Closing ceremony comments

Here's a video with highlights from the closing ceremony. I focused on testimonials about the program and its benefits.

Is it a story?

I don't actually report back to school until August 5th, but I was up in my classroom today, finishing up some last minute stuff and trying to get myself organized. Because I took on Yearbook, I've gained 5 computers, a box of broken cameras, a giant teacher desk, a monstrosity of a filing cabinet and approximately 24892039488539843498 old yearbooks from around the country that span the course of the last 35 years. The organizational oasis I had created for myself before school let out was long gone.

In addition to finding piles of Yearbook crap all over my classroom, and my desks put back in some sort of cracked out jigsaw puzzle version of the sketch I left behind, I also came across two very interesting voicemails. I actually only checked my messages because I was meeting with my yearbook rep, and she was running late, so I wanted to make sure she was still coming. So, I checked my messages expecting there to be a call from her, saying she was cancelling, or in an accident, or held up at another appt, whatever. But I got something else entirely....

And I find the timing on this... so odd. Over the last two weeks, we heard a lot of people tell us about their investigative stories that won them awards. Or their coverage of events that did wonders for revamping their papers. Or the little bit of digging that lead to a huge discovery. And the whole time, I'm sitting there thinking, "How often does a story like that come along? And really, how much investigative journalism can a high school kid do?" I mean, it would be awesome to scoop the paper on some amazing piece of news, but I feared my kids were considerably more interested in themselves than the world around them.

But it was like the journalism gods answered my prayers, or something. I had 2 messages on my voicemail (both like 10 minutes long) from a "concerned citizen"... I can't go too far into detail, because after sharing this information with one of my Asst. Principals, I've been asked to keep things on the D.L. until we have a chance to look into a little more closely. But basically, I have what sounds like an elderly man begging the newspaper (the high school paper, at that), to tell his story. He says he was in a severe car accident, that was actually an attempt on his life. It was a cover up because someone was trying to get rid of him because he was going to expose the fact that the junior college system in California was actually a covert marijuana smuggling operation. He was so severely injured in the accident that he was actually pronounced dead, but then was revived enroute to the hospital. He suffered severe brain injuries and had to relearn basically everything. He claims that he had a shot at swimming in the Olympics, but all hope was lost because of this accident. He also alluded to the fact that his parents may have been killed in the accident. He left me his name, his mailing address and his phone number. He claims he is a graduate of Orange Glen HS. When I attempted to return his call today, I got a voicemail requesting A) Prayers B) a good woman to marry him and C) money (in that order, surprisingly). All of this is very strange, I realize. But honestly, it's too insane to make up. I have a good imagination, but I don't think I could have cooked this up.

So what do I do? I've given his name and contact info to my AP, but I don't think this guy is going to stop calling. I'm meeting with my newspaper editors in the next week or two, but I don't know if I should put them in touch with some guy who could very well be a total whack job. I guess that's another area where HS journalism differs from professional journalism---our reporters are still kids, and we don't want to put them in harm's way.

I've googled the guy myself, and not found much. I think the only real hope is to find out when he went to OG, start looking through yearbooks and archived newspapers to see if there is even a story here. I mean, it's sensational to claim that your car accident was actually an attempt on your life... And obviously, we wouldn't print anything like that unless we could prove it.

I feel like this has the potential for a great teaching moment... But I need some direction. Help, y'all!

Jessica Young

Orange Glen High School

Escondido, Calif.

Lesson Plans

Okay so my plan is to create a jeopardy game as a review for final assesment of AP style, that way I can work on the point I am weakest at or prehaps an AP scavanger hunt using the book.

What are your plans like?

Back at Summer School

Virginia Barr
Turlock, CA

Back in the saddle today, teaching summer school. Friday night I came home slept for 5 hours and then moved everything I owned the next day, the high was 105.

