The winners of the Future Journalists contest – hosted by Surrey Libraries and The Surrey-North Delta Leader – have been chosen.
In March, teens aged 12-18 were asked to submit a news story between 200-300 words.
Nick Pang, 14, and Sophie Zhang, 15, submitted the winning entries (posted below).
The two teens had the chance to tour The Leader and ask questions, and received feedback on their writing from the editor.
Nick and Sophie were also asked to submit a piece expressing their views of the future of journalism.
Congratulations Nick and Sophie.
Winning contest entries:
Discover your city through the arts
by Nick Pang
With the City of Surrey being an industrial, forward-thinking community, one might not expect the city to flourish in artistic ability. But beneath the surface of students, business people, an everyday people, we find the finest of artists.
The City of Surrey is committed to nurture the artists' abilities to beautify and renovate the city. Public artists strive to create new and innovative pieces of artwork, and their efforts create over 50 pieces a year. these artworks range from "interactive and illuminated contemporary work and engraved boulders," to "mosaics and even words and symbols formed in frost."
Since 1998, the City of Surrey has been openly embracing public art, and the collection of art pieces has been growing ever since. public art is a great way for the City of Surrey to assert its individuality, and for its own citizens, public art calms the mind and brings serenity into an individual who can enjoy its beauty and uniqueness.
In May of 2012, Surrey signed a five-year Public Art Plan, promising to increase the umber and the uniqueness of public art.
Take some time out of your busy schedule to just go for a walk around Surrey, around the parks, the SkyTrain stations; you may be surprised to see new pieces of artwork to enjoy and to experience. Public art can sometimes be simples, such as a drawing, or very intricate and complex, such as a detailed sculpture.
Whatever it sis, public art asserts individuality, promotes diversity, and contributes to the overall identity of Surrey. it educates the general public about types and styles of art, makes the city more interactive and exciting, and creates a lasting environment for us and the future generations to enjoy.
Getting involved in the immigrant community
by Sophie Zhang
In White Rock and South Surrey, there is a fairly high number of Chinese residents who have formed their own association called the White Rock Chinese Association.
The White Rock Chinese Association started from Faith Hope Love Chinese Church's community service effort," said Eric Huang, former president of the association.
Huang was in charge of the church's community service, helping new immigrants settle in Canada.
"We have served the community for more than one year, and then the White Rock Chinese Association was formally founded in 2009 as an independent organization outside of the church."
Helping immigrants integrate better into society is a big priority, Huang said.
There are various activities available every week, such as Taijiquan, ping-pong, badminton and basketball, said Huang.
"Also, our former board members have set up a Chinese school that offers Chinese and English classes for new immigrants. I feel that the association has done a good job overall."
As for how the association runs, Huang said, "I have seen many people come forward to donated money, time and talents to help the new immigrants and teenagers. We have a good united team that works hard."
Huang also shared his hopes for the future.
"I especially hope the second generation of Chinese Canadians will do much better than our first generation in terms of participating and serving in the Canadian society. I hope to see more and more successful Chinese Canadians become an outstanding minority that fully participates in and merges into the Canadian society in all aspects."
Joining the White Rock Chinese Association is the ideal way to learn about the Chinese culture, to serve the community, to meet new people, and to simply have fun.
The future of journalism:
There is definitely a future for journalism
by Nick Pang
It is not an accident that you don’t hear many students today rushing to become journalists. I, for one, had never thought of journalism as a career growing up, because no one ever seemed to mention that possibility for me. It wasn’t until one day, while I was watching the news that my mother mentioned that she had always dreamed of being a TV journalist, but she had never been given the approval or the opportunity to do so.
That really got me thinking. Living in a stereotypical Asian family (strict, smart, bargain-hunting), the jobs in front of me all consisted of years of hard work, mountains of books, and of course, sleep deprivation. And as I travelled farther along these few paths that were available to me, the rest became more and more distant and unclear to me, and eventually they seemed impossible to reach.
I think that this type of thinking is becoming shared by more and more students, and even some of the students who started out with a different ideal in mind are being pressured to change themselves and their choices.
In universities and colleges, the students applying for business and science programs far outnumber the diminishing group of students who choose arts or humanities courses. As the interest for jobs such as artists, historians, poets, and even journalists diminish, opportunities also gradually disappear.
But is this a good thing? Is society moving forward because of this transition to, or penchant for, certain jobs? Some would definitely argue so. I, on the other hand, feel like these careers and jobs need to be preserved.
Like an endangered species, journalism is becoming less explored by the newer generations, and like an endangered species, we should fight to protect it. There will always be people that want to pursue a career in journalism, and there will always be people who are passionate to learn more about it. Just like my mother, these people are being cut off by their family, their peers, and most importantly, society. Who's to say that one job is any better than another? If parents and teachers and everyone else begin to encourage the younger generation based on what they love, rather than what they think they should love, wouldn’t every job be just as populated and exciting as and other?
There is definitely a future for journalism. There will always be a need for journalists, editors, such as Paula Carlson, and publishers, such as Jim Mihaly. These people build a foundation for The Leader, and all other news sources. But the future of journalism will only exist if people and society allow it to.
The evolution of online news has already begun
by Sophie Zhang
What will become of journalism? Is print journalism near its end?
Nowadays, newspapers are becoming less and less popular, as the new generation develops Internet addiction. Instead of waiting for the newspaper to arrive at their doorstep, or walking to a newspaper stand to buy newspaper, people generally prefer to search for news and information online, just a click away. Many have portable smartphones, iPads, and laptops, and Wi-Fi is widely available.
Easy Internet access may destroy print media. In a few decades or so, the Internet will no doubt be the main news distrib
ution medium, with television and radio close behind, while newspapers struggle to keep up. Television and radio will likely not become completely obsolete, since many people still enjoy news broadcasting and watching shows on TV, and radios are installed in vehicles for everyday use. There is just not much need for newspapers. Plus, they waste paper. On average, a year's worth of a daily newspaper produces 550 pounds of waste paper, according to the The Handy Science Answer Book. And the average New York Times Sunday edition produces 8 million pounds of waste paper. To survive, print news need advertisements. This may be one of the few things that keeps newspapers running today, as some companies prefer putting an ad in the newspaper.
While print news struggles, online news is thriving. Some news sites require the reader to subscribe, but most do not. Citizen journalism and photojournalism are becoming more powerful than ever, increasing in popularity alongside new media technology, such as social networking and media-sharing websites. Citizens can often take valuable pictures and report breaking news faster than traditional media reporters.
News stories overflow on the Internet; the question is who to believe. Many professional journalists view citizen journalists with disdain and skepticism, questioning their accuracy, quality and objectivity. They believe journalism ethics can only be understood by professionally trained journalists. This may be partly true, as on the Internet, everyone expresses different opinions, different sides of stories, and rumours spread easily.
In conclusion, the evolution of online news has already begun, but newspapers will never completely disappear. There may still be a small demand for printed news, for the older generation that cannot adapt easily to this accelerated evolution.