Journalism that's four-feet high

In the second week of March, it was announced that all the public schools in San Francisco would remain shut to slow down the progress of the novel Coronavirus infection. San Francisco's public schools have about 57,000 students. What was initially supposed to be a three-week-long lockdown soon turned into an indefinite one, throwing the life of schoolkids out of gear. "I realised there were hundreds of kids in my neighbourhood of Bernal Heights who suddenly had nothing to do. They were bored, listless even, and also baffled about what was going on outside their homes. At the same time, they were curious about what was happening inside their homes and in their heads, and how they felt about being cooped up," shares Chris Colin, a resident of San Francisco for 20 years.

Delilah Kaden, 14, of San Francisco, contributes to the paper. She has submitted a Literary Roundup with book recommendations for both children and teens

Colin, a full-time journalist, sent out an email to his friends, announcing the launch of a local paper for children. "There were dozens of replies the next morning. By the end of the day, there were hundreds. And by end of that week, I realised this was not going to be just a neighbourhood paper."

Chris Colin

Six Feet of Separation, a monthly publication, was born in March. The paper is edited by him, and is rightly called "a newspaper for our troubled times". Colin says, "There was so much conversation happening at the grown-up level; we adults were discussing the pandemic and how it has affected us on a daily basis. But children don't have an outlet. I thought someone needed to ask kids how they felt about this whole thing. I wanted to give them a voice."

Initially, Colin got stories from across California and called the contributors "foreign correspondents". Soon, word spread and he started receiving articles from across the globe. "In the beginning, I thought I will print serious articles on anxiety or the dark thoughts they were having in the lockdown. But I was surprised at the humorous content I got from them, instead. Some were even sending banana bread recipes that they tried in their free time. I kept my journalistic impulse aside and decided that if I get a lot of jokes from writers, it would be a 'silly month'. Our theme would change as per the entries," he adds.

While many of the newspaper's pieces are inspired by the pandemic, others draw from daily life in Bernal Heights. Griffin Morgan, 14, created a map of Cortland Avenue businesses, colour-coded to indicate which businesses were open, closed, or operating under altered hours. "I was surprised when Griffin went out and actually procured this information. The map was quite detailed and very helpful. This is something what you and I would call data journalism. He has everything that takes to become a good journalist."

With five editions already out, Colin now plans on broadening their work. "My secret plan is to push some of the kids who think they are confident enough to step out of their homes and do legit reporting. Adults like to think of what is going to happen to their future, how the virus will impact their businesses or lives, but kids think of more immediate effects. They are focused on the present. I think when we look back at these editions and read their thoughts on the pandemic, it will be similar to the literature by children written during war times. The meaning of this newspaper will become clearer then."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news