Without student journalism, the industry cannot progress
Student-led media is a pillar of the journalism industry and often teaches legacy media big lessons on what news is and what it can be
Photo Credit: Khushy Vashisht
Opinion
By Khushy Vashisht
For the last year, I've been witness to an attack on journalism and no one seems to want to talk about it. No one, except, the students.
Genocide. Apartheid. Colonized. Palestine. Words no one wants to say, define or contextualize. No one, except, the students.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 100,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip according to The Associated Press. This harrowing number, as of Nov. 21, 2024, includes innocent men, women, children, the elderly and journalists trying to capture the devastation they all face.
No matter where I turn, I am confronted with the cruelty of the world. The last 411 days of my life I bear witness to children looking for their dead parents in the ruins of their home, limbs ripped apart and shredded, body bags lined up on a street and the list goes on and on, somehow getting worse when it feels like I’ve seen it all. And no one seems to want to talk about it.
While major news outlets focus on the numbers of it all, student journalists seek out stories that speak to humanity instead of reducing people into digits
Don’t get me wrong, the world is definitely talking about the Israel-Hamas war, a war that broke out after Hamas militants attacked a music festival in Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and holding around 250 hostage. But no one is talking about the humanity and dignity being stripped away from innocent civilians day-by-day.
No one, except, the students.
Although the conflict takes place just over 9,000 kilometres away from Toronto, its ripples are profoundly felt amongst many here. From boycotts to public demonstrations and encampments held on university campuses across North America, there is a strong outcry on the behalf of Palestinians. However, big newsrooms seem to only project certain perspectives into the mainstream rather than be a vessel serving accurate and diverse lived experiences to the masses.
Soon after the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023, Palestinian journalist Zahraa Al-Akhrass said she was fired from her position at Global News due to posting comments regarding the conflict on social media. Those participating in the campus encampments were suggested to have “alleged links to Hamas” with arguably passive headline writing. Speaking of headlines, according to certain outlets, Palestinians just so happen to be “found dead” and “shot at” but never addresses how they die and who the shooter was.
While major news outlets focus on the numbers of it all, student journalists seek out stories that speak to humanity instead of reducing people into digits.
A sea of over 100 journalists and no one was there to capture the human of it all. No one, except, the students
During the 60-day encampment on King's College Circle at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, editors from the school’s student newspaper, The Varsity, were conducting on-site reporting throughout most of the period and produced live updates on social media, various articles on developments including arrests made, court orders and more and even published various op-eds to diversify their coverage. Their headlines are direct, their articles even more so. These students had not shied away from the difficult conversations taking place.
The biggest slap in the face for larger publications — something I know doesn’t keep anyone up at night but should — was the lack of coverage conducted by them on a vigil held on Feb. 1, 2024, at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) for journalists killed in Palestine, Lebanon and Israel.
The vigil was organized by journalists Inori Roy, Fatima Syed, Pacinthe Mattar and Ginella Massa and was attended by over 100 journalists and additional TMU community members. The only people to report on it? TMU’s student publications: The Eyeopener, The Review of Journalism, and On the Record News.
A sea of over 100 journalists and no one was there to capture the human of it all. No one, except, the students.
Student journalists keep larger publications in check by showing they are not afraid to do their job and do it the way it was always intended. If we don’t encourage student projects and passions, journalism may very well be what everyone thinks it is nowadays: useless.
With fresh minds and a fire that hasn’t been burnt out just yet by the industry norm, students step up when legacy media fails and we are all better off for it.