Media Participation

For my Media Participation Project, I worked for the Prince George County Sentinel under editor Holden Wilen.  I did research on a topic that I thought was important, particularly in local politics.  Then I pitched a story and wrote an article about how the vote of the youth counts.  I discussed recent win of Larry Hogan as Maryland’s governor and talked about how the voter turnout was much lower than in previous years.  I also got the opportunity to speak with a group of youth in Prince George county to hear their reactions and thoughts about the importance of voting and how much education they had about the topic.

I decided to work for the Prince George Sentinel because I wanted to write about something that genuinely means something to me.  I’ve been able to experience working with children in Prince George County every Saturday morning.  After the Maryland governor election, we had an in depth discussion with these students about voting and why voting is important.  The high schoolers I discussed this with did not have the knowledge of how to vote.  Since some were 18, this was very sad, because they had missed their opportunity.  Although I was planning to write my article on something completely different, I decided instead to write about how disappointing it is that children don’t see the importance of voting. I felt like writing about this topic could influence young people and also raise awareness for parents and other adults so they can educate young people.

This sparks my journalistic aspiration because it made me realize that I want to continue my journalistic career by writing about things that will make a difference to the youth.  I feel as though there is a way to convey news and politics to the youth so that they can understand it better than the current adult-based news offerings.  This project helped me clarify that my change in major was a good choice for me, because I am most passionate about children and how I can help them.