Jerry Zremski, director and creator of the Local News Network at the University of Maryland, spent 40 years as a journalist before joining the university. The Local News Network is composed of nearly 100 Journalism students enrolled in Journalism 320, which is taught by Zremski and working journalists from the nearby Washington, D.C. area.
Learning from working journalists is a great opportunity for these students, and Zremski says “There's just so many really high-quality journalists in this town, you know? And a lot of them want to teach. A lot of people want to give back to the younger generation, which is just awesome.”
Last semester the students spent their time creating the School Board Voter guide, where they surveyed candidates across Maryland running for local school boards. Along with vetting the candidates, they had them answer a series of questions. Other student stories have been published in the Washington Post, Baltimore Banner, The Baltimore Sun, and The Frederick News Post.
In discussing this project, Zremski said “it was a great experience for (the students) because they really got to see what it's like to be a journalist because they were out there doing real journalism that was getting published.”