Sixth Form Students Inspired by Talk on Local Journalism

Mrs B Lyons – Librarian

Three sixth form pupils who write for the college newspaper, The Buzz, recently attended a talk by journalist Joshi Herrmann entitled The Fall and Rise of Local Journalism. The talk explored the changing landscape of local journalism and examined how its decline in recent years has affected public engagement with meaningful stories about cities and communities.

During the session, Joshi discussed how the loss of strong local reporting has resulted in fewer people reading high-quality, in-depth journalism about their own communities. He emphasised the importance of local journalism in telling authentic stories, strengthening community connections and holding organisations and institutions to account.

One of the Lower Sixth students in attendance, Sofia, who is the co-editor of The Buzz, was particularly inspired by the talk. Motivated by Herrmann’s message, she reached out to his publication, The Mill. Since then, Sofia has been included in articles written by the newspaper, gaining valuable insight and first-hand experience of professional journalism. 

The experience proved highly beneficial for all three pupils, reinforcing the value of local journalism and encouraging them to continue developing their skills as writers and reporters.