Students who have an interest in journalistic ethics (or aren't quite sure there is such a thing) will really enjoy the coming of age narrative that is Tim Lockette's Tell It True.
Lisa, Lockette's protagonist, is judgemental and cynical about just about everything in her life. She's sure her often away dad is carrying on an affair with his assistant. Her mother has messed up values.
"Teachers are fake: biology teachers who've never done research, English teachers who've never published a word of their own writing."
In fact her hometown and school are fake. And the epitome of the local of it is her school newspaper--"Stuff you already knew or didn't care about, published weeks after the events happened because the paper comes out only three times a year."
So it's truly ironic when she takes on editorship as a favor to her best (and only) friend. She doesn't take this role all that seriously at first. She suggests renaming the paper the Beachside Strangler.
But things change when she reads about high school journalists uncovering real scandals, having a real impact on their communities. So when she learns that a man convicted of a double murder a quarter century ago without adequate representation is about to be executed she takes that on as her way to make a difference.
It's a real life changing learning experience for Lisa. Her narrative can be quite thought provoking for teens coming of age in today's ethically challenged media world.
On a purrrsonal note, today is the first day of 2025. I didn't stay up until midnight. Tobago believes it is her duty to get her people to bed on time. I took pity on her at 10:30 when she was beginning to look slightly panicked. My official resolutions are to graduate 🎓 grad school, get a UMaine job, and finish my book manuscript. My covert one is to add more flamboyance to my fashion aesthetic and find more drag ops.
A great big shout out goes out to my precious wing 🐈 😻 🐈⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 sweet Tobago.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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