I am in my new classroom and sad as I am to say it, I want summer school to end so that I can get the lead out on journalism. Three more weeks before I have the place all to myself. Then I have three weeks before school starts. It just does not seem like enough time. But I know that my staff and I can get it done.

One problem, my paper literally is dependant on a magnetic white board, but those in here are not magnetic...any suggestions?

Alma brings down the house

Even the New York Times has issues with Copyright law

As a former news photographer I still follow a photography groups for sports photographers called Sportsshooter.com. One of the members there brought up to our attention that a recent column by Sonia Zjawinski over at the New York Times openly advocated people appropriate images from the web (specifically Flickr) and use them as they wish - for things like decorating her home. She completely ignores copyright law - but her own images on Flickr are marked "All rights reserved" - so I would bet if you appropriated her writing and photos she would have issues with it.

Then she wrote a follow-up post where she supposedly makes an apology for her first column, then parades out a few "experts" to support her argument that what she is talking about it a gray area.

It just made our time with Mike Heistand all the more important as he explained the real reasons behind the laws and that asking permission is always required. Thanks again Mr. Heistand.

Jeff Jones

Miyamura High School

Gallup, NM

Is it all over...?

Kye and Denise pause for a photo at the Old Spaghetti Factory

Yesterday came and went like a blur. With the 6 hour wait at the airport, the ride home and all the unpacking, it came to me that the Reynolds Institute was over.

This morning, I got up and rode my my bike down toward the ocean, past Golden Gate Park, through the sleepy avenues, to my favorite coffee shop - not Starbucks - surprise.

The fog was at the edge of the horizon, and temperatures were a good 30 degrees cooler than mornings in Phoenix. And we are in a heat-wave by our standards!

I felt like something was missing. I kept myself busy all day, grocery shopping, returning emails, visiting my parents' grave, picking up my wife at work, wedding banquet this evening.

I have this urge to get back to my classroom and start setting up charts, draft letters to the administration, put together rubrics and flowcharts for how the journalism program at our school was going to be run.

In that way, the Institute is not over. The work starts the day we come back. We can start today, tomorrow, or in August after we take a little nice vacation with our loved ones; but all of us will take what we learned and gained and do incredible things with our students and the communities we reach.

Imagine the imprint 35 high school journalism advisers spread throughout the country could have on the future!

And I want to say again how it was such an honor to have the opportunity to attend the Reynolds Institute, to be on the ASU campus, to learn from Steve, Alan and the prestigious team of presenters, to have the support of Diana, Anita, Monique and the other hosts; and of course to share the times with all of my fellows.

Oh snaps!
Now I remember what's keeping me up... We still need to submit our lesson plan! Well, to bed and work on it tomorrow morning!

Back in Texas and missing the Fellows...

It's a little after 1:00 a.m. here in Texas and I've finally unpacked. After telling my mother all that I could remember about the Institute, I sat down and began going over the ton of valuable information I stored away in my carry-on luggage. 

Just wanted to say it again, if I didn't emphasize it during today's final luncheon: "I enjoyed the opportunity to meet each and every educator that attended the Institute, and I learned so much that I will begin to apply immediately in the classroom." To say that I feel privileged to have been selected would be an understatement. I had an awesome time, and I will never forget the fellows.

It took less than two weeks for me to develop friendships that I anticipate will last a lifetime. It is also my prayer that each of you has returned home safely by now, with little to no airport frustration.  I hope that our paths do cross once again someday. Best of luck to each and every one of you with the upcoming school year. 

Ariawna Talton

Molina High School

Dallas, TX

**You can always keep up with me and with Beyonce via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or at Missari85@gmail.com!!! 

Final questions answered by panel, institute fellows

The final morning of the High School Journalism Institute has been the time for asking the questions that have been dogging participants.

Many questions have flown around the room with topics ranging from staff motivation techniques to sharing photos between yearbook and newspaper.

