Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 20h

🎇 As people across the world celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, we look back at a student piece on the environmental impacts of the festival and how it is fast becoming a festival of smog.

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#AirQuality #India #Diwali

How a festival of light can create a blanket of gray

With temperature inversion and climate change, the joyful meaning of a festival dissipates in the air we can't breathe.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 1d

🗞️ Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina highlight the underreported human impacts of natural disasters from affected communities in Pakistan.

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When young girls pay the cost of climate change

After devasting floods in Pakistan, desperate parents are marrying off their daughters. In extreme circumstances, child marriage becomes a means of survival.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 4d

📝 “People, not numbers, are the heart of your stories."

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner outlines who you should seek out for interviews and why.

#studentreporting #interviews #people

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The people you interview will bring your story to life

Before you start interviewing people you need to know what part they play in a story. Only then can you reach out to them.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 7d

The MacArthur Foundation selects a diverse group of people for an award dubbed the “genius grants”. In doing so, they help us redefine our measure of success.

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner looks at one of this year's honorees, artist and basket weaver, Jeremy Frey.

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Art as success? That's genius!

The MacArthur Foundation selects a diverse group of people for an award dubbed the "genius grants". In doing so they help us redefine our measure of success.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 11d

🎨 There’s an art to pitching stories.

🟢 Get it right and editors will give you the green light.
❌ Get it wrong and you might not have a story at all.

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner gives her advice on how to craft a good story pitch.

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You have a story idea. Now what?

There is a story you want to tell. But how do you convince an editor to green light it? That's the art of the pitch.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 12d

🧑🏽‍🚀 It's #WorldSpaceWeek and we're celebrating the international cooperation, scientific innovation and collaboration between nations worldwide.

🗞️ Check out our coverage of stories about space and the people exploring it:
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For World Space Week its time to look up

There are no national borders in outer space. On earth, astrophysicists work together across borders. Come explore space with us.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 13d

🗞️ This week's Decoder Replay looks at Lance Roller II's article on the importance of remembering Black Marines and those awarded the medal of honor for their bravery in WWII.

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Decoder Replay: Who gets the right to fight?

The U.S. military has a long history of racial discrimination. The Trump administration's disdain for diversity in the military is nothing new.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 14d

🕊️ Each year a committee of Norwegians awards the Nobel Peace Prize to someone who has fought for peace. This year, Donald Trump thinks he's worthy of winning. So, is he?

🗞️ Alister Doyle explores the world's most prestigious award and its likely recipients.

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Promoting peace through a prize

Each year a committee of Norwegians awards the Nobel Peace Prize to someone who has fought for peace. Is Donald Trump worthy?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 15d

🌍 News Decoder gives young people the platform to tell the world what they see and hear around them. In the process we all learn how much we have in common.

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner on #10YearsofNewsDecoder

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A decade of giving teens the last word

News Decoder gives young people the platform to tell the world what they see and hear around them. In the process we all learn how much we have in common.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 18d

⚖️ One expert says one thing, another something different. So how can you know what’s what?

🗞️ Here are some tips to figuring out what to believe and what to report.

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Should you give equal voice to all perspectives?

One expert says one thing, another something different. So how can you know what's what? Here are some tips to figuring out what to believe and what to report.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 20d

💶 In the lead up to a recent election in Moldova, suspicious payments and gifts were reportedly made by the Russian government to priests in the Moldova Orthodox Church.

🗞️ To put these into perspective, Tom Heneghan explores the link between religion, politics and identity.

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Decoder Replay: Religion and politics aren't supposed to mix

In parts of Eastern Europe there is little separation between church and state. But what happens when the church becomes an instrument of a different nation?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 21d

🤔 If it’s too good to be true, don’t trust it.

🗞️ Correspondent Madison Dapcevich takes you through how to spot online scams, separate fact from fiction and avoid falling victim to internet fraudsters.

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Before you click on that incredible deal...

Don't trust internet offers that seem too good to be true. But how can you tell if its the real deal? We'll show you some ways.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 22d

⚽ With rising academic expectations, busy home lives and the responsibilities that come with growing up, how do student athletes cope with the added pressures juggling schedules and dedicating so much time and energy to their chosen sport?

