The School Buzz: D20 middle school kicks off journalism project with KRDO13’s Josh Helmuth for third-straight year

We live in a time when it’s as important as ever to spot dis-information, especially on social media. A project to make students more aware of the issue, while also teaching journalism ethics, is starting yet another year at Chinook Trail Middle School. And KRDO13's Josh Helmuth was a focal point in kicking off the project for the third straight year.

Helmuth spent 90 minutes with 8th graders at the D-20 school Wednesday morning going over news versus opinion, how to find reliable news, even on social media and how journalism can bring justice, save lives, or simply inspire others. The morning ended with a Q and A where students could ask anything.

The entire morning kicked off English teacher Luke Anliker's class project called "My News Network." Essentially, students are put into groups; they choose a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to focus on, then write stories relating to that goal; they create their own news websites, broadcasts and podcasts; journalism professionals come in to help give them feedback on their projects; there’s judging and the winners get featured on the D-20 website and get a personal tour of the KRDO13 newsroom and studio.  

It’s a project that’s been wildly successful.

Anliker said, “I am so grateful for this partnership. It's such a powerful thing."

"In fact, I had a student from two years ago contact me to tell me that she is thinking about pursuing a career in journalism and said that your presentation and the field trip to KRDO sparked her interest in that field," he said.

Is there something remarkable at your school? Email Josh directly: SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.