Program helps local high schools establish student newspapers, radio stations
Thanks to the Prime Movers program, students in Temple’s journalism program are getting a chance to share their knowledge with the next generation while seeing urban education up close.
Posted Feb 19, 2008 -- For many journalists, the path to the newsroom began with a stint at the high school newspaper, radio station or television station. But because of the economic realities of urban education, not all students are promised such opportunities, said Maida Odom, internship coordinator for Temple University’s Department of Journalism.
“The average suburban student gets a high school journalism experience, while the average urban student doesn’t,” she said.
An initiative that links Temple’s School of Communications, the School District of Philadelphia and a Washington, D.C.-based journalism program aims to change that for some Philadelphia students.
The Prime Movers/Philadelphia program is designed to help schools in districts that have no budgetary wiggle room to create school newspapers and radio station experiences for their students. The program pairs working journalists and college journalism students with high school students to create newspaper and radio opportunities.
Six Philadelphia schools served as a pilot for the Prime Movers/Philadelphia program last year, and another 18 have signed up for it this year, said Acel Moore, operations manager for the program. A $500,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funds the program and provides software and computers for the schools in the program.
When looking for a city in which to expand Prime Movers, which is based in George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, Philadelphia seemed like a natural choice, Moore said.
One, because the Knight Foundation is connected to Knight Ridder, the former owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, it has a longstanding relationship with the city, said Moore, an editor emeritus at the Inquirer.
And two, because many of the city’s journalists cite Temple as the place that started their careers, the university seemed like the most logical partner for creating the next generation.
“We asked Temple to be involved because it has a major communications program,” Moore said. “It’s been good for us, and we hope that it’s been good for Temple to be involved. Since this is the first exposure to journalism for some of these kids, maybe they’ll consider Temple when they want to go to college.”
Among the schools participating in the Prime Movers/Philadelphia program in the fall were Simon Gratz High School, Merrill Dobbins Vocational/Technical High School, the Academy at Palumbo, Overbrook High School, Abraham Lincoln High School and Frankford High School.
While passing on the skills needed to be a journalist was the major focus of the program, the Temple students also received some insight into the urban educational landscape — insight that might prove valuable should they opt to cover education.
Prime Movers/Philadelphia was also a collegiate learning experience for the Temple students. As part of the program, they spent time discussing readings from urban education experts including Jonathan Kozol, Miami Dade County Superintendent Rudy Crew and others that detail some of things they might see when they got to their assigned schools, Odom said.
Among the issues explored in those readings were the lack of resources faced by urban school districts, the pressures that teachers face, and how outside forces such as a student’s home life affect learning. Students also were required to write a paper detailing where their experiences and the readings met.
For P.J. Raduta, a junior majoring in English, there wasn’t much of an intersection. The aspiring teacher found that working in a magnet school was a lot different from the schools he had read about.
“I had done the reading about resources and [The Academy at] Palumbo felt like it belonged in the suburbs,” he said. “The students were strongly motivated and worked really hard.”
Meanwhile Joann Guerilus, a junior in Temple’s communications program, got a chance to see how much of a challenge it was to put out a newspaper in a place where resources were scarce.
“It was kind of slow at first,” she said. “[Gratz] didn’t have a newspaper for a long time because there was a lack of resources. But toward the end, the people who kept coming to the club had a passion for it. They made the most of it.”
And, the students said, there were victories that they could take with them.
“There was this kid that we kept trying to get to open up,” said Lorenzo Johnson, a junior broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media major who did his work creating a radio project at Overbrook. “He was great at editing, but I wanted him to get his voice out there. On the last day, he spoke up. I’m proud that he spoke up.”
Students have the option of taking this course as either an internship, a special projects course or an independent study course in the Department of Journalism.
Thanks to the Prime Movers program, students in Temple’s journalism program are getting a chance to share their knowledge with the next generation while seeing urban education up close.
Posted Feb 19, 2008 -- For many journalists, the path to the newsroom began with a stint at the high school newspaper, radio station or television station. But because of the economic realities of urban education, not all students are promised such opportunities, said Maida Odom, internship coordinator for Temple University’s Department of Journalism.
“The average suburban student gets a high school journalism experience, while the average urban student doesn’t,” she said.
An initiative that links Temple’s School of Communications, the School District of Philadelphia and a Washington, D.C.-based journalism program aims to change that for some Philadelphia students.
The Prime Movers/Philadelphia program is designed to help schools in districts that have no budgetary wiggle room to create school newspapers and radio station experiences for their students. The program pairs working journalists and college journalism students with high school students to create newspaper and radio opportunities.