I found the discussion from Alan Weintraut about staff development to be particularly engaging. I have always developed the production schedule but after hearing Alan, I think I will meet with my editors before school starts and have them develop the schedule and begin planning staff development/team building activities.

The participants' comments on the various topics have also been very engaging and I appreciate the opportunity to listen to how others have tackled the sensitive issues we all deal with.

Trampus Willis
South Side High School
Fort Wayne, Ind.

Fellows go out into the real world

Throughout the past two weeks the 35 of us have spent the majority of our days thinking journalism.  I think tomorrow when we're back in "the real world" I will go through institute withdraw.  

The most valuable lessons that I have learned came from producing the institute publication.  I learned what it was like being a student on a deadline, and how this is completely different from the feeling that comes from being an adviser on a deadline.  I learned about that feeling of agonizing over a lead that just doesn't seem to get better, as well as settling for good enough in the minutes before deadline.  Most importantly, I learned about the friendships that are made with a shared feeling of stress and a common goal.  

Ashley Barnes

Bel Air High School

Bel Air, Md.

Exciting game

Seat of the pants photography, not the best way to get images, but at the ballgame it was nice to get images and put to practice what we've learn about newsgathering (kind of) and Photoshop.

Mark Webber
Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications and Fine Arts
http://my.hsj.org/tx/laredo/vmt
Laredo, Texas

Twitter Frenzy

Ah, Social Networking. Last night, if you were signed up to any type of social networking, be it Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, etc., then you surely saw the impact social networking has on the world.

In minutes, I knew the fate of Michael Jackson, and the ailments that lead to his death.

Friends,news organizations, and bloggers were all constantly updating me on my social network media sites, to the minute.

It is incredible to see the power of technology surface and play such an important role in our communication. Take a step back and analyze this situation. How can you be part of this social phenomenon and use it to your advantage with your newspaper.

The possibilities are endless. Start a Twitter account for your newspaper, have your students sign up and keep them updated with what is going on in your school. Have a Twitter link on your online publication. In essence, do as much as you can to shamelessly promote yourself.

And, if you don't understand the world of social networking, ask a friend, or go online to YouTube for tutorials.

Many comment that news print is dieing. I don't see it this way, it will die if we let it die. We can either grow and improve with technology or let it defeat us. I say grow.

My favorite lesson

I'd like to take time to personally note that my far favorite lesson of the institute was that of Patrick Shannahan, Photographer for The Arizona Republic.

I personally enjoy photography as a hobby and recommend to everyone reading, they give it a shot. Start of with a simple digital camera and READ your manual.

As Shannahan said, most people don't take the time to read their manual, and therefore don't know the capabilities of their cameras.

Tell me, why do you go out and spend $200 or more on a camera to put it on AUTOMATIC?! If this is the case, then just spend $80 and you will achieve the same effect. Technology is expensive, make sure you get your moneys worth.

Once you get in the habit of taking pictures, you can develop your own lesson plan on photography. Think how much fun this would be for your students. Everyone enjoys pictures, but think of the added benefit you can give your students by teaching them the correct techniques. No more myspace pictures (pictures students take while holding the camera at their own arm's length and snapping away).

There are many lesson plans on myhsj.com on photojournalism. Take a look and have fun.

Final thoughts

Thursday afternoon, as I finally finished my institute story, Denice Westover asked me what I had learned in my two weeks here. I stumbled over a response as a wave of information and panic came over me. Frankly, these two weeks have been overwhelming! I learned typography terms that I never even knew existed. I learned how to write an effective lede. I learned what it means to “write on deadline.” I have learned so much that I don’t think my brain has had time to catalog everything!

That’s when I realized that the key is to set SMART goals. Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Realistic. Timely.

There is no possible way for me to turn around my journalism program in just one year, nor should I try. The key is to choose a few key ideas to implement. If I can successfully achieve a few goals each year, I believe I can build the journalism program I have always dreamed of within 5 years (OK, that’s probably a tab ambitious =). Luckily, I still have seven weeks to decide on my goals for this year. No matter the goal, I just have to make sure they’re smart. Thank you, ASNE, for giving me the tools necessary to begin this process.

