Elise Dykstra
Students are sitting in first period Economics class dozing off during the daily news until their attention is grabbed by an enthusiastic, “YES!”, from teacher Brian Fisher. Looking up, they see the words “Mason City, Iowa,” on a national news show.
An avid watcher of “CNN 10” and “The World From A to Z”, Mr. Brian Fisher has been trying to get a shoutout from news anchor Carl Azuz for fifteen years. So when “Mason City High School” appeared on the screen, Fisher was over the moon.
“I was elated,” said Fisher. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 15 years, and it finally happened. So I shouted for joy.”
Azuz was the host for popular news show CNN 10 for 9 years, and as of 2023, started his own news channel titled, “The World From A to Z”. The show covers current events and includes occasional segments on history or geography.
Towards the end of each video, Azuz gives a shout out to several high schools that have subscribed and commented on videos. Today, Mason City was one of the lucky few.
“It really meant a lot to me. Me and Mr. Fisher go way back,” said Allister Palmares, a senior in the class. “It felt like I got shouted out too.”
“It was really special to be there for that moment,” said Kaitlyn Thangaraj, also a senior.
Fisher has always prioritized news in the classroom. “I’ve always taught the news to kids, because a lot of kids don’t watch it, right?” he said. “They’re not informed about what’s going on.”
Fisher also commented on the importance of current events in the subjects he teaches. “There’s always relevant economic news,” said Fisher. “For the classes that I teach, [Azuz] does a really good job of presenting relevant, real-world topics.”
Though it may seem like a classroom staple, Fisher has received pushback for showing the news at a school he worked at prior to teaching at Mason City. However, he says he feels confident in Azuz’s unbiased reporting.
“If parents have ever gotten mad at me for watching him, I’ve literally said, ‘just watch the last week, and tell me if it’s biased or not,’” said Fisher.
“The World from A to Z” is described on its website as a “free, ten minute daily news show with no political agenda,” and has a goal to promote educational consumption of credible news.
Fisher showed today’s news episode in each of his classes, just like every day. This time, though, there was some added excitement.
“Just knowing that, you know, we accomplished that is a cool thing,” said Fisher.