Download PDF - International Center for Journalists

Making News Personal
Futures File
If you’re covering education and the summer break is ending, you might
have a list of stories that you can do as the school year progresses. Here is
an example of what some reporters call a futures file—a list of reminders,
potential news items and stories an education reporter might do in the future:
1. September 1st: Start of the academic year. How are schools preparing?
What is this year’s education budget compared to last year’s? What are
the feelings of teachers and students as they get ready to return?
2. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, takes place in early fall. Do
Jewish students in your region observe the holiday? Do they take the
day off? Does the school take note of the event in any way?
3. October 10th: The local school committee is expected to hold a hearing
on how to increase access to schools for those in wheelchairs. You
might think about covering the issue before the hearing and then report
what happened—or didn’t—at the event itself. Then follow up a few
months later.
4. Last year members of two ethnic groups clashed at several schools.
How have school administrators handled such problems this year? Have
they made any efforts to calm the situation? Have the clashes
continued?
5. A professor at a local university mentioned last year that she was
researching the role a parent’s interest in reading plays in a child’s
acquisition of language skills. Call her to find out if it’s time to report on
her findings.
6. Last year you profiled a first-year teacher. Maybe it’s time for a follow-up.
How is he doing this year? Has he learned any new approaches to
teaching? Is he encouraged? Discouraged? What do his students think?
7. November 7 is the one-year anniversary of a major protest by high
school students regarding classroom overcrowding. The administration
promised to hire more teachers and open temporary classrooms, but
said change would not happen immediately. How much progress has
been made? Are the leaders of the protest satisfied?
International Center for Journalists