The word “unprecedented” is perhaps used too often and too freely to describe our particular moment in time. It’s difficult to compare and contrast one era with another, and ultimately, it’s arguably a futile exercise. What does it mean that our time doesn’t follow the pattern of the past? How is knowing that we’re living in an aberration helpful?

That said, in terms of the state of journalism, this is most certainly not an unprecedented time.

The annals of human history are dominated by huge swaths of time when the flow of information and opinions was anything but free. In fact, one could argue that most of our time on the planet, we have not had the liberties that are under threat today. The norm, in other words, is a world where we don’t know what truth is, whom we should trust, where power resides, or when we should rise or rest.

The beauty, power and sometimes terror of journalism is the antidote to this world. The majesty of journalism lives in the purity of its mission: to give voice to the voiceless, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, to bear witness.

To do their work, journalists abide by a set of protocols and habits that push against self-interest and perhaps even human nature. Journalists are supposed to fact check. They’re supposed to separate the personal from the pursuit of the story. They’re supposed to pursue truth.

Today, though, many citizens have lost faith that journalists abide by those principles, which means that we’re in danger of sliding back to the mean of human history – a time when truth is a matter of tribal affiliation and opinion.

And so, teaching journalism can feel like an act of defiance or, sometimes, nostalgia. It means returning to the habits and regulations that once lifted the free press to its status as the fourth estate – the unofficial and celebrated check on power.

To do so effectively requires a team who buys in, which is why it has been such a privilege to work with this class of 18 journalists who, over the course of three weeks, absorbed  the principles and protocols of journalism in the pursuit of truth.

This website captures some of their best work. They formed teams based on the questions they wanted to investigate, and then they went about the hard work of researching, reporting, and story-telling. I’m sincerely proud of their work, and I hope they are, too.

I’m also hopeful.

This group generated all the energy on their own. They spent hours and hours in unscripted moments, traveling around Cleveland, approaching strangers in public places, calling professionals for comment and clarification. They did  this work because they lost themselves in the purpose of their work.

How else should we feel other than hopeful when we read their words and sense their passion and curiosity?

The historical precedent suggests we might devolve into a truthless, tribalized society. The work these students created in this class suggests that that precedent does not have to be our destiny.

– Terry Dubow, Editor-in-chief of The Gries Center Gazette