As if that wasn’t bad enough for the school’s reputation, my associate editor wrote an opinion piece calling the school’s comfort rooms a “meeting place where students can smoke freely.” Skipping the being-summoned-to-the-principal’s-office drama, that’s when I knew campus journalists can transform a written piece into actual change, especially when a week after the incident, multiple anti-smoking signages were set up and the comfort rooms were, of course, beautified.

Now that I’m in college, I did not particularly excel in a journalism course last academic year as I refused to adhere to my professor’s probably outdated syllabus. Was it still because of teenage angst or maybe I was still bitter for all the wrong reasons?

But, true, the very essence of journalism is to report what we see or hear, and I only reported what I had observed years ago. But to which extent do we report based only on the surface? Was this the reason I continued carrying on the mantle of campus journalism?

As of writing, I am still a campus journalist. Given our current sociopolitical climate, I chose this path. I want to write and tell stories, but only those belonging to the unseen and unheard.

I am not rejecting journalism’s core teachings; I am just reiterating the need to be more critical as we are currently in the crossfire of a propaganda war, and those who are caught in the middle of all this chaos rely on militant journalism. What we, journalists, scribble may and will echo beyond the concept of mere reporting and staying neutral is tantamount to waving the white flag.

So why I am a journalist? It is because I consider journalism as a form of activism. Do we not fight misinformation and disinformation by cross-validating multiple sources? Do we not stand on the precipice of death threats and incessant state-perpetuated attacks and Red-tagging to combat black propaganda? Don’t we, as agents of the Fourth Estate, have the gravity to hold those in power to account?

We exist not to simply tell stories. The need to inform the school administration about the lack of anti-smoking policies, the need to stand against journalism neutrality and complicity, the need to fight for press freedom in order to tell more stories—this is why I still choose to be a journalist. Frankly, I did not always have this answer with me; I just wanted to believe I can, in some way, be an instrument of change but it’s not as I hoped it would be; it’s definitely more complicated than that.

Yet, somehow, I still perceive journalism as a piece of cake. Only this time, the cake is being served by stained, iron hands. And I prefer my cake not tainted with dirt and blood.

Ray Mark Samson Espiritu, 24, is a communication arts senior at Gordon College and is the editor in chief of The Forefront, the college’s official student publication. He enjoys the rush that comes with cramming papers.

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Local journalism is a critical “gate” to engage Americans on climate change

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Last year, Pew Research Center data revealed that only 37 percent of Americans said addressing climate change should be a top priority for the president and Congress. Furthermore, climate change was ranked 17th out of 21 national issues included in a Pew survey . 

But in reality, it’s not that Americans don’t care about climate change, says celebrated climate scientist and communicator MIT Professor Katharine Hayhoe. It’s that they don’t know that they already do. 

To get Americans to care about climate change, she adds, it’s imperative to guide them to their gate. At first, it might not be clear where that gate is. But it exists. 

That message was threaded through the  Connecting with Americans on Climate Change webinar last fall, which featured a discussion with Hayhoe and the five journalists who made up the 2023 cohort of the MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellowship. Hayhoe referred to a “gate” as a conversational entry point about climate impacts and solutions. The catch? It doesn’t have to be climate-specific. Instead, it can focus on the things that people already hold close to their heart.

“If you show people … whether it’s a military veteran or a parent or a fiscal conservative or somebody who is in a rural farming area or somebody who loves kayaking or birds or who just loves their kids … how they’re the perfect person to care [about climate change], then it actually enhances their identity to advocate for and adopt climate solutions,” said Hayhoe. “It makes them a better parent, a more frugal fiscal conservative, somebody who’s more invested in the security of their country. It actually enhances who they already are instead of trying to turn them into someone else.”

The MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellowship provides financial and technical support to journalists dedicated to connecting local stories to broader climate contexts, especially in parts of the country where climate change is disputed or underreported. 

Climate journalism is typically  limited  to larger national news outlets that have the resources to employ dedicated climate reporters. And since many local papers are already struggling — with the country on track to  lose a third of its papers  by the end of next year, leaving over 50 percent of counties in the United States with just one or no local news outlets — local climate beats can be neglected. This makes the work executed by the ESI’s fellows all the more imperative. Because for many Americans, the relevance of these stories to their own community is their gate to climate action. 

“This is the only climate journalism fellowship that focuses exclusively on local storytelling,” says Laur Hesse Fisher, program director at MIT ESI and founder of the fellowship. “It’s a model for engaging some of the hardest audiences to reach: people who don’t think they care much about climate change. These talented journalists tell powerful, impactful stories that resonate directly with these audiences.”

From March to June, the second cohort of ESI Journalism Fellows pursued local, high-impact climate reporting in Montana, Arizona, Maine, West Virginia, and Kentucky. 

