School reporters
- 21 Mar 07, 04:44 PM
Nerve-wracking doesn't come into it. I've deployed thousands of news reporters, with no previous experience, to cover the stories of their choice - and given them hours of ´óÏó´«Ã½ airtime to do it in.
Thursday 22 March is News Day for the School Report project.
Over the past few months ´óÏó´«Ã½ journalists and other news specialists have been working with 12-13-year-olds in more than 100 schools throughout the UK to help them get ready to broadcast their own news simultaneously to a 1400 deadline.
There are teams of students interviewing the full set of five political party leaders including the PM in Downing St.
Other students are reporting live on News 24, Five Live and every local radio station - as well as for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
And on top of that we’ve created the first news channel dedicated to schools for the day via a webcast – School Report LIVE - to showcase everything the school reporters are doing.
But will it work? Will the students meet their 1400 deadline? Will the forecast for snow in some areas of the country mean I’ve suddenly lost half my staff? Will their news be legal and decent? But, most of all, will it be interesting?
I’ve been really engaged by the reports that have already been filed on crime, and friendship and the environment and even pensions – but will a wider audience feel the same? Tune in and see.
Helen Shreeve is editor of
