𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁

This is the best news I’ve read in a long time.

A group of about 20 high school students will publish for a second summer a newspaper covering life in the swanky hamlets of eastern Long Island. Called The Ditch Weekly, the newspaper – yes, 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 – is produced by kids ages 13 to 17. 

Their efforts have captured the attention of no less than The New York Times, their somewhat larger competitor more than 100 miles to the west. Kudos to the Times for bringing this story to a wider audience: https://lnkd.in/e_E7bkkb

There’s so much to like about the Ditch. The paper’s very existence addresses head-on three issues bedeviling American society. 

First is the rejection of a life lived entirely on social media. Jonathan Haidt, among others, has commented on the corrosive effect of social media addiction on teens. The students behind the Ditch embrace the charms of an analog experience and the hard work that comes with producing a newspaper. 

“When you’re on your phone, it gets boring after a while,” said Dylan Centalonza, 14, as quoted by the Times. “This is something you have to put work into.”

Second is the emphasis on local news, which is tragically on the decline in American media. Local news helps to build community and caring citizens. Our obsession with happenings across the country instead of ones down the street contributes to our national division. At the Ditch, they leave the celebrity fodder to the big city papers. No stories about the shenanigans of the rich and famous in the Hamptons and Montauk. Instead, they focus on the lives of the permanent residents.

Third – and I really love this – the kids have barred the door to the adults. The students write and edit the paper, design the layout, and manage sales and finances. They have no intention of letting parents meddle with their thing, as has too often happened with youth sports, in one example. Billy Stern, the paper’s 15-year-old editor, has put his foot down on the behalf of the entire staff. Said Billy’s mom, Dana Stern, per the Times: “They made it very clear that they don’t want adults helping.”

Our country needs more of this, more of kids spending a lot less time on social media and a lot more time involved in the community, while enjoying a lot more freedom to learn from their own efforts and mistakes. Imagine the benefits to our country of a Ditch published in communities from coast and coast and throughout the heartland. 

I’d read that every week.