Going digital is easier and much cheaper than printing the old school newspaper, and it lets student journalists reach more readers.
Aided by social media, these budding reporters have also been making impacts beyond their communities.
For example, in April 2017 a Kansas high school principal had to resign after the school’s student journalists questioned her education credentials and the story went viral.
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Rather than waiting for scheduled newspaper printing, students post real-time updatesincluding podcasts and 360-degree videosto school websites, free WordPress pages, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.
And readersincluding educators and parentsno longer have to wait weeks to get access to news, contests, games and other updates, says Gary Lundgren, associate director for the National Scholastic Press Association.
Students for years have produced videos on phones and apps, so they are at ease using digital equipment to communicate on various media platforms, such as YouTube.
Learning to use more sophisticated video-editing, sound-recording and design softwareplus tools such as Adobe’s InDesign, Photoshop and Illustratorhas become an integral part of many journalism classes.
