We get criticized all the time for not doing enough to publicize good stories about young people.
The truth is there is some merit to that. I’ve had this discussion with people a million times. It has to do with the definition of news. Kids doing what they are supposed to do is not necessarily news. On the other hand, when they break the law or do some other things that are clearly outside the realm of normal, we’re more than happy to splash them all over Page One. That’s called news.
But they are right about one thing. There is a danger inherent in that formula, in that a steady diet of that kind of “news” presents a skewed perception of young people.
So I always look forward to one thing we do to offer a paean to good kids.
We call it the Grad Tab.
You can find it inside today’s print edition.
In it you will find the name of every young person graduating from a high school in Delaware County.
It’s our way of saluting the Class of 2012. We also will endeavor again this year to cover every high school graduation in the county. Don’t snicker. That’s no small feat. There are four of them today and seven tomorrow.
But there is one thing about our annual Grad Tab that I find incredibly frustrating.
Some of those who complain the loudest about the way we cover young people are school administrators.
That’s why I am always stunned at how difficult it is to actually get these grad lists from some schools.
I won’t necessarily name them here. That wouldn’t serve any purpose. But I can tell you we came very close today to publishing a Grad Tab that did not include some schools. I literally had to get on the phone yesterday and personally ask one school to send us their list.
One school made it pretty clear that they did not necessarily want to be in our section.
I guess that’s there own way of saluting us.
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