NCJ: Breaking Down Politics Unbiased and Understandably
November 14, 2019
Most high schoolers don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the world of politics―the Mueller investigation, the 2018 midterm elections, impeachment. After all, having a well-rounded understanding of today’s politics requires more than skimming headlines. However, for a group of students at West High, politics is one of their chief interests. Under the independently-run digital newspaper Neutral Citizen Journalism, otherwise known as NCJ, this group of students has committed themselves to unpacking politics in an unbiased, understandable way for the general public.
Co-owner and writer Lindsey Kim (12) said it best: “The dynamics of government are complex and ever-changing, and growing up in a politically explosive time such as this gives me the opportunity to educate myself while educating others.”
NCJ was founded two years ago by Krischan Jung (12) and Daibik Chakraborty (graduated), both members of speech and debate and interested in politics.
“We wanted a neutral news source for our evidence,” Jung said, “and when we couldn’t find [one] we just decided to make it ourselves.”
Since then, both founders have passed ownership to Aleeza Adnan (12) and Lindsey Kim, who are also members of speech and debate and wrote extensively for NCJ prior to inheriting ownership.
Jung remains an advisor for the organization, expressing his desire for NCJ to continue to “inspire people to open up their perspectives and learn about things neutrally before they start developing their own opinions.”
NCJ has covered a multitude of political topics since its founding. Locally, they’ve written about Torrance city council meetings and West High students’ political activism; nationally, they’ve discussed President Trump’s policies, U.S. elections, and Supreme Court decisions. NCJ even covers international news, like the summits with North Korea to relations with Russia. Despite a massive range of magnitude, all of NCJ’s articles are written and published with the purpose of promoting democracy and informing the public. The writers of NCJ understand the importance of understanding politics on all levels of society, and their primary mission is to serve the public as a reliable source of political news.
“As a writer,” Kim said, “I hope that written work like mine erases the need for fear, anger, and division…little by little, we can all try to contribute to a better government and a better, more informed constituency.”
In an age of fake news, public distrust, and political division, NCJ’s purpose is especially vital. As misinformation runs rampant, NCJ hopes to be a beacon in the darkness, illuminating truth and writing toward a better nation.
You can visit NCJ at neutralcitizenjournalism.org.