When deciding about topics, think about those that have the potential to call readers to action or at least inform them about choices they can make.

 

This newspaper can be your platform to tell others about what is important to you: causes you believe in, events going on in your community, local people who deserve credit for their positive actions, and more. It's an amazing opportunity -- through being published, you can actually impact the world in a positive way. 

 

​JSR gives priority to articles that are civically and socially minded, and it gives priority to students whose work explores the news from a unique and specific angle: for example, an article that talks about the impact of a sexist Tumblron body image by interviewing local teenagers; an article that explores the impact of school bullying by interviewing friends of a student who committed suicide after being bullied; or an article that analyzes the pros and cons of SAT boot camps via interviews with students, parents, and adminstrators. 

 

To succeed with that type of writing, you must be aware. You should be paying attention to the issues that are going on in your town and your school, and you should keep your eyes peeled for problems that need to be addressed, controversies that ought to be debated, and citizens who deserve to be praised.

 

You ought to also be consuming news on a regular basis -- not only from your local paper, but from national and international sources as well. Find some news sources that you like and check them regularly.

 

The more that consuming the news becomes a habit for you, the easier it will be for you to come up with topics and connect the topics you choose to larger events and issues.