Patch Journalists Give Back to their Community
Monday, October 11, 2010
Patch journalist, Elizabeth Shemaria, takes advantage of Patch's "Give5" program to bring awareness of journalism to fifth grade students.
Patch, a community-specific news and information platform, has its professional editors, writers, photographers and videographers to participate in a program called the "Give5" program. This program allows Patch employees to give back to their community.
Patch is all about making your life better by giving you quick access to the information that is most relevant to you.
Elizabeth Shemaria, editor for Danville, CA Patch, shows this program in full swing.
Shemaria wrote an article on participating in the program by volunteering at Greenbrook Elementary. Here she taught fifth graders about writing and different types of journalism.
While she was there, she introduced different types of stories. They listened to a radio story, watched a video story and looked at an interactive timeline.
Other elements that she talked about how you can tell a story with writing and photos, and how sound and video clips reinforce your news story's credibility.
All in all, Shemaria was impressed with how much the students wanted to learn, and how much they already knew about her job.
Shemaria's contribution to her community has given insight to these fifth grade students about the basics behind what a journalist does. More about the local patch team for the Danville, CA Patch.
2 comments:
Tis is really neat that Patch takes part in this giving back to the community project. I think it was a great idea to talk to 5th graders about the types of journalism because that is the perfect age to start helping them get an overview of all the different types of news sources out there. I had never heard of this before. I am happy you wrote about it.
I agree, this is a very interesting and integrative way to incorporate education and new journalistic ideas to kids. I can imagine that it makes the kids more aware of the news and world around them, which is always (for the most part) a good thing.
But I guess my only criticism of the program is that it has the majority of emphasis on 5th grade students. Why not junior or high school students?
As some prepare for their future and possibly higher education, I feel like it's perhaps more essential that this age group in particular be more news conscious. It could also help high schools with career planning options as it opens up alternatives for students who maybe never considered journalism as an option...especially since school newspapers, yearbooks, and journalism classes are being cut. --I feel like this is a great idea for Patch, but it might serve more useful purposes if focused on a different group of kids.
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