What Students Say About the Gazette

The Guilford Gazette came into being, publishing its first issue in February 1995, after 7/8 students surveyed more than 300 community members and found communication to be a major need. The newspaper serves a population of more than 1,900 people in rural Guilford Vermont.

The paper is now entering its 9th year as a student run operation from newgathering to production to its business and advertising departments. Adult advisers include a diverse team of teachers and community members.

The following comments were made by 7/8 students during a telephone interview given to The Constitutional Rights Foundation Magazine Los Angeles, CA March 5, 1998, with additional comments drawn from a Gazette staff meeting.


Do you think The Gazette matters to the community of Guilford?
•We get letters like the one from Virginia Fitch. She’s lived here for 58 years. She thanked us for article on her husband Bill when he died. By reading the paper she found out about someone she’d never met or known about, Ernest Parmenter.
•Community news is most important, that’s what the community wants to hear about.
•We get good feedback from the community.
•Community members contribute articles.
•We interview residents and find out about them.

What do you get out of The Gazette?
•The Gazette is hard work, it’s fun and it’s social. •Confidence is important.
•Teamwork, we would not have The Gazette without teamwork. (Maeve)
•You have to put yourself into it. If this doesn’t get done then we might not have a Gazette.
•You have to know what you’re getting yourself into.
•You talk to people you wouldn’t otherwise meet.
•It helps you become a news reporter.
•It brings people together.
•Kids look forward to Gazette day each week.
•The writing helps you learn to write better.
•You develop editing skills, computer and typing skills.
•You learn responsibility, teamwork and organization skills.
•You have to be responsible and work together with other people.
•You have to know what you’re doing.
•We learn how to use computers.
•You learn how to deal with deadlines.
•A lot of people in the school help to put the paper together.