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When Elizabeth Smith and Teresa De Los Santos, journalism professors at Pepperdine, applied to the Solutions Journalism Network’s 2023-24 student media challenge, neither probably anticipated just how close they would get to the topic of youth climate anxiety — literally.

Just a few months after “There’s Always Hope: Seeking Solutions to Youth Climate Anxiety” published, the Franklin and Pacific Palisades fires wiped out large swaths of the coastal community near Pepperdine’s campus in Malibu, California. These shocking images and video, shot from the campus library during the Franklin Fire in December 2024, demonstrate the encroaching reality of climate change on campuses and its potential impact on the mental health of students. 

"It's palpable on our campus, the amount of tension that starts when the winds pick up,” Smith said. “It is palpable when the rains start. It's palpable that students are stressed."

Smith and De Los Santos presented their students’ work this week at a Solutions Journalism event in Los Angeles, sponsored by NEWSWELL and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. 

I was lucky enough to attend, along with 15 journalism educators from across the country who learned how to incorporate solutions journalism into their work.

If you’re not yet familiar with the fascinating and helpful work of the Solutions Journalism Network, here’s a primer. Pro tip: Go to their Solutions Story Tracker and tick the “student journalism” box under advanced search for examples of other student journalism you might incorporate into your teaching.

The Student Media Challenge is closed for this year, but here’s SoJo’s curriculum builder, a 2.5 hour course that shows you how to teach solutions journalism and construct lessons, from a single module to an entire semester.

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Headlines

Here’s an interesting follow-up from the professor who asked his students to turn in a diary about how they used Ai during the semester.

Be honest — How do you read the new company name of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s latest venture? Bit Chat or Bitch At?

A columnist for the Indianapolis Star says she wouldn’t be in her current role if not for college journalism, and laments its state of affairs.

Students at the Daily Emerald at the University of Oregon held their dean’s feet to the fire over his travel expenses. He’s stepping down and taking a sabbatical as a result.

Inside Higher Ed reported that 84 Army ROTC units on college campuses will be reorganized next summer. It might make a good assignment for students to check in and see if any changes are afoot on campus.

You know I’m a big proponent of finding ways to embrace Ai in the classroom, but my skeptical flag was flying when I read about this tech-funded teacher training initiative. Anyone else?

For students who are considering a freelance career, here is a database of the rates recently paid from more than 300 publications. 

Emily Wilson is editor-in-chief of the Daily Titan at Cal State Fullerton. She also writes for the very cool California Student Journalism Corp at EdSource (seriously, more publications should do this), where she notes efforts by the Fullerton City Council to effectively ban her campus paper on city property.

If you want to suggest to your soon-to-be-graduating seniors some spots that might be ripe for successful local journalism start-ups, send them this new map of news deserts, created by Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. Hey, some rightly see lemons, but I’m saying, let’s make lemonade.

Newsguard announced it’s moving away from words like mis- and disinformation in favor of more precise language like, “explicitly false, AI-generated, unsubstantiated, or manipulated.” 🔥🔥🔥

The New York Times’ morning newsletter increasingly includes writers explaining topics via short videos. I’ve been preaching this direct-to-video journalism to you for months now, which is why I immediately clicked on this headline, which disappointingly failed to deliver much of an answer: Can the New York Times Turn Its Writers Into Video Stars? Still, it’s worth noting that this is a thing. 

Teaching help

We are bulking up! There are now four entries in each of my curriculum libraries: lesson plans, assignments and ethics case studies.

Here’s what I rounded up this week:

• Ethics case study: The New York Times caught heat on several levels for a story about a politician’s college application. Was this even a story?

• Lesson plan: A group of Nazis came to town, and this reporter wasn’t having it. How do your students think he handled himself?

• Assignment: The devastating floods in Texas have us wondering: How are schools continuing to preparing for disasters?

Feedback

This newsletter is the backbone of my efforts to help the college journalism community, but I am a pony with many tricks!

Book a free consultation with me to see how I can help you:

• Polish your student media governance documents before conflict hits

• Assist you with research

• Help you meet your grant deliverables

Email me at [email protected] anytime. 

Have a great week!