Dear Editor:
My name is Owen Chaffin. I am 14 years old and live in Bethel Park. I am just finishing 8th grade and am homeschooled by my mom, Mary Alice Chaffin.
As part of my 8th grade curriculum, we subscribed to your newspaper, the New Pittsburgh Courier, to read during the school year. Our objectives were to 1. Support local journalism. 2. Learn to consume news from a physical newspaper rather than on-line and TV media sources. 3. To learn more about people and communities that may be different than my own. My mom and I both agree that we not only met those goals but have surpassed them.
This year I have read and learned a lot about our Pittsburgh community thanks to reporters like Christian Morrow and Rob Taylor Jr. I look for their bylines and have confidence in their reporting, especially their coverage concerning Antwon Rose Jr. I especially like the “This Week in Black History” feature where I have a chance to learn interesting facts that I was not aware of. Some of them have inspired me to research more about a person or event. Probably the most thoughtful part of your paper for me has been the Forum section. It’s really opened my eyes to other opinions and ways of looking at things. I especially look forward to J. Pharoah Doss and Dr. E. Faye Williams’ pieces. I may not always agree with the commentaries in the Courier but it definitely helps me think harder and smarter about subjects that I don’t have experience with. I like the business section, the voter guides, learning about the Pittsburgh Women and Men of Excellence and the ongoing coverage about things like the countywide citizen review board and the McKeesport Black Student Union. I’ve also attended events that I learned about in the paper.
Technically, this homeschool newspaper unit is over for me now. But I am renewing our subscription because I value your paper and what I gain from it. In our house we have a saying or motto, “Learn not for school, but for life.”
As a White kid from the suburbs, it’s important to me that I keep learning about current events in the African American community that I maybe wouldn’t understand or learn about without help from the Courier. This is learning that will help me beyond just school and well into life.
Thank you to you and your staff for the hard work it takes to put out a quality publication that brings us weekly local Pittsburgh news and continues to carry out your historical mission. We appreciate you.
Owen Chaffin
Bethel Park
PS: More Pirates coverage, please! Let’s Go Bucs!
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