Sharon Nolan
North Canyon H.S.
Phoenix, Ariz.

Social circles and your newsroom.

The general behavior, manners, decency and kindness bring persons closer at first. The mutual understanding takes place as time passes on, when each one observes each other’s real activities.

Some dissolve friendship when it stops fetching benefits. The former one proceeds on mutual trust and confidence whereas the latter one goes on exploitation. In friendship both benefits and losses are shared equally; otherwise, it is not at all called as a friendship.

It was incredible to see in the past two weeks, the different circles that formed at the institute. Some were the passionate investigative journalists at heart, others were the laid back group, and others were the all girls club.

If anything, we must examine how these circles had their unique qualities. This serves as a lesson to all of us, because no matter how old we get, these circles will always come to be. Put 35 people in a room and this will inevitably happen.

The same thing happens in our classrooms, and our newsrooms. Take a step backward and observe, and make sure to identify your circles. This can save you countless headaches come deadline time. Take advantage of being able to analyze your students and see how you can accommodate these groups to your benefit. The leaders will always be identifiable, seek them out, work with them and they will work with their individual circles.

Remember, work smarter, not harder!

STRIKE

Tom Blodgett, Assistant Sports Editor of The Arizona Republic shared his insight with our class yesterday and allowed us to venture into a world that I am not very familiar with: sports writing.

In his class, I was able to get wonderful insight to what could be many story ideas for our high school newspaper. I learned that not everything has to be about winning.

Our students can feel like winners by doing a profile story on them, on their team, on their commodore, and even on their training.

Focusing on winning and 1st place trophies will not motivate our students, but focusing on their talents and their potential will. We have to remember that we have to be creative each and every day. Focusing on how we can improve our student population is one of them.

As adviser's for a school newspaper we have a major responsibility upon our shoulders. We have to make sure to use it wisely.

I ask from every single one of you reading today to sit down, and think, how can you help out your sports team, without throwing a single ball?

Dealing with the Boss

Yesterday, after a couple of days of comtemplating how I would write my email, I finally had the courage to e-mail my boss and ask for materials, software and supplies for my journalism program for the upcoming school year.

Having Kristin Gilger's, Assistant Dean for Professional Programs at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication of Arizona State University,lesson, was a great source of information.

I am very appreciative of having had the opportunity to have Gilger come and address our class. Her insight gave me a new perspective into my own boss, and how I could easily put myself in my principal's shoes.

Needless to say, now I await an email back. The easy part was asking for materials, the hard part will actually be getting them.

What's Next?

This experience has been by far the best professional development program that a new or struggling journalism teacher could possibly receive. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The the question is, "What are you going to do when you get home?"

In a short poll given Thursday evening, several attendees were asked that very question. Many of the same answers were echoed throughout.

For some, there is the gathering of all the notes and typing them so that they can be legible. Second, make a plan and determine how the information will be used and last, in some cases, deal with the problem of equipment and gathering support.

This video was compiled as a fun way to remember each other and possibly think about what comes next.

(Apologies go to those attendees from the institute who were not interviewed due to lack of time.)

Video by
Denice Westover
Snowflake High School
Snowflake, Arizona

Extra innings

Score one for citizen journalism and Debbie Aughey's fast draw. By the 11th inning, however, we were too tired to stand up for our moment on the big screen.

Steve Elliott

Arizona State University

Phoenix

High school sports reporting: Remember these are children, not pros.

Five seconds to go. It all depends one player. One shot. One chance. He shoots and he misses. What will be the headline in the school paper?

Tom Blodgett, Sports Editor for The Arizona Republic gave teachers pointers on how to handle this and other sensitive situations while reporting sports. He said that we should remember that these are still children with sensitive feelings and we should not threat them as we would a professional, or even a college player.

