Ciara Parizek/MDN Mass Media and Communications students at Our Redeemer’s Christian School in Minot toured The Minot Daily News on Wednesday. The students are planning to start their own school paper. Front row, from left to right, are Samara Knutson, Genevieve Rascoe, Elsa Olson, Nevaeh Corzette, Alena Hall and Isabel Engelhard. Back row, from left to right, are instructor Renee Heydt, Jamila Dias, Emily Heydt, Triniti Gregg, Ashlyn Vix, Allison Francis, Leah Lindquist and Reagan Williamson.

A group of 14 students from Our Redeemer’s Christian School in Minot visited The Minot Daily News Wednesday as they look to start their own school newspaper.

Mass Media and Communications teacher Renee Heydt and her class are focusing on a section about newspapers, and she reached out to The Minot Daily News about receiving a tour and an explanation of the process of creating a newspaper.

The students asked several questions about the printing press and other machinery that is used to print, fold and organize each individual newspaper that goes out. Since the tour occurred before the mailroom and pressroom employees were scheduled to work, the students did not see the press in action.

What really caught their attention, however, was the archive room. It holds newspaper records that go back to 1887. Some of the students searched through the old books to find their parents’ birth announcements. Others looked for their own.

One small group from the class was intrigued by the “Baby” Bandit story published on Aug. 21, 1926, about a 14-year-old boy and his 21-year-old brother who were in trouble with the law in Colorado. The boy was killed by law enforcement while reaching for his revolver. The group may never have known about the two brothers if they had not been given the opportunity to look through the old newspapers.

Ashlyn Vix, a student from ORCS, said a perk of having a newspaper is all of the information is in the same place.

“I think it highlights things that you wouldn’t find online. Online, you get the big major stories, unless you’re looking for something specific. You get all of it at the same time without having to search as much,” she said.

Not every newspaper – or any other publication, for that matter – puts the same content on its website that it puts in a published magazine, newsletter, newspaper, etc. Some content is online only and other content may be hard-copy exclusive.

When asked what drew the newer generation to the physical newspaper, Leah Lindquist said, “A lot of our stuff is on computers. … It would be fun to have an actual newspaper that we give to students.”

Novelty can be a big thing when it comes to starting anything. Minot Daily News advertising director Elaine Gunderson said once the students at the school get ahold of the first paper, they are going to look forward to the next one, and the next one.

Before the students left, they met with Publisher Bob Patchen, who explained his position in keeping The Minot Daily News running smoothly.

Overall, the ORCS students were shown the different positions needed to make a newspaper work. It will be up to the class to decide if a school newspaper is something they want to bring to fruition.