Collectively, their 26 stories had over 70,000 direct visits on their host outlets’ websites as of August 2023, gaining hundreds of responses from local voters, lawmakers, and citizen groups. Even though they targeted local audiences, they also had national appeal, as they were republished by 46 outlets — including Vox , Grist , WNYC, WBUR, the NPR homepage, and three separate stories on NPR’s “Here & Now” program, which is broadcast by 45 additional partner radio stations across the country — with a collective reach in the hundreds of thousands. 

Micah Drew published an eight-part series in  The Flathead Beacon  titled, “ Montana’s Climate Change Lawsuit .” It followed a landmark case of 16 young people in Montana suing the state for violating their right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Of the plaintiffs, Drew said, “They were able to articulate very clearly what they’ve seen, what they’ve lived through in a pretty short amount of life. Some of them talked about wildfires — which we have a lot of here in Montana — and [how] wildfire smoke has canceled soccer games at the high school level. It cancels cross-country practice; it cancels sporting events. I mean, that’s a whole section of your livelihood when you’re that young that’s now being affected.”

Joan Meiners is a climate news reporter for the  Arizona Republic.  Her five-part series was situated at the intersection of Phoenix’s  extreme heat and housing crises . “I found that we are building three times more sprawling, single-family detached homes … as the number of apartment building units,” she says. “And with an affordability crisis, with a climate crisis, we really need to rethink that. The good news, which I also found through research for this series … is that Arizona doesn’t have a statewide building code, so each municipality decides on what they’re going to require builders to follow … and there’s a lot that different municipalities can do just by showing up to their city council meetings [and] revising the building codes.”

For  The Maine Monitor , freelance journalist Annie Ropeik generated a four-part series, called “ Hooked on Heating Oil ,” on how Maine came to rely on oil for home heating more than any other state. When asked about solutions, Ropeik says, “Access to fossil fuel alternatives was really the central equity issue that I was looking at in my project, beyond just, ‘Maine is really relying on heating oil, that obviously has climate impacts, it’s really expensive.’ What does that mean for people in different financial situations, and what does that access to solutions look like for those different communities? What are the barriers there and how can we address those?”

Energy and environment reporter Mike Tony created a four-part series in  The Charleston Gazette-Mail  on  West Virginia’s flood vulnerabilities  and the state’s lack of climate action. On connecting with audiences, Tony says, “The idea was to pick a topic like flooding that really affects the whole state, and from there, use that as a sort of an inroad to collect perspectives from West Virginians on how it’s affecting them. And then use that as a springboard to scrutinizing the climate politics that are precluding more aggressive action.”

Finally, Ryan Van Velzer, Louisville Public Media’s energy and environment reporter, covered the decline of Kentucky’s fossil fuel industry and offered solutions for a sustainable future in a four-part series titled, “ Coal’s Dying Light .” For him, it was “really difficult to convince people that climate change is real when the economy is fundamentally intertwined with fossil fuels. To a lot of these people, climate change, and the changes necessary to mitigate climate change, can cause real and perceived economic harm to these communities.” 

With these projects in mind, someone’s gate to caring about climate change is probably nearby — in their own home, community, or greater region. 

It’s likely closer than they think. 

To learn more about the next fellowship cohort — which will support projects that report on climate solutions being implemented locally and how they reduce emissions while simultaneously solving pertinent local issues —  sign up  for the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative newsletter. Questions about the fellowship can be directed to Laur Hesse Fisher at  [email protected] .

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Home > SIAS > COMMUNICATION > JOURNALIST > 12

Journalist April 2006

Journalist April 2006

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Moscow State University

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"Elections move forward despite low participation" by Nick Przybyciel

"Ledger goes to Moscow" by Melinda Andrews

"Distinguished teacher honored" by Kristina Provence

"Dyslexia: One man's struggle shatters myths shared by many" by Lori Paulson

"Booze ruling may give UWT lasting hangover" by Mark Dobson

"IAS portfolio requirements change" by Cassie Creley

"Meet the candidates" by Nick Prybychiel

"New perspectives on art: seeing TAM exhibit through youthful eyes" by Jessica Corey-Butler

"New season pick-me-ups" by Jessica Corey-Butler

"Nibbles and sips around the Sound" by Jessica Corey-Butler

"Pointless" by Tim Kapler

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Spring 4-6-2006

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Journalism Studies

Nick Przybyciel (editor in chief); Jessica Corey-Butler (arts and entertainment editor); Arden Gudger (web manager); Melinda Andrews (circulation manager); reporters and contributing writers: Kristina Provence, Lori Paulson, Mark Dobson, Cassie Creley; Victoria Haas (advertising sales)

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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus and Moscow State University, "Journalist April 2006" (2006). Journalist . 12. https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/journalist/12

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