Visiting Editor-in-Chief of The Nanjinger inspires future journalists

Editor-in-chief for The Nanjinger, Frank Hossack, has been a radio host and producer for the past 37 years, the past 29 of which working in media in China, in the process winning four New York Festivals awards for his work, while Frank has also been cited by the BBC, CNN, China Daily and the New York Times, among many others.  Frank is also a well-known voice-over artist, radio and television host and public speaker (TEDx) and has provided English voiceover for the announcements on the Nanjing Metro.

Frank worked with Years 6 and 7 first, then Years 8 and 9.  He gave them a run-through of his background, hometown, and some information on how he came into journalism.  Of particular interest was his philosophy of local journalism, summarised in the aphorism “Big Mountains create close-knit communities”.  When a community is physically isolated, as his was growing up or as many parts of the world became over the last couple of years due to travel restrictions, they can become more closely bonded.  He stressed the importance to local communities of reporting that matters to them and reflects their day-to-day lived experiences.  As he put it, what the American president says doesn’t usually affect you day-to-day, but whether there is a big hole in the road outside BSN definitely does!

This led into practical explanations of reporting, writing, structuring, and questioning to get the most out of interviewing.  Students learnt the fundamentals of observational reporting and how to use the 5W1H approach (why, what, when, where, who and how) to gather information.  They learnt how to keep going to get the interesting nugget, utilising that powerful and interesting “why” question!  Students then split off into groups and put their knowledge in to practise, interviewing teachers, staff and even other students across the school and learning the basics of meeting deadlines and writing for a purpose.

All in all, students had a fantastic time and really learnt a lot.  The questions put to Frank showed that there are inquisitive and questioning minds amongst our student body, and this first taste of the media might just be the spark that some of our future journalists need.

Frank Hossack is one of five authors, journalists, illustrators, and publishers visiting the school during Book Week, offering workshops, presentations and talks to students throughout the school.