Student story, Mila Heron:
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Student athletes struggle to stay mentally fit

Your coach and team count on you to play your best. You've got class assignments due and tests to study for. Your friends want you to go out. Where's the time?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 25d

📰 News stories should be informative, factual and accurate — but they need to grab your attention and keep you reading too.

So what's the key to good storytelling? And what questions should you ask yourself when you're telling a story?

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Can you tell compelling stories about important things?

So much is happening that people should know about. But why do so many news stories put us to sleep instead of wake us up? What is the journalist trying to do?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 27d

🗞️ To put the current interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank into perspective, we republish Sarah Edmonds' 2022 decoder on why interest rates matter and how they affect you.

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Decoder Replay: Why all the fuss about interest rates?

When the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank lowers interest rates, that can affect the prices for all the stuff you buy. But do you understand how they work?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · 29d

Why are positions of power held by the older generation and the elderly? Shouldn’t young people be driving change?

🗞️ Correspondent Daniel Warner explores age in politics, power and political risk-taking.

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Where are our young leaders?

Young people led political revolutions in the 50s and 60s but now seem to throw their support to those past retirement age.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 19

👩🏽‍💻 An editor helps you to make sure your story is clear and readable. They’re the sounding board for your ideas and make sure your story is told to your audience in the best way possible.

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner outlines the difference working with an editor can make to your work.

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Why have someone edit your story?

No matter how careful and talented a writer you are, you want an editor to give your story a careful reading. Here's what a difference an editor can make.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 17

🗞️ As U.S. President Trump’s government moves to erase uncomfortable truths from the history books, we republish a 2023 piece by Harvey Morris which explores approaches to acknowledging and dealing with problematic, shameful pasts.

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Decoder Replay: Should a society pay for sins of the past?

The legacy of slavery still haunts the descendants of both victims and enslavers. Should reparations be paid or can we simply erase the past?

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 16

🇪🇺 Podcasting professionals from across Europe recently gathered in Paris to discuss the future of European podcasting.

🗞️ Andrea Knezevic, communications specialist for WePod Project reflects on the event's panel discussion featuring Acast and Europod.

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Europeans have a lot to say, regardless of language

Podcasts have become an essential way to tell important stories, whether they drop in French, Spanish, Swedish or Albanian.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 15

🧐 Actively engage your students in learning and help them to discover and develop their interests with News Decoder.

🎥 Find out more from News Decoder Board Member Elis Estrada.

#10YearsofNewsDecoder #studentlearning #globalcitizenship

News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 15

🚬 Smoking in Indonesia has been well established as a public health concern for the country.

🗞️ Dr Christianez Ratna Kiruba explores the links between smoking, culture and gender and looks at why it’s such a tough habit to break in Indonesia.

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The cultural power in a cigarette puff

Globally, rates of smoking are in decline. But in Indonesia, a cigarette is a measure of masculinity and hospitality. That makes it habit hard to break.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 12

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner gives her expert advice on how to use quotes in your stories.

🔗 Read the full story:
news-decoder.com/how-to-use-q...

How to use quotes in a story | News Decoder

A book without dialogue is a slog to read. So is a news story. But once you get quotes from an interview what do you do with them? Here's a quick guide.

news-decoder.com

News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 11

🗞️ Andrea Knezevic reflects on her experience managing communications for the WePod European Podcasting Project — a collaborative multi-partner platform for European podcast production, distribution and promotions. Funded by the EU's Creative Europe fund.

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The art of communicating across borders

Bring people who speak different languages and come from different cultures into the same project and things can get messy. But the results are worth it.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 8

🧊⚰ Glaciers predate human life but our lifestyle causes them to melt. Can funerals for glaciers get this message across?

🗞️ Tira Shubart takes us to Iceland where people mourn the loss of glaciers and mark where they once stood with commemorative, thought-provoking plaques.

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Saying goodbye to our glaciers

Glaciers predate human life but our lifestyle causes them to melt. Can a funeral for a glacier get this message across? Let's do something before it's too late.

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News Decoder @newsdecoder.bsky.social · Sep 4

🏆 Global Youth & News Media announce the Global Youth & News Media Prize 2025 Winners for Journalism.

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How to amplify youth voice? Bring teens into the pressroom.

A global competition has found that collaborations between news organizations and young people can benefit both.

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