LAWS, ETHICS & NEWS LITERACY

The most formative piece of advice I’ve ever received was: Don’t think, "What job do I want?" Think, "What problem do I want to solve?" For me, the answer has always been clear: I want people to care about the news again.

It’s no secret that it’s hard to get teenagers to care about the world around them, especially teens in a Nebraska suburb. Most of the clicks on our student news site came from homecoming court announcements and football game recaps. But I knew our publication could be more than a scoreboard; it could be a vehicle for change and understanding.

I wanted every student in my school to be informed, regardless of where they stood on the political spectrum. That’s how Wingspan Weekly was born.

Each week, I curate a list of top stories across seven categories: U.S., international, local, entertainment, sports, GEHS, and “caught our attention,” then summarize them into one article for our audience. Every story must come from a non-biased source, then be discussed by my entire staff before publication, which brings a range of perspectives to the table. 

What started as a small idea of collecting seven stories a week has become a way for students with completely different perspectives to engage with reliable, factual news on their own school's news site.  Wingspan Weekly taught me that journalism isn’t just about telling stories; it’s about connecting to the world and people around them so they can make informed decisions and be civically engaged citizens.