Keith High School students publish first newspaper through new journalism program

Students at Keith High School in Orrville have published the first student newspaper in the school’s history as part of a new journalism class launched earlier this year through a partnership with the Black Belt News Network.

The program, called the Teen Press Initiative, is part of the Black Belt News Network’s Black Belt Media Lab and is designed to expand student voices while helping strengthen the future of rural journalism across Alabama’s Black Belt.

The class began in January and is the first in a series of journalism programs the organization hopes to introduce in other Black Belt high schools.

Twenty-two students in the class produced the inaugural edition of Bear Nation News, reporting on school activities, student life and issues important to their peers. Copies of the newspaper were distributed to students across campus and shared with the Orrville community.

The class is taught by Keith High School teacher Kiesela Foster and blends traditional classroom instruction with hands-on reporting. Students are learning the fundamentals of journalism, including interviewing, fact-checking, photography and video storytelling, while covering real stories from their school and community.

“They’ve really embraced the idea that their voices matter,” Foster said. “Students are asking questions, learning how to research topics and working together to tell stories that reflect what life is like here at Keith. Watching them see their work in print for the first time has been incredibly rewarding.”

Students in the class pitch story ideas, conduct interviews, take photos and produce videos that accompany their reporting. Their stories are shared through the printed newspaper as well as online through social media and digital platforms.

Cindy Fisher, publisher of the Black Belt News Network and founder of the Teen Press Initiative, said the program was created to help young people develop skills while giving them a meaningful platform.

“Rural communities deserve strong local storytelling, and that starts with encouraging young people to share their perspectives,” Fisher said. “These students are learning how to report accurately, ask thoughtful questions and document what’s happening in their school and community.”

The program also introduces students to modern journalism tools, including mobile video production and digital publishing.

“This is about more than producing a newspaper,” Fisher said. “It’s about building confidence and teaching students that they can contribute to the conversation in their communities.”

The first edition of Bear Nation News was printed using paper donated by International Paper’s Riverdale Mill and produced locally by Colony Printers in Demopolis.

About 200 copies were distributed to Keith High School students, and additional copies are being shared through local businesses in Orrville so community members can read the students’ work.

Students will produce a second print edition later this year, along with companion videos that will be shared through school and Black Belt News Network platforms.

Fisher said the Keith High School program is a pilot she hopes to replicate in other rural schools.

“Our long-term goal is to build a pipeline of young storytellers from the Black Belt,” she said. “When students learn how to document their communities and share those stories, it strengthens both local journalism and the communities themselves.”

Read a digital version of the first Bear Nation News newspaper here.