Memphis City-Wide High School Newspaper Celebrates 15 Years of Great Journalism and Introducing Minority Students To Media Careers

Memphis, Tenn The Teen Appeal will celebrate its 15th anniversary of giving truth to Memphis youth during its annual summer camp July 30 August 3rd at the Meeman Journalism Building at The University of Memphis. Over 100 promising Memphis City Schools students have been invited to come to the camp, which will feature Teen Appeal alumni as guest speakers. University of Memphis journalism professors will serve as teachers, giving the students a crash course in journalism 101. Students from 30 MCS high schools produce the newspaper eight times a year, which has a circulation in the tens of thousands. Scripps Howard Foundation funds the paper with a generous grant, the University of Memphis hosts and administers the program, and The Commercial Appeal prints and distributes it. Most Teen Appeal staffers do not have newspapers at their individual schools, so the program is their first real introduction to journalism. Last school year, students wrote about topics including bullets being found on a school bus; how students deal with grief and loss; the Memphis State Eight (who integrated The University of Memphis); and a student who dealt with having cancer, as well as being a parent. The Teen Appeal gives students of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to have a voice in their own education, and through rigorous and fair reporting, helps shine a light on what is happening is local schools, said Project Director and University of Memphis Assistant Professor Dr. Carrie Brown. I'm incredibly proud of the hard-hitting work our staff has published and the determination and effort they have shown in reporting the news. Our staff gets critical grounding in writing, reporting, and verifying information and also in multimedia digital skills needed for many careers in the 21st century. Teen Appeal alumni have gone on to work as reporters and editors, helping to diversify Americas newsrooms. Others are educators, lawyers, public relations specialistseven an award-winning playwright. Coordinator Marcus Matthews graduated from the first class of Teen Appeal students and received one of its annual scholarships. Today, he is an author and filmmaker and close to completing a Ph.D. in higher education. ### For more information, contact Assistant Coordinator Elle Perry at elleperry84@gmail.com or (901) 264-9311 or Dr. Carrie Brown at cbrown14@memphis.edu.