The news on television and radio sometimes can be dominated by wars and global economic troubles. But one U.S. school student from is trying to change that. Max Jones is making a difference by reporting positive stories on his Internet newscast.
Max Jones records an episode of his weekly online broadcast, "Weekend News Today." Jones reports only happy stories. He says that during tough economic times, the American public needs more than a constant barrage of bad news found in most media.
"In these times, people really do need to be inspired and happier than they are because so many things are happening in their lives," Jones said.
By searching online, Jones has assembled a team of teenage reporters in locations around the world.
They file stories from cities such as Chicago, Beijing, Johannesburg and Seoul.
Jones says he hopes to encourage children his age to become more aware of world events. "The world revolves around them is what they think. But there are other people in the world, so I'm more interested in the other people than I am in myself," he explained.
Although not part of a school project, Max Jones records his newscasts in a studio at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando.
He is known as being shy at school. But his mother, Kim Jones, says all that changes when he is reading the news. "He does it very naturally, and I'm very very proud of that," she said.
Max Jones has other interests such as playing the cello, but he says journalism is his passion.
He campaigned for the release of U.S. reporters Euna Lee and Linda Ling who were imprisoned in North Korea. He even received a telephone call from Ling, after she was freed, thanking him for his help.
"I really think that one person can make a difference in the world, just bit by bit," he said.
A popular morning news show on American television inspired Max Jones to start his broadcast.
He now spends about five hours a week working on the program, which he says receives around 5,000 online visits a day.
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