This being National Newspaper Week, participants involved in this year’s Carihi Mirror chimed in on what they see as the role of a community newspaper.
The Carihi Mirror is a page (or two) that the Campbell River Mirror has, for five years, devoted to news that affects the youth in our community, written by the youth of our community. In partnership with teacher Nic Pisterzi, we are helping engage students with what’s happening around them on a level they may not be able to achieve otherwise. Pisterzi says he was eager to enter into the partnership with the Mirror for a few reasons.
“I read the newspaper to inform myself about what’s happening in the community,” Pisterzi says, “and I think it’s important to instill that in the next generation. The Mirror does a great job of informing its readers and I thought it was a great opportunity to form a partnership to help our upcoming writers develop a passion for it and carry that torch on, so to speak.
“It’s almost like the rock in the lake metaphor – it creates a ripple effect. Having them involved ripples outward and makes other people more curious and piques their interest in what’s happening around them, too.
“They also need to learn what a credible news source is rather than something they just see on Facebook. I think there’s some learning about critical thinking that needs to be passed on to these kids, and this can play a role in that.”
Anna Buck, a returning student contributor this year, sees newspapers as integral to the way we look at the world.
“I have been one of those odd teenagers who reads the newspaper for a few years now,” she says. “To me, newspapers reveal information and opportunity that our day-to-day lives often do not. They are a good way to connect with our communities, to learn about what’s going on in the world and to take some time to think and enjoy ourselves.”
When she saw the Carihi Mirror for the first time within the pages of the newspaper she was using to “connect to the community,” she immediately knew it was something she wanted to be a part of.
“I found it an excellent way to stay informed about and engaged in my school community, because many of the stories in the CM (Carihi Mirror) were about things I would otherwise never heard about. Now, I have the honour and pleasure of being one of the people to inform the students of Carihi, and citizens of Campbell River, both young and old, about what is happening in our local youth community.”
Watch for the first Carihi Mirror feature of 2018/19 soon in an upcoming edition.