In some very real ways, it's a reflection of the current state of the Fourth Estate. But in some other tangible ways, one of Warwick High School's classes is continuing journalism, perpetuating it.

Depending upon the semester, Taylor Cole's journalism class at Warwick includes 10 to 20 students in grades nine through 12. And despite the absence of a traditional school newspaper, Cole has helped her students come up with some unique ways to write and publish articles as they continue to learn the evolving art of journalism.

"Journalism is fact-based writing about news events," said Cole, who teaches English in addition to her duties as the journalism instructor. "Some of it's based in facts, and sometimes it can be more opinion. At its most basic level, it's the spread of ideas. It's content that's evidence-based, or from truth, presented to a large audience."

Cole's goal is not only for her students to learn a journalistic style of writing, but also for them to improve their overall writing skills. Some of that is accomplished through repetition, fine-tuning and trial and error.

"I want to help them improve their writing and make them more confident," said Cole of her students. "I want to help them have a real-world impact. When you're confident and get your writing out, the community is likely to respond. That only makes them more interested in getting published. Our students also think about where they get their news."

Warwick's journalism class is involved with two separate local media collaborations that allow its students' work to be published. Some submissions are related to school happenings and community activities, while others are more opinion-based.

"Students turn in assignments for class, they're graded, and they have the opportunity to be published," said Cole. "The more real-world experience a student can have, the better. It doesn't hit until there's some sort of response. We have received a lot of positive responses, but there have been some critiques. They've also learned they can change some minds, that their words have power and people are listening."

"Being published was extremely beneficial," said junior Aiden Kost. "It put my work on the radar and made me feel both beyond myself and extremely human all at once. To be seen is one of the most desired things, and I got to experience that all due to my own merit and a great class."

When she can, Cole seeks out her students' published articles and makes sure that they see them.

"When they look at it, you can seem them contemplate it, and then there's a lot of smiles," said Cole. "They have this sense of pride when they see their names in print. They feel like journalists for a while. Some kids don't consider themselves good writers at the start of the class."

"Journalism has allowed me to spread my ideas and beliefs with my community," said junior Zach Weiser, referring to two of his published articles as "some of my proudest works."

Cole said that she didn't know when Warwick's school newspaper was disbanded or why.

"I know it existed at one point," said Cole. "Journalism still has a lot of power in our society and community. I don't want us to think journalism is dead or it's going anywhere. I hope we as journalism individuals can adapt with the times and use them in our curriculum. It becomes, 'How can we create a publication that can present the same topics in a different way?' This really does matter."