That is such good advice that I will not only stress to my journalism students, particularly, but all of my students. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment and want to write about how the player blew it for everyone. We forget it is a pretty big deal to play in front of a stadium full of people either pulling for you or wanting your head on a platter, depending on how the game goes. So he missed the shot...life will go on...let it go and get over it.


Alma A. McDonald
Hattiesburg High School
Hattiesburg, Miss.

My ASNE highlight

(Kye Haina and Anna Horton shoot interview for the multimedia assignment)

I came to the Reynolds program looking forward to tackling writing and reporting. I have spent the last twenty plus years working in film and video. Even though I am no where near close to knowing all there is to know I wanted writing to be my focus during this time. 

One of the highlights though was working with Anna Horton during the multi-media assignment. She had such a good time and did such a great job shooting the pedi cab piece I felt like I was working with one of my students. I try to give a bit of info and then take a hands-off approach. The pedi-cab driver commented that an Arizona Republic photographer had been shooting with him the prior week and did a lot of the same shots. What a great complement for Anna.

Mark Silverstein

Douglas High School 

Douglas, Arizona

In defense of Twitter

Farrah Fawcett, RIP. Michael Jackson dead. I just confirmed via the LA Times and CNN that Jackson had died even though TMZ posted it an hour ago. My Twitter feed broke the story and sent me to reliable media to verify it.

This seems to be the message that Carol Schwalbe, associate professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU, and many other speakers impressed upon us this week. While attending the institute we experienced the Twitter revolution of the Iranian elections and just the normal tweets of every day human existance so provokingly reflected in the video about Twitter we viewed yesterday.

Slate's Cultural Gabfest #39 discussed this in detail. It is a 39 minute podcast and the dicussion is the first topic, perhaps 10 minutes. It is worth a listen. Steven Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner, all writers for Slate, discuss the following articles in recent media:

• Brad Stone and Noam Cohen's article in the New York Times about the Internet's role in protests by Iranians.
• Conor Friedersdorf's blog post on the Atlantic's Special Ideas Report about Twitter and Iran.
• Simon Robinson's article in Time wonders whether the election in Iran may have been rigged.
• In Slate, Jordan Ellenberg looks closely at the math behind the allegations.
• Ken Ballen and Patrick Doherty write in the Washington Post that Ahmadinejad's win may be legit.

(I copied and pasted the citations from the Cultural Gabfest page but relinked the articles.)

Debbie Aughey
The Spartan Chronicles
Campbell High School
Smyrna, Ga.
dlaughey on Twitter


I

A few thoughts on research and writing

We have been told over the past couple of weeks that the keys to effective writing are the same no matter what format or technology we are writing for. Keep it short and concise and stick with the facts. 

This last year, my first year as a teacher, I did teach a bit of journalism. We discussed a few basic techniques, churned out a hand few of written stories and went out on at least two dozen shoots.

My background is more film and video production so we spent a lot of time working on those types of projects. We did do a lot of interviewing as part of our shooting. From time to time we composed questions in advance but a lot our approach was to let our curiosity guide us and we formulated our questions during the shoot and even while conducting the interview. I asked the students not to rely on notes and use more of their observational skills and base questions on what they observed.

I produced a long-form documentary in Mexico City in 1995. This was my first attempt at doing so. The event I covered was a cross cultural performance and installation art exhibit in Mexico City.  I had my crew in place and was excited about this undertaking. The crew and I spent the first couple of days simply observing and getting to know the artists and talk abut how we are going to proceed. 

For our final project I asked my students to take a similar approach, not to just rush in and make their film. The groups that did turned out projects that were incomplete and not well thought out. Those that took their time fared much better. During this project I stressed that the key to good writing is the in the rewriting. Film, being a visual medium it is best to show action not have your actors talk it out. Have them leave not say they are leaving, as an example.

The students story boarded, wrote their first draft