He hates the lessons. And despises the teachers, criticizes the school system. The novel character Hanno Buddenbrook has a lot in common with its creator Thomas Mann. Although the later winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature had nothing for the school, he founded it in 1893 with the spring storm in Lübeck the first school newspaper in Germany. More than 100 years later, with the help of the Internet, the media repertoire for expressing opinions for young people has expanded significantly – and yet printed school newspapers are by no means a niche existence today: However, there are no official statistics on this – according to estimates, there are probably several thousand.
Jugendpresse Deutschland is the Federal Association of Young Media Makers. Every year, together with the various federal states, it looks for the best German school newspapers. Editors from elementary, secondary, secondary and special schools, from grammar schools and vocational schools can enter their print or online edition in the competition in their state. Depending on the type of school, the juries of the federal states evaluate numerous content and formal criteria. For example, they check whether the topics are related to school life. Creativity, originality and topicality are also important criteria. And how appealing is the writing style and layout of the school newspaper?
In the national competition, the jury of which includes representatives of the state ministries, journalists, young media professionals, teachers and students, and then the winners of the state competitions compete – there is a cash prize for the design of the best three print newspapers and the best online newspaper of each school type; in addition, special prizes are awarded. In the round that just ended, 183 print and 56 online newspapers were submitted by the federal states. The aim of the national competition and the state competitions is to recognize and promote the commitment of young people with journalistic talent. In addition, the association would like to ensure that young newspaper editors network with each other at the award ceremony and the school newspaper congress in Berlin. Due to Corona, however, the two most recent award ceremonies took place online.
In the category of vocational schools, the student newspaper Anna Freud Culture of the Anna-Freud-Oberstufenzentrum in Berlin-Charlottenburg has already won a prize several times in the Berlin school newspaper competition. In 2021, this was also achieved at the federal level for the first time: “Why are we never satisfied?” is the main topic of the issue, with which the newspaper took third place. In it, the editorial team deals with the question of why people tend to be dissatisfied and what can be done to lead a happier life. Another central topic that the jury rated as “particularly successful” is a personal examination of the racist murders in Hanau two years ago.
Teachers and coaches help to design the expenses
With a circulation of 200, the newspaper has been published twice a year since 2007. The editors can finance the printing of the editions through company advertisements and the support of the school’s sponsorship association. At the beginning of each school year, the young journalists meet to define topics. The team then coordinates the work via email and Whatsapp. Ursula Maier edits the young people’s texts and helps them if they have any questions. Maier is a teacher for German and performing arts at the Anna Freud School and has been in charge of the editorial staff of the school newspaper since it was founded. “I notice that it’s a wonderful thing for the students to be able to express themselves to a certain extent, to work with language, to be critical,” she says. For many young people, working on the school newspaper is an extraordinary experience: “They’ve already done really great things and, for example, interviewed Juli Zeh or politicians.” Experience has shown that politicians and celebrities would like to support the students.
Editor-in-chief Hannah Clar also finds it important to enter into an exchange and present different views on a topic. Among other things, she ensures that deadlines are met and writes the foreword to the newspaper. Some of her friends also work in the editorial office, and she often notices how different their opinions and perceptions are on certain topics, says the 18-year-old. “It’s really interesting when this diversity is also reflected in the editions.”
Linda Ziepke also writes for the Anna Freud Culture and thinks it’s a good opportunity to do something for the school and the community. The work for the school newspaper is often very stressful, but she is very happy to take her time, says the 12th grader. “It’s a shared thing and it’s a lot of fun.” A few months ago, 17-year-old Cristina Sailer took over the layout of the newspaper. She says she acquired the knowledge to do this herself.
Some media makers have written about homeschooling
The editorial team of the school newspaper Anonymous of the Hamburg Gymnasium Ohmoor has also won several times at state level in the past. With the tenth anniversary edition, it took second place at the federal level for the first time. For example, the young people provided insights into the work of the editorial team, interviewed former editors-in-chief and also discussed how they were doing during the lockdown and in homeschooling. the Anonymous is not an off-the-shelf school newspaper, was the conclusion of the jury: “You manage to be ironic on almost every page, to practice social criticism in a humorous way and to reflect on your own existence with a wink.” The laudatory speech was held online in view of the pandemic.
Originally, the school newspaper was designed with a circulation of 500 copies by middle and high school students. But since the fifth and sixth graders also wanted to make a newspaper, there is now one Anonymous Jr. It is smaller in format and is included with the large newspaper. The editorial staff meet every Friday to discuss topic ideas and articles, set deadlines and work on the layout.
Eleventh grader Hannah Maibach is a member of the editorial board and has been a member of the editorial team since seventh grade. “I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that we did everything ourselves and nobody told us what to write or what the newspaper should look like.” She has never experienced a project where the collaboration works as well as it does with her Anonymous. “It’s a very special feeling to finally see that the team has managed to publish an issue independently,” says Hannah Maibach.
The student editors also take care of financing and distribution
Jörg Hüttmann is a freelance copywriter and has been supporting the editorial team as a media coach for a little over two years. “But I see my tasks more in the background. I give tips and suggestions when the students have questions and take care of the technical stuff,” he says. However, working for the school newspaper is not just about writing and layout; the young editors also deal with the topic of sales. In addition, a team member is responsible for taking care of the newspaper’s financing through advertising. Together with the money that the editors earn from selling the newspaper, the printing costs could be financed, says Hüttmann. He experiences the members of the editorial team as very ambitious. “They have found that getting involved is worthwhile, and I think that their commitment also has something to do with the fact that the school isn’t behind the newspaper, it’s their own story.”
This story began at the beginning of 2010 with the commitment of Mina Saidze, the founder and first editor-in-chief of the Anonymous. “I realized then that we students didn’t have a voice, no medium with which we could express our feelings and opinions and reflect the zeitgeist. That’s why I really wanted to start a school newspaper,” she says. The financial contribution from the Hamburg Young Press Association made it possible to print the first issue. Subsequently, advertisements and the sale of the newspaper brought in the money for the printing costs.
As the daughter of parents from Afghanistan who were political activists, she learned from childhood how to name grievances, raise her voice and mobilize people for a common cause, says the 28-year-old. “A medium can also bring people together and connect them.” However, Saidze says she was not appreciated by the school administration at the time. Among other things, because she sometimes represented uncomfortable opinions. Compared to many of her classmates, she didn’t grow up as privileged. Sometimes that wasn’t easy. “The school newspaper gave me a piece of identity and recognition – something to cling to.”
With Inclusive Tech, Saidze has now founded Europe’s first consulting and lobbying organization for more diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Mina Saidze teaches as a lecturer at the Hamburg Media School and is also active as a mentor in the field of artificial intelligence and data analysis. She says: “It was the work at the school newspaper that motivated me and showed me that I can achieve a lot and counteract resistance.”
More information on the national competition and tips on the topic of school newspapers are available from the national association Youth press Germany as well as on the portal Schuelerzeitung.de.