This story was written by a high school student participating at NEPM's Media Lab Summer '23 cohort, in partnership with MassLive.
It’s easier to stay comfortable and not accept new opportunities. Teenagers who wish to be journalists can be discouraged from pursuing it because of how hard it is. Most people nowadays are completely plugged in, and rely on these platforms as their sources of information. As the media is changing, journalists have to find ways to communicate with a younger audience through social media platforms.
“Reaching the younger audiences has really been a big challenge for different media outlets”… I feel like the biggest way to meet them where they’re at is on digital and talking to the younger people on what they want and how they consume news,” said Zydalis Bauer, Digital and Multimedia Producer/Editor, New England News Collaborative.
Bauer, who started in media straight out of High School, was an intern for former WGBY now New England Public Media. She started with the Latino Youth Media Institute and later became a host for the local productions Presencia and Connecting Point.
“It was terrifying even after I did a bunch of interviews, every interview I was always nervous because you just want to do your best… I was always a naturally shyer person.” Zydalis Bauer said. Zydalis was often the shy one, she didn’t feel comfortable in front of the screen, but eventually she overcame her fears.
In a time where everything you do gets posted on social media and you might feel as though everyone is judging you, it can be hard to put yourself out there to reach for your goals.
“You have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations, period… that's the only way you can get over your shyness,” Bauer said.
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