Journalism Skills Development | Cunningham Free Press

Journalism and Related Skills Development

“Cunningham Free Press will be within their Community Learning Center (CLC) or after school program, dedicated to the writing and editing process and offering all students involved opportunities to develop personal and professional skills related to journalism, time management, research etc.,” explains District CLC Coordinator David Wilson who lead the effort to involve publishing in print and online.

Wilson is partnering with Beloit Memorial’s Breja Fink who teaches English as well as Journalism and serves as advisor for The Increscent newspaper. They report that the effort will be modeled after the Simpson Street Free Press (SSFP), which has been going on in Madison for 23 or 24 years.

According to SSFP literature, “Students produce and publish content on various media platforms. They write and read extensively. They explore across the curriculum and investigate core subject areas (history, science, the arts). Then they write and publish. Lesson plans focus on practical skills, project-based learning, and literacy. Methods include invention strategies, close reading, drafting, and vocabulary. We preach clear, concise writing. We believe learning happens, in large measure, during the revision process. Multiple rounds of editing are required during each assignment. Assignments grow in complexity with age and ability. Academic confidence builds quickly. Students learn to never hand in a first draft.”

High School Students – Intermediate School Students

In Beloit, students from Fink’s Media Journalism class and The Increscent will serve as editors for Cunningham participants. They will work closely with intermediate students as they write an article for publication, Fink and Wilson said. The student editor’s job will be to know and understand the writing and editing process and work with students one on one in the areas of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

After a recent meeting where Fink and some of her students met with Wilson, she reported that he said, “ ‘The close reading prepares them for a focus on literacy, but also teaches them to be better researchers.’ Teen editors,” Fink continued, “will help the participants find reliable sources and go through the drafting process. Much of the research they do will be in books and print magazines rather than via Google search. He said on average one article will go through seven drafts before it’s ready for print, so there’s a huge emphasis on the power of revision.”

Treated as a Job

In Beloit, all students involved, both participants and teen editors will complete an application to be part of the program. Once hired, students will receive their own business cards and t-shirt. Intermediate students who have articles published will be compensated as well for their work and their involvement and time will be treated as if this were a job for them also, Wilson added.

Once school starts in the fall, Fink and Wilson report, Madison’s Simpson Street Free Press staff will come to train student participants and adult advisors. In addition to such support from Fink, Wilson has secured commitments from volunteers through Beloit College and the Beloit Daily News.

Students Working with Students

According to Fink, Wilson’s long range vision for Cunningham students is that they will go to the high school and become editors; then graduate and go to college and come back to Beloit to continue working with current students. “He said he really wants it to be the teen editors and participants who are driving the content and coverage — figuring out the sections and topics. What the students are writing about will also be connected to what they’re learning about in school.”

As Wilson said at the recent meeting, “The technical support may come from adults, but the content will come from students. Students working with students… it’s really something I believe in.”

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