Teenagers interested in newspapers
Teenagers may not read newspapers so much, but they're still interested in them.
Yesterday, we held the interviews for our annual Scholastic Achievement program, in which we give college scholarships to outstanding high school seniors. One of the judges was Vickie Kilimanjaro, co-publisher of the Carolina Peacemaker.
We interviewed 12 students and gave each an opportunity to ask questions of the selection team. Four students did, and three of those asked Kilimanjaro about the experience of working for the paper. They seemed truly curious. (Of course, these are the public school system's best and brightest.)
It affirms Tim McGuire's thinking: There is a remarkable loyalty to the IDEA of newspapers despite the fact that many, if not most, of my students are not regular newspaper readers.