Managing Editor of Hickman’s newspaper, the Purple and Gold, Tessa Johnson (11) has always wanted to be involved with the Newspaper. Growing up, most children dream of careers like being a doctor, astronaut or professional athlete to go into, Tessa thought of journalism.

“My motivations for why I wanted to be a part of the school newspaper and why I want to go into journalism in the future is because I think it’s really important to be aware of what’s happening around you, and I want to be able to provide people information so that they can be aware, they can be a well educated citizen and make choices based on that.” Tessa said.

Journalism is a medium like no other in the regard of it having so many avenues to partake in, and you can really find whatever you want within journalism. From broadcast journalism to the written word, the possibilities are endless. However, when looking to the future, Tessa could see herself writing about science.

“I find science really interesting. I wanted to be a scientist for a while, but I like writing a lot, and I want to still have that journalism aspect, and still be able to educate people. I think that science, especially right now, is [a] thing that’s so important for people to actually understand, [whether it be]…how our bodies work, [or] how the environment is changing.” Tessa said.

With the new age of technology like A.I. or heightened social media platforms, and increased usage of technology, journalists have to find new ways to stay relevant, but through it all, Tessa feels that the role of Journalism in society hasn’t faltered. 

“I think that being uninformed, [and] the literacy crisis that we have going on right now… [are some] of the worst things that [are] happening right now. I think that’s what’s stunting a lot of possible growth, and I think that’s what’s causing a lot of the regression that we’re currently seeing.” Tessa said. “I don’t think that journalism is going to be like a band aid solution to that, but I think it’s the first step in making any meaningful change. Because if we want to make change, or if we want to see good things happen, it starts with the people, and the people need a baseline education…journalism provides that by telling a story.”

As a journalist, Tessa categorized herself as someone who cares deeply about the things she writes about and feels that this is a crucial aspect for a good story, and important for readers of Journalism. 

“I think that if you can really get yourself interested in the story, if you can just go into interviews with the mindset of wanting to find out more information, not just getting stuff to write a story, if you can go all in as much as you can, you’re gonna have the most fun. It’s gonna be the most enriching experience for me as a reporter, but also that’s how the best stuff gets written. It’s just true, genuine passion and caring about what you’re writing about.” Tessa said.