Is the climate changing?
What are teens doing to protect the earth’s scarce resources?
Do all-nighters help on tests?
What are the dangers of repeated concussions?
Throughout the year, diverse high school students from all over the Twin Cities come to ThreeSixty Journalism’s summer camps and after-school programs at the University of St. Thomas and answer questions like these.
In the process, the 10-year-old outreach program of the College of Arts and Sciences helps them learn the basics of journalism – spotting a good story, doing research, asking critical questions, writing concisely, meeting deadlines.
They produce articles, essays, blogs, photos and videos with the guidance of ThreeSixty Journalism staff, Twin Cities’ professional journalists and St. Thomas professors. Their stories are showcased on the program’s website and, more recently, in its print publication.
Artwork from ThreeSixty Journalism's fall magazine. The melting earth drawing is the work of Emy Young.
In an era when most news organizations are transitioning to an online platform, ThreeSixty Journalism has done the opposite and entered the world of print. This move was mainly driven by teachers, who use the articles by teens for teens to encourage reading and writing. Teachers tell us that a print version facilitates the use of ThreeSixty’s content in the classroom.
ThreeSixty Journalism also helps St. Thomas attract a more diverse student body. Since 2001, more than two dozen ThreeSixty Journalism graduates have come to St. Thomas for college. Eight program graduates are working in newsrooms and communications offices in the Twin Cities and elsewhere.
In September 2010, we launched our first issue of our quarterly print magazine. This month, we celebrate our September 2011 issue and the second year of our magazine.
Here’s a closer look at what you’ll find in this issue:
- Earth warming? Cool it! Teen reporters from our summer camps examine what this means, including new jobs that will be created and what teens are doing to protect the earth's scarce resources.
- Think all-nighters help on tests? Experts say no. Teen reporter Lorna Liu finds out that all-nighters hinder memory.
- Sports and concussions, is it worth the risk? Teen reporter Kelly Schueler tells the story of a local teen with concussions who helped create a state law.
- And much more!
Last week, 10,000 copies went to 200 schools, libraries and youth organizations throughout the Twin Cities metro and surrounding area. They are provided free of charge thanks to our partnerships with Finance & Commerce, which handles the printing, and the Star Tribune, which handles the distribution.
This is a significant increase from our first issue, which had 1,500 copies going to 40 locations. But what we’re most proud of is that our magazine is a valuable resource for teachers, helping them teach nonfiction, promote writing and discuss articles and story ideas. Most rewarding is that the students featured in our magazine, more than half of whom are minority and low-income, are great role models for other students.
We look forward to producing the next three issues for the year. If you ever see one of our teen reporters around campus proudly wearing a bright yellow ThreeSixty Journalism shirt, be sure to say hi.
