Seminole Ridge Community High School Students Learn to Create Quality Journalism

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida — As we wrap up National News Literacy Week, WPTV talks about what our local schools are doing to help students identify disinformation and produce quality journalism.

Right now, less than 30% of Americans trust most news most of the time. So the WSRH students at Seminole Ridge Community High School are trying to change that.

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This is light, camera, action in the school television production academy. The award-winning program focuses not only on the basics of television news production and storytelling, but also on the basics of journalism and news literacy.

“This course has definitely taught me what to look for in sources, what to look for and what to trust,” said Senior Lecturer Leilani Feiertag.

The students are doing well under the guidance of teacher Earl Wright, who has worked in the news for local television.

“We place a lot of emphasis on these soft skills,” Wright said. “Because the editing software they use will change and the cameras will change, but the underlying narrative won’t change and the facts won’t change.”

These budding journalists understand that credibility is just as important as the production value of the stories they tell. They are learning how to deal with the spread of disinformation in an ever-changing world.

“Make them open their eyes and see the bigger picture and understand that there is broadcasting and narrow broadcasting. And the industry has grown so much thanks to narrowcasting,” Wright said.

WPTV Education Reporter Stephanie Susskind even spoke to students about how our news team at WPTV is handling these challenges.

“Part of that is being transparent and honest with your audience,” Susskind told students.

Since these high school students are charting their own career paths, they are based on quality and accurate journalism.

“Not everyone knows everyone’s story. And being able to create this is my absolute joy,” Feiertag said.