Six Philadelphia schools served as a pilot for the Prime Movers/Philadelphia program last year, and another 18 have signed up for it this year, said Acel Moore, operations manager for the program. A $500,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funds the program and provides software and computers for the schools in the program.
When looking for a city in which to expand Prime Movers, which is based in George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, Philadelphia seemed like a natural choice, Moore said.
One, because the Knight Foundation is connected to Knight Ridder, the former owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, it has a longstanding relationship with the city, said Moore, an editor emeritus at the Inquirer.
And two, because many of the city’s journalists cite Temple as the place that started their careers, the university seemed like the most logical partner for creating the next generation.
“We asked Temple to be involved because it has a major communications program,” Moore said. “It’s been good for us, and we hope that it’s been good for Temple to be involved. Since this is the first exposure to journalism for some of these kids, maybe they’ll consider Temple when they want to go to college.”
Among the schools participating in the Prime Movers/Philadelphia program in the fall were Simon Gratz High School, Merrill Dobbins Vocational/Technical High School, the Academy at Palumbo, Overbrook High School, Abraham Lincoln High School and Frankford High School.
While passing on the skills needed to be a journalist was the major focus of the program, the Temple students also received some insight into the urban educational landscape — insight that might prove valuable should they opt to cover education.
Prime Movers/Philadelphia was also a collegiate learning experience for the Temple students. As part of the program, they spent time discussing readings from urban education experts including Jonathan Kozol, Miami Dade County Superintendent Rudy Crew and others that detail some of things they might see when they got to their assigned schools, Odom said.
Among the issues explored in those readings were the lack of resources faced by urban school districts, the pressures that teachers face, and how outside forces such as a student’s home life affect learning. Students also were required to write a paper detailing where their experiences and the readings met.
For P.J. Raduta, a junior majoring in English, there wasn’t much of an intersection. The aspiring teacher found that working in a magnet school was a lot different from the schools he had read about.
“I had done the reading about resources and [The Academy at] Palumbo felt like it belonged in the suburbs,” he said. “The students were strongly motivated and worked really hard.”
Meanwhile Joann Guerilus, a junior in Temple’s communications program, got a chance to see how much of a challenge it was to put out a newspaper in a place where resources were scarce.
“It was kind of slow at first,” she said. “[Gratz] didn’t have a newspaper for a long time because there was a lack of resources. But toward the end, the people who kept coming to the club had a passion for it. They made the most of it.”
And, the students said, there were victories that they could take with them.
“There was this kid that we kept trying to get to open up,” said Lorenzo Johnson, a junior broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media major who did his work creating a radio project at Overbrook. “He was great at editing, but I wanted him to get his voice out there. On the last day, he spoke up. I’m proud that he spoke up.”
Students have the option of taking this course as either an internship, a special projects course or an independent study course in the Department of Journalism.
MARCH 28, 2013
PRIMEMOVERS GO TO THE NEWSEUM in WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Newseum in Washington, DC is a six-level, high-tech and interactive museum tracing the history of news reporting from the 16th century to the present day. In 250,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Newseum offers visitors 15 theaters, 14 major galleries, two state-of-the-art broadcast studios and a 4-D time-travel experience. The exhibition galleries explore news history, electronic news, photojournalism, world news and how the media have covered major historical events.
THE MEDIA SHOCK A Visit To The Newseum
My first visit to the popular interactive museum in Washington D.C.
By Delroy Simpson
My first visit to the nation’s Capitol was an exciting experience, and while I didn’t visit the White House or the Lincoln Memorial (although I did see the U.S. Capitol building from a distance!), I did manage to visit one of the most popular locations in Washington, D.C. The Newseum- a 250,000-square-foot museum of News, with an interesting mission “to help the public and the news media understand one another better”. Inside I saw a 4D movie, which showcased how advances in technology improved news journalism. Then I went up to Level four, and there I went to the breathtaking studio overlooking the First Amendment Gallery, a celebration of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Then I went to the 9/11 Gallery, which explores News coverage of Sept. 11. 2001. I found it very interesting. There were worldwide newspaper articles, a touching tribute to William Biggart, a photojournalist who died covering the attacks, and a video documentary on the news anchors and journalists who were at the scene on that day sharing their thoughts on what they experienced and their reactions to 9/11.
After spending some time exploring what the Newseum has to offer, it instantly became one of my favorite museums to visit. The Newseum has an interesting way to show people the importance of news media, and the role of a free press in a democratic society. I would heartily recommend everyone to visit the Newseum, you will learn something new and have so much fun!!!!
