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On the Books: Star Wars comics a hit for franchise fans

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Luzerne County 4-H members participate in State 4-H Horse Show

<p>NEWSPAPER ON DEATHBED!</p><p>A sensational headline &#8211; apologies to William Randolph Hearst &#8211; suits the situation today involving the Coughlin Journal, the student-powered publication at Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre widely consider one of the oldest, if not <em>the</em> oldest, in the nation.</p><p>First published in the 1890s, the Journal&#8217;s continued survival has become iffy as the Wilkes-Barre Area School District proceeds with plans to empty, then demolish, Coughlin. The district&#8217;s blueprints call for building a new, larger school on the downtown site, then merging the student bodies of Coughlin and Meyers high schools into a single, as-yet-unnamed educational center.</p><p>The Journal&#8217;s current staffers say they don&#8217;t know what that means for their tradition-rich school newspaper. Only one edition has been circulated so far this school year; a pending edition has been prepped but not put in the hands of readers, they say. Rather than digging for scoops, they&#8217;ve been busy scooping up and boxing old Journal copies for safekeeping. The former newspaper office has been emptied and deemed off-limits, according to <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/504197/the-nations-oldest-school-newspaper-awaits-its-fate-as-coughlin-high-school-faces-demise" target="_blank">an article</a> by Mark Guydish in Sunday&#8217;s edition of the Times Leader.</p><p>For Pulitzer&#8217;s sake, what&#8217;s going on?</p><p>The Nellie Bly in us wants to pose as a teenager and poke around Coughlin, taking the pulse of the place. Are its students generally inquisitive? Energetic? If so, why let the newspaper flounder during this dramatic point in school history?</p><p>We are confident that school administrators will find a way to maintain the Journal&#8217;s continuity, even if it means changing the paper&#8217;s name post-school merger.</p><p>Of greater concern is students&#8217; fading interest in journalism. Few of their peers commit to submitting content for publication, the Journal&#8217;s dedicated staffers say. Those who do often procrastinate or fail to deliver. Helen Thomas, Anne Newport Royall and other icons of the Fourth Estate (Google &#8216;em, kids) must be spinning in their graves, flummoxed as to why students would shy from delving into the issues that directly affect them and their school community.</p><p>The only &#8220;tricks&#8221; to producing an enviable school newspaper are having an intellectual curiosity and some initiative.</p><p>In the time it takes to watch a &#8220;Modern Family&#8221; episode, a student could draft questions about the pros and cons of school mergers and email them to key players in the district&#8217;s school debate. Responses could be printed in a question-and-answer format.</p><p>Has the Journal recently reported on Coughlin&#8217;s participants in the Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre training program? Highlighted the state&#8217;s inaugural Teen Health Week, beginning Jan. 25? Contacted former Journal contributors and asked them to reminisce about their experiences? Reserved a spot for submitted poetry? Interviewed successful alumni?</p><p>Has it yet carried a strongly worded editorial on the need for school administrators to specify a preservation plan for the Journal?</p><p>If not, it should.</p><p>Press on, Coughlin Journal. Press on.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Past editions of the Coughlin Journal have been boxed for transport and safekeeping in preparation for Coughlin High School&#8217;s demolition. Student contributors say they don&#8217;t know what will become of this long-running school newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_coughlinjournal01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Past editions of the Coughlin Journal have been boxed for transport and safekeeping in preparation for Coughlin High School&#8217;s demolition. Student contributors say they don&#8217;t know what will become of this long-running school newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Coughlin’s school newspaper on its last legs? That’s largely up to students