By Evelyn Fernandez-Jarvis
Deputy-Editor-in-Chief
Image Via Unsplash by Ashni
On Tuesday the 4th of February I was able to talk to Jade Taussig who was introducing me to: We are the News. This conversation completely altered the way I think about how I acquire the news in which I read everyday. We talked about how media outlets today are extremely biased in what they report and how they report it. We read and write based upon the facts that are given to us by these exact companies. I guess the real fear that I expressed was, what if one day I did write for a large journalist company and they decided that I couldn’t produce my work, based on the fact that it was ‘too truthful’ and not shaded with what THEY wanted me to write.
To have a conversation in the 21st century about how exactly we can get a hold of news that is completely unbiased and precisely based upon the facts and that this is even a rarity in our western society is quite a scary idea, but one that as journalists we need to be aware of. Jade Taussig spoke about We are the news, which is a news platform that focuses on free speech and writer agency. Which I believe as student journalists are values that are extremely important.
It encourages signing up to their program to post your articles that are completely from your own words and are un-altered. Immediately, this platform intrigued me, it is an amazing opportunity that offers a space to work on your own voice with no influence on what different powers in society believe we as the young generation ‘should’ we writing about. Looking deeper into this platform it also offers writing tips which you can use to make your journalism the best of its ability. The main 3 were:
- Interest
- Opinion
- Timeliness/relevance
Going forward, I intend to take these three tips and make sure that my news articles match up to them. When reporting news, we must remember to articulate the truth in an unbiased manner but an article that is also engaging, and what better way to do this than by signing up to We are the news.
I believe that we as student journalists should look for these types of experiences that enhance our writing and give us a platform that we can share our opinions as well as factual information to others. By signing up as a university content contributor you would be required to write an article that has to be a minimum of 500 words with a 50 word abstract as to what your article is about. You would be able to produce original content and have it published on their website and advertised on their social media sites. Whilst there are categories on the website, you do not have to feel bound to write by them, the main point is that you can write what you want, as long as it is not harmful to viewers.
Down below is a link to the website where I invite all our young journalists to sign up, as well as build up your resume!!
Link to website: https://wearethenews.com/topic