My first visit to the popular interactive museum in Washington D.C.
By Delroy Simpson
My first visit to the nation’s Capitol was an exciting experience, and while I didn’t visit the White House or the Lincoln Memorial (although I did see the U.S. Capitol building from a distance!), I did manage to visit one of the most popular locations in Washington, D.C. The Newseum- a 250,000-square-foot museum of News, with an interesting mission “to help the public and the news media understand one another better”. Inside I saw a 4D movie, which showcased how advances in technology improved news journalism. Then I went up to Level four, and there I went to the breathtaking studio overlooking the First Amendment Gallery, a celebration of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Then I went to the 9/11 Gallery, which explores News coverage of Sept. 11. 2001. I found it very interesting. There were worldwide newspaper articles, a touching tribute to William Biggart, a photojournalist who died covering the attacks, and a video documentary on the news anchors and journalists who were at the scene on that day sharing their thoughts on what they experienced and their reactions to 9/11.
After spending some time exploring what the Newseum has to offer, it instantly became one of my favorite museums to visit. The Newseum has an interesting way to show people the importance of news media, and the role of a free press in a democratic society. I would heartily recommend everyone to visit the Newseum, you will learn something new and have so much fun!!!!
To Speak or NOT to Speak? The First Amendment: Freedom Of Speech
My Trip to the Newseum in Washington D.C.
By Taylor Accooe
“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”
I recently took a trip to the Newseum which is located in Washington DC. The Newseum is the world’s most interactive museum, where five centuries of news history meets up-to-the-second technology on America’s main street . The Newseum’s galleries and theaters will immerse you in the world’s greatest news stories, The people, the places and the times. I really enjoyed my visit. While we were there we focused on the first amendment which covers; Freedom of speech, Religion, Press, Assembly and petition. Each exhibit caught my eye from the replica of the Berlin wall to the large glass elevator transporting us from floor to floor. We first visited a 4D movie, which showcased how advances in technology has improved the way journalism, is read and distributed. Then I went up to fourth level; there I went to the studio overlook, and the First Amendment gallery celebration of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution with its freedom of the press and free speech protections. Then I went to the 9/11 Gallery, which explores
News coverage of Sept. 11. 2001. The 9/11-news gallery displayed the front page of each Newspaper around the world on that day as well as a touching tribute to a photojournalist named William Biggart who died covering the attack.
The Importance of free speech as a basic and valuable characteristic of western society can’t be underestimated as well as emphasizing the value of free speech, it is proposed to make an evaluation of some of the traditional restrictions on what may be freely said or published such as the defamation laws, contempt of court, national security and so on. We as the people have to know that not all speech is protected so using that as an excuse is getting old, we need to start owning up to our words and stop hiding behind the amendment. After spending some time exploring the many wonders of the newseum, it has become one of my favorite museums and I’d love to visit again and also explore Washington DC a bit more.
My Trip to the Newseum in Washington D.C.
By Taylor Accooe
“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”
I recently took a trip to the Newseum which is located in Washington DC. The Newseum is the world’s most interactive museum, where five centuries of news history meets up-to-the-second technology on America’s main street . The Newseum’s galleries and theaters will immerse you in the world’s greatest news stories, The people, the places and the times. I really enjoyed my visit. While we were there we focused on the first amendment which covers; Freedom of speech, Religion, Press, Assembly and petition. Each exhibit caught my eye from the replica of the Berlin wall to the large glass elevator transporting us from floor to floor. We first visited a 4D movie, which showcased how advances in technology has improved the way journalism, is read and distributed. Then I went up to fourth level; there I went to the studio overlook, and the First Amendment gallery celebration of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution with its freedom of the press and free speech protections. Then I went to the 9/11 Gallery, which explores
News coverage of Sept. 11. 2001. The 9/11-news gallery displayed the front page of each Newspaper around the world on that day as well as a touching tribute to a photojournalist named William Biggart who died covering the attack.
The Importance of free speech as a basic and valuable characteristic of western society can’t be underestimated as well as emphasizing the value of free speech, it is proposed to make an evaluation of some of the traditional restrictions on what may be freely said or published such as the defamation laws, contempt of court, national security and so on. We as the people have to know that not all speech is protected so using that as an excuse is getting old, we need to start owning up to our words and stop hiding behind the amendment. After spending some time exploring the many wonders of the newseum, it has become one of my favorite museums and I’d love to visit again and also explore Washington DC a bit more.