The Nutgraf’s story
A one-liner: The Nutgraf is a weekly newsletter about student journalism, featuring original reporting on the state of student journalism and dedicated sections for showcasing resources for student journalists and highlighting industry opportunities.
I want to hear from you: What type of stories do you want to see? What has your experience as a student journalist been like? What resources do you find helpful? Is your student publication doing something cool that you’d like to share?
I will respond: Reach me at nutgrafnews[at]gmail.com.
What’s in it for you?
You’re a student journalist: Community. New story ideas. Awareness of what your peers are doing. Reading lists. Advice from experts and professionals around best practices. Career tips. Skill-building opportunities. Internship openings.
You’re a journalism educator: Know what students are doing. Trends in student journalism. Advice from other educators. Examples of student journalism, internships and resources you can share with your students. Platform to showcase your student work.
You’re a professional journalist: Expertise contribution. Opportunity to pick up stories from student journalists in your area. Awareness of what’s happening in higher education. Best practices. Skill-building resources.
You’re interested in media: You’ll learn about the student side of media, a field I don’t think is talked about enough.
None of the above: I’m going to be real and say I’m not writing for you. But you’d still learn about student journalism, its process and the impact these student journalists are making — directly from them.
How it started
I quit my full-time reporting job in Connecticut a few months before I enrolled in the media management program at The New School. I was bored. I had a lot of free time. And I knew I wasn’t ready to give up journalism.
About five weeks into my first semester, I met with a professor, who’s an ex-reporter, to brainstorm what I could do. He suggested I start a newsletter writing about the journalism industry. So here it is.
I initially covered journalism panels that happened in New York or virtually. But every other journalist was writing about that. So I shifted the focus to student journalism.
The newsletter covers a wide range of stories including funding threats student publications face, mental impact from hate comments, FOIA fights, AI policies within college newsrooms and how student journalists are filling the local news void.
The Nutgraf aims to foster a sense of community among student journalists while bridging the skill gap between student and professional journalism.
But why student journalism?
The Stanford Daily’s reporting led to the president’s resignation. Yale Daily News’ reporting prompted a federal civil rights lawsuit around the university’s mental health practices. The Daily Northwestern’s reporting about hazing practices led to the firing of a football coach.
Student journalism has been in the spotlight in 2024 amid campus encampments nationwide. But the majority in the spotlight are from big-name journalism schools. Other papers are making an impact and driving the conversation in their own communities too.
Did you know The Exponent at Baldwin Wallace University learned its print budget was going to be cut while reporting on the university’s deficit?
Did you know The Pine Needle at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke covered two shootings — for the first time — in less than a month?
Did you know student journalists from The St. Rose Chronicle at the College of Saint Rose had to navigate their college closure as students while having to provide coverage for their community amid the administration’s lack of transparency?
The Nutgraf is intentional about highlighting these stories from lesser-known student media outlets across the United States.
From conversations with student journalists and journalism educators, The Nutgraf learned there's a hunger for a community within this space. There’s also a disparity between student journalism and professional journalism.
🎯 This newsletter aims to serve as that go-to resource, filling the community and the learning gaps.
📰 Read/listen more about The Nutgraf:
Q&A: Why You Should Write for Your College Paper — Your First Byline
I thought running a newsletter about student journalism would be easy — Journalism Innovation
Chatwan Mongkol: Creator, The Nutgraf — The Journalism Salute
Putting student media in the spotlight — Journalism Monday Memo
'The Nutgraf': a student's news about student journalism — Media Management at The New School
Media innovators and pioneers join the eighth cohort of the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program — CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism
Chatwan Mongkol, the Founder of The Nutgraf — PiZetta Media: Content with a Cause
