Salt Brook Cub Scouts Learn About Reporting, Editing and Patch

Today I had the great pleasure of meeting with Cub Scout Den #12 from Pack 263 at . They invited me to help them with what they call Achievement #17, which focuses on information. I met the scouts and den leaders at the cozy Coddington Activity Room in the Wednesday afternoon to talk about community journalism and New Providence Patch.

After what seemed to be a challenging, yet fun and entertaining game of charades among the scouts, the boys settled down on the carpet and turned their eyes to Kate Gullo, one of the mothers in the den, who introduced me as the editor of New Providence Patch and reminded the scouts that this particular presentation was key to their lesson about information.

“The boys are learning what is a fact and how we get and give information,” Gullo said in an email. “Today, we covered Requirement 17c, which asked the boys to talk to a news reporter to find out: Where does the reporter get news? How does the reporter put the story together? Where does the story go after the reporter finishes it.”

Soon, we dived into a discussion about telling stories.

“Who here likes telling stories?” I asked the scouts.

While some, but not all, said they do and even started to tell some of their own, I introduced journalists as people who get to tell stories every day, but must make sure the information in those stories is completely factual and true.

After discussing the difference between an editor and a reporter, I explained that I act as both in my position. I do assign out stories to reporters and edit those stories once they come in by a deadline that I gave my reporter. But I also write my own stories and set deadlines for myself.

The scouts were taken through the Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? basics of a news story. In addition, scouts learned that background information is always needed for a news story, that sources are needed to back up factual information, and that the reporter and editor must always keep their readers in mind through the entire reporting, writing and editing process.

The boys then turned their attention to the projection on the wall of the New Providence Patch website, with the help of the library’s computer and projector, as we click our way through the site, revealing and discussing the News, Events, Places, Traffic & Gas, and Gallery tabs. I also talked about how local residents and even the scouts can use the site on a daily basis.

For instance, Patch has several bloggers who can write about just about anything and I suggested the scouts start their own blog to let community members know about all of the wonderful things they do and continue to do on a regular basis. I even mentioned our Neighborhood Gallery, which they can add photos to of their Den while they strive to reach their achievements.

Finally, I asked the scouts to help me write this story and asked them to identify what information I needed to start off this article.

I was even curious about what each scout learned from our presentation. So, I asked each of them to help me write the story by offering their comments about what they learned. Here are some of their answers:

“The name of the website is Patch.” — Daniel Aranda

“We learned about Traffic & Gas [tab on the web site].” — Cole Barber

“Patch shares local news and information with local communities.” — Carsten Schumm

“We learned that people blog [on Patch].” — Brett Palatini

“There are other editors for the Patch that are in other places and cover stories about other places.” — Keaton Hawkins

“We learned that you are an editor and a reporter and that as the editor, you get to tell people when they need to finish things by.” — Ian Zane

"A lot of people put a lot of effort and time into reporting and editing news.” — Jack Gullo

“There are Patch websites nationwide.” — John Turner

Peter Berlin, another scout, was not in attendance for the presentation.

When I asked what the most important thing is about reporting, Cole Barber said, “make sure the stories are true.”

Cub Scout Den #12 from Pack 263 at Salt Brook School is in their third year together as a Den. All of the Scouts are 8- and 9-year-olds in third grade. The boys are Cub Scouts in the Bear Year.