Twelve-year-old John Wortman hosts a newscast from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. John started John News shortly after the pandemic caused his school to stop meeting in person in March, 2020. John was in first grade then; now he is in sixth grade, and John News is still going strong!
John says that he started John News "because I wanted to make people happy -- even during coronavirus time."
YOU SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA
John doesn’t own a phone. So he wanted to explore the issues surrounding adolescents and use of technology, particularly on social media. John News welcomes a fifth-year graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill, who is studying developmental psychology, to help answer some of his questions about teens and use of technology.
JUST CARING FOR OUR NEIGHBORS
Since he was very young, John has been interested in – and committed to – issues around hunger. In this episode, John News visits TABLE, an organization that helps feed kids in John’s local area. John discusses the big issue of hunger in the world, and he finds out how one organization tries to help. John gets thanked for his contributions to fight hunger through sales of his “I ❤️ John News" t-shirts.
THE EXACT SAME THING AS MEN, AND MAYBE EVEN BETTER
John visits with the coach and players from his school’s girl’s basketball team. John News was there to record the girls’ thoughts about teamwork, the importance of sports for girls, and the popularity of women’s sports.
Check THIS out! Another accolade for John and John News! WCHL, the local radio station, named John a "Hometown Hero"! It's worth your time to listen to the audio. Click here.
And you get to hear what John's school principal says about him!
John appeared on WCHL, 97.9 The Hill. He had a lot of fun substituting as the guest for the station's Talking Books segment. Click here to listen.
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
It's a big day for John! At the annual recognition ceremony for his school district, John is one of three students — out of 12,000 in the district — to receive the “Hamlett's Heroes“ award. John News was there to record the superintendent presenting this important award to John.
Help fight hunger. All proceeds go to TABLE, Inc., a nonprofit that feeds hungry kids in John's community. To order your shirt, click here.
May 2, 2021 Reporter Crystal Price interviews John, gives an in-depth account of how John News is created, and reports on why John started his newscast. To view the story, click here.
Visit John's YouTube channel here.
Watch the very first episode of John News! You can see how far John has come.
