The Strike is moving forward into the blogosphere and beyond!

Everyone has to face it sometime: Print newspapers may not survive the technological revolution.

We read it in the headlines all the time. Some major paper has cut 250 jobs, another one is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and another one has completely closed its doors. We read about the closing of a newsroom and yet deny it will happen to us, but as a realistic student journalist, I know it might happen before I even get my foot in the door.

However, if newspapers are no longer accepted by the general population then they must shift their efforts where the population is looking– the web.

The shift from print to online may be a long and rough process, but is vital for the survival of reliable journalism. Embrace websites, embrace social-media, and embrace blogging. They can all work to your advantage.

To our readers:

I can not emphasize the importance of supporting journalism. The free press is essential to democracy and freedom, but it comes at a price. We don’t ask for you to relinquish your civil liberties, but just pay for the news you read. It’s a small price for freedom, really. We live in a capitalist country and even though journalists are in no means in it for the money, they still have to make enough to feed themselves and their family.

To The Lightning Strike Crew:

As a source once told me, you have to learn to move with the cheese. Personally, as a vegan, I do not associate myself with this dairy-product, but this saying has a valid point. I love the feel of newspaper. I love being able to laminate your story and watching the Sun fade the color. I even love the smell of freshly printed paper, but I believe that one day that powerful smell might become just another scent marketed by perfume manufacturers to old newspaper junkies looking for a fix of truth. However, the conversion to online can be a journalist’s best friend if done correctly. Online stories have the potential to be viewed many times more than any print story, and the reach of the story is not just local, but global.

Do not let yourself get caught up in the past. Part of being a journalist today is flexibility. You must be willing to take on any story, take pictures, shoot video, record audio, edit any multimedia work, design layouts and even published online.

Do not let your talent and hard work go to waste by refusing to write for the web.

Pursue your gift and the truth.

Welcome to the web/Take more from your school than books

I’ll admit it…I’m not a fan of the blogosphere. I have deleted my Facebook account, and I submit my college applications by snail-mail. But the 21st century has given me no choice, and I, along with all of the students on the newspaper staff, now have a blog.
However, I’m just a cynic who believes that the word “paper” in “newspaper” should never die. This brand new site is for YOU–that’s right, you. We invite all students who enjoy surfing the web to visit The Lightning Strike in a new format. We’ll still have you flipping through pages once a month, but take advantage of this new source for school news, editorials, and sweet segments yet to come!
We thank all of our supporters, and we promise to keep you updated!

While I’m at it, I might as well post my 1st real blog entry:
Ignorance cannot be avoided in a high school. Students have not been on the planet that long, and some teachers have been here a little too long. But schools were invented to learn. So, in our four years, if we take anything with us, it should be respect for other cultures and perhaps a loss of ignorance opposed to the classic “loss of innocence.”
Close your mouth.
Principal Matthew Welker once told the newspaper class that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. The fights in the hallways often include two people yelling at the same time, resulting in nothing solved and popped ear drums. However, notice that in the movies, the most classic lines are short, quiet and impacting.
Look around
Need a person of every race, ethnicity and culture? Look no further than Michael Krop High. Miami holds a diversity that is seen in few cities. Rather than dismissing all other traditions, take advantage of the large population we have at our school and learn from others what you don’t learn at home. If each student took the time to meet and learn stories of 50 new people this year that don’t have a last name that sounds like his, we would find our school as a more accepting place. “Your mom” jokes, for example, would not end up being said to a student who lost their mother. Don’t be a stranger, and don’t only be a friend online or through text. Go up to people who look like they could “use somebody.” Kings of Leon just might have a point.