Samidha Mishra
Having been a member of San Mateo High School’s newspaper for the past four years, I’d like to consider myself an expert on the journalism class. The spacious media lab, with its fluorescent lighting and lemony scent, has been a second home for me since freshman year. I have fond memories of furious debates on everything from hall passes to Afghanistan, long, ink-black lists on whiteboards, and the mild frenzy that consumed the room on deadline day.
Then the pandemic hit.
Within a matter of weeks, we were forced to move the creative and interactive environment of in-person learning to an online format. It wasn’t an easy transition to reconcile, and in many ways we never returned to the hustle-bustle of pre-March 2020.
The main change that occurred was the lack of printed papers. A large cause of this was funding — traditionally the journalism class receives its funds to pay to print the paper from yearbook sales from the previous year. However, as last year was largely online, we didn’t sell nearly as many yearbooks as we usually do, and so had barely any money left for the paper. The other reason was that we were so used to publishing articles online — again, due to distance learning last year — that we decided to just maintain the new format. We revamped the website and began posting stories on it regularly.
Another difference between pre- and post-COVID San Mateo High journalism is the content of the articles. Before the pandemic, there were barely ever any articles under the news section (which, as the news editor, I was particularly disgruntled about) but now it is one of the most popular sections — a change that reflects the increasingly turbulent world. Every day a newsworthy event occurs, a fact that is heightened by how relevant the occurrences on the national and international level are to our lives recently.
Furthermore, there is a marked increase in reader involvement in the paper. With the constantly adapting world, the opinions and inputs of everyday people are much more needed and offered. Headlines of “Students React” and “Teachers React” are becoming commonplace.
Besides these more technical changes, the difference in atmosphere was truly striking. Transitioning from a loud and collaborative classroom to a dulled and muted (literally) Zoom call was definitely the hardest part about the entire process. Yet, after this year resumed in-person learning, I was in awe at how quickly all the students eased back into their routine. As a class that is quite self-motivated — probably more than most — this resilience is undoubtedly what allowed for the spirit of the journalism class to persevere throughout the unprecedented circumstances.
Samidha Mishra is a senior at San Mateo High School. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(1) comment
The important part of newspaper is "news," not "paper." Your observations are right on target. Keep questioning authority, even if the authority is mass media.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.