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Fremont High School journalists in Sunnyvale, Calif. deserve media outlet

Word about the possible end of the Fremont High School newspaper in Sunnyvale, Calif. is making the national journalism rounds – thanks to exposure on the Romenesko media site.

I thought I’d chime in because I served for two years as a newspaper staff member at the school back in the mid-1980s. During my last year at Fremont, I was the editor-in-chief of what was then called The Fremont Chief.

Scott Herhold of the San Jose Mercury News lays out his thoughts in a column and talks about a student-led protest on Tuesday that included duct tape and the words, “No newspaper, no voice.” He argues that the students have not produced a sufficiently compelling reason to keep their newspaper, The Phoenix, as part of a school-backed journalism class.

But my verdict – and yes, it is a biased one – is this: Save as many media institutions as you can for students.

Help them excel at thinking, asking questions, analyzing, writing and other forms of expression. Do so in a formal setting under the guidance of a teacher.

Those skills, when practiced with rigorous integrity and compassion, form a foundation that will help young people learn in productive ways for the rest of their lives.

And remember: Those who are curious go out and make discoveries.

Communities need more discoveries.

In other words, the student news publication, The Phoenix, should be kept as part of a school-supported class.

Certainly, these days, the market of online words, photographs, music and video is cluttered. Market entry is simple and can take minutes to set up a free blog and begin uploading whatever is floating in your mind or the images you’ve captured on your cell phone.

Yes, many students operate top-notch, creative blogs.

So the student argument of “No newspaper, no voice” is not as strong as it once was when newspapers held more sway in their communities.

What makes a high school-supported journalism class different though is that the publication, whether it’s online or in print, is an institution. And in the best sense, journalists practice the craft and use their platforms to inform, engage, enlighten and question.

Sure, writers, editors and photographers have their own interests. They sometimes pursue those. There are times when journalists make mistakes.

But one beautiful lesson that journalism teaches anyone who practices it with the goal of true integrity and credibility is that you cover people and events you might not even have thought about days earlier.

You interview strangers or cover topics that you might personally disdain. You’re out in a community, knocking on doors, making phone calls, attending meetings, talking with scores of people, reading documents.

You listen and search for common themes that others will recognize, hopefully as important.

Then, you share these stories with a wide variety of people in a community.

And shared information - in this case about a high school and its students and teachers - on a regular basis can actually improve a community.

Call me old school – in fact, since I graduated in the 1980s, I encourage you to call me old school.

But let me consider some of the issues that have surfaced.

As I recall with high school newspapers, a principal essentially serves as its publisher. As publisher, the principal can make all final business calls – including keeping the class or ending it.

The school’s principal says enrollment has dropped and that an after-school journalism club would still fit student and budget needs.

From a free market perspective, it makes perfect sense to stop a class or product which lacks demand. These are tough budget times, too. The money could be spent elsewhere.

But foisting such a hard, cold reality on teenage high school journalists – who are going through pivotal years of learning – really undermines the noble pursuit of education.

Yes, disappointment is part of life no matter your age. But does the school and district want students to learn the lesson of a market failure so young in life?

The principal is suggesting that the journalism class become an after-school club. That could be an alternative.

If these high school bloggers, reporters and editors are serious about the art and craft of journalism, it already is an after-school club.

They’re likely spending hours on thinking of stories and covering them.

More importantly, what these students are learning and practicing fit the definition of an academic class.

Herhold raises the relevant issue that mainstream journalism is going through a true transformation – and that the shrinking number of students interested in the journalism class could reflect that they’re seeking other subjects to prepare for the future.

That could very well be the case. But while free markets churn, they also evolve until equilibrium is reached. We just might not be there right now.

Herhold also questions whether the request from students for academic credit for the journalism class - “a form of payment for their work” - takes the “moral argument” out of their case.

It actually reinforces a valuable lesson in a market-based economy: That hard work, in an academic setting and under the guidance of a teacher, should be rewarded.

Students in other academic classes are rewarded in this manner.

Interestingly enough, he ends his column by writing: “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”

That last sentence sounds pleasant and worldly. I understand what he means – that the high school newspaper illustrates a larger, societal crossroads for journalism in general.

But it overlooks some basic logic: If it is true that we – as people, in general – are at fault for this problem, shouldn’t we – as people, in general - then take steps to rectify it?

If that is the case, shouldn’t the Fremont High School principal, faculty and students make at least one last-ditch effort to save the journalism class that produces The Phoenix?

Leadership at all levels calls for people to take bold, innovative and courageous action when it looks like the end is near.

After all, this is the Silicon Valley. Its people don’t give up that easily.

Obviously, I can’t speak for others who have gone through the Fremont High School journalism program. But during my career as a journalist, I have covered a litany of topics and people.

They include the largest human-trafficking case ever prosecuted on U.S. soil, Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Dalai Lama, people who survived being swept into a cave, a heroic solider, a biologist who is trying to help us live longer, people who have fallen in love at cemeteries, a Japanese American woman who was interned during World War II and Bruce Lee, the late martial artist and philosopher.

I’ve also contributed to an anthology about people searching for their cultural roots in China.

The drive to cover these stories or write about my experiences was largely fueled by, yes, my high school journalism years.