This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Susan Davis: Arguably, this happens in Western series, too -- can someone else provide examples?
Tzintzuntzan: It's not quite the same, but in the early episodes of Degrassi The Next Generation, the high school had a student-run TV news show which usually worked like this. (When it didn't, the news show would cause the plot by intrigue among the staff.) By the end of the third season, the writers had practically forgotten it, and the news show became just a prop for exposition.
BT The P: The school paper has a different trope associated with it in America. It involves a central character trying, for one reason or another, to get on the paper, and writing a story that is false or embarassing for one of their friends to do it. F'rinstance, on Family Guy, Meg tries to get on the paper, Peter falsifies her story and "reveals" that Luke Perry is gay. Or on Kim Possible, Ron misquotes Kim on purpose, and says she's romantically pursuing the varsity quarterback, Brick Flagg.
Red Shoe: I dunno. I can think of just about as many examples of the "ridiculously professional school newspaper" in the west as I can of the trope you describe. There were entire seasons of Gilmore Girls devoted to it, quite a few Sabrinas, and, hell, even some Power Rangers examples.
Ununnilium: Don't forget Smallville!
Willy Four Eyes: A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko from Revolutionary Girl Utena? Bwuh? Better fix that right away.
Servbot: ...Putting it back. A-ko, B-ko, C-ko, E-ko, and F-ko are the Shadow Girls from Utena. You know, "I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder?" and "Extra! Extra!"? Announces duels through the usage of shadow play? Gets a radio station in the movie that's staffed by an army of nameless Shadow Girls and comes with its own OS to do commentary on the climactic race?
And while I only have a passing familiarity with Project A Ko, I'm pretty sure the main characters there aren't School Newspaper News Hound types, and that it doesn't have characters named E-ko and F-ko.
Willy Four Eyes: Fair enough. Sorry 'bout that. orz
