Gabe Ferris is a news hound. A whole room in his house is designed for him to practice his broadcast skills. He also reads and watches news for hours each day and looks everywhere for stories to tell.
Now, he has a chance to put that passion to the test.
Ferris, 13, found out two weeks ago he was named a Scholastic News Kid Reporter, chosen from more than 200 applications received in September. According to a press release, the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps is a team of amateur journalists ages 10 to 14 who report “news for kids, by kids.”
Coverage may include current events, breaking news and entertainment. It could be a national story or something from his community.
Stories by the students appear on the Scholastic news website and in issues of the company’s classroom magazines.
For Ferris, it’s a perfect role.
A nose for news
The Waterville Junior High School eighth grader was first interested in the mechanics of news, not so much the content. He wanted to know how many cameras it took to make a television broadcast, who wrote the content on the teleprompters and how a story went from conception to the evening news report.
“I quite frankly didn’t care about the current events, I wanted to learn about the production,” Ferris said.
His interest in the actual content came later, a sort of “byproduct” of researching how news is made.
“I would break the story down and see how it’s written, but now the by product has taken over,” he said. “Now I love the news, and I always want to know what’s going on around me.”
Ferris sees himself making a career out of television journalism. Even though he enjoys writing for the Scholastic news site, he craves the interaction he sees television reporters have with both their sources and audience.
“With TV journalism, you’re being seen by more people, you’re out in the field more, working under tight deadlines,” he said. “I like being face-to-face with people.”
Since her son first expressed interest in studying journalism, Joyce Galea-Sturtevant has supported and encouraged him. She takes him to see national media personalities if they’re visiting Maine, and she helped Ferris create a room filled with teleprompters, computers and a space to “broadcast.”
Suzanne McCabe, editor of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps, said Ferris’ enthusiasm for the world around him was evident from the start. McCabe, who helps select the 32 kid reporters and works directly with Ferris, said he has a “nose for news.”
In his application, Ferris said he was inspired by Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who landed a plane on the Hudson River in 2009.
“I thought it was really impressive that he recognized someone who has really made a difference, and that’s what we look for from all of our reporters … we want them to recognize people who are making a positive difference in their communities and the larger world,” McCabe said.
None of Ferris’ stories have been published yet, but he’s already turned in his first about organizations in Waterville helping the community during the holidays, and it should go live on the Scholastic news website soon.
Covering his community
During the next year, Ferris will write several articles about his community and topics that may interest his peers. Themes may include bullying, climate change or various political campaigns, McCabe said.
But Ferris also wants to focus on people and issues that matter to those he interacts with daily.
He plans on doing at least one story about two Waterville girls who have raised thousands of dollars for a local food pantry and another about creating more access to natural gas.
“It’s important for local Mainers to have an affordable way to heat their homes,” Ferris said. “You always hear people talking about their bills being high, and here’s something that could be a new way to keep costs down.”
To generate story ideas, Ferris consumes a lot of news each day. He watches the news on television in the morning and at night and peruses several news websites per day trying to spot trends or untold stories.
He then brainstorms ideas and who he can use as sources, makes a few calls and asks the tough questions, not unlike his adult counterparts.
He’ll write an outline for his story and a first draft. But before handing it in to his editor, he asks his parents to look at it. They offer tips, but Ferris is quick to say he does all of the work.
“I’ll spend three or four hours working on a story, I’ll talk with my parents, but 99.99 percent of the work is my own,” he said.
Curiosity continued
Next year, Ferris will head to Waterville High School where he wants to continue pursuing journalism by taking at least a few video and photography classes. He’s not sure about college yet, but he said he has time to figure that out and wants to keep writing for the Kids Press Corps as long as possible.
“So far, I’m really enjoying it. As long as I can do it, I’d love to continue,” Ferris said.
In the meantime, he’s gaining real world experience that most reporters don’t have a chance to try until they are in college. McCabe said because of his experience and participation in the program, he’s well ahead of the game no matter what profession he ends up choosing.
“Whatever he wants to do in life, this is a great launching pad,” she said. “Gabe has a certain curiosity of the world and the fact that he finds it exciting to unearth stories that other people haven’t, is nice to see. I got the sense from him that he really cares.”
