Read the full story by Alli Lindenberg Semon from EdNC here.
“Middle schoolers walked purposefully through the halls of The Sampson Independent on an otherwise quiet afternoon. They found themselves sitting in a bright office lined with windows on one wall and newspaper clippings on the other. Anthony Goodman, editor of The Sampson Independent, stood patiently across from them as the students peppered him with questions.
‘Who are you? Where were you born?’ the students asked.
‘I’m from Sampson County. I’m the editor here at The Sampson Independent,’ answered Goodman.
The students continued their line of questioning: ‘What do you do for the paper?’
Goodman explained his role as editor of the paper. He was formerly a coach, then a reporter, then a sports editor. His career has taken a few turns, but the journey has taught him many lessons, which he hopes to share with the junior reporters.
‘As an editor, I have to cultivate and watch over everything that’s being printed out of our publication, kind of like the last eyes on any type of article that is put out. I also write myself, and therefore I have to have our publisher look over me, but my main job is to look after my writers and make sure that everything they’ve printed is the best that it can be,’ answered Goodman.
The students are middle schoolers from Roseboro-Salemburg Middle School, one of four schools in Sampson County Schools that are part of the Lakewood District Community Schools Initiative. This year, they are in a junior reporters class supported by the Lakewood Community Literacy Partnership.”