Using the Paper to Enhance the Curriculum Doing journalism is not only ennobling or inspiring or crucial to democratic self-government, although on its good days, it certainly some of those things. More prosaically, journalism is a lot of fun and a tremendous boost for the ego. Most reporters, if they are honest, will admit that they never tire of seeing their bylines in print.
Journalism can also be contagious.
Working with Stuyvesant High School students to build the online edition of The Spectator, the authors of this volume asked the students why they had joined the paper. Most said they had been looking for good extracurricular activities for college applications. But several students fell victim to the journalism bug and are now considering journalism in college and beyond. Even when much of the work on the paper takes place in class, the entire staff should meet at least one afternoon a week so everyone knows what articles are being worked on. Reporters will need to do many of their interviews and their writing after school.