Campers take up defending our First Amendment rights – TWC News

HAMBURG, N.Y. -- Aspiring journalists are telling their own stories this week at Hilbert College. While they're learning everything from writing a catchy headline to how to frame an interview, there's a deeper truth here that these 12- to 18-year-olds are uncovering.

With President Donald Trump accusing the media of reporting fake news and making up sources, the students are getting an important lesson on the foundation of journalism. The hope is the junior high and high-schoolers understand the meaning behind the First Amendment and the duty they could one day have to protect the freedoms that go along with it.

"It's about wanting to do it, to be passion it about doing it, and also about defending our rights as citizens; freedom of speech, freedom of the press, it's really only the job that's protected in the constitution," Chris Gallant, associate professor of Digital Media and Communication said.

Camp may be fun and filled with field trips to the federal courthouse for example, but just two days in and Hope Artis and the others have already grasped something we strive to prove in the stories we share with you every day.

"We need to know and understand people," Artis said. "That's what news in its heart is all about."

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Campers take up defending our First Amendment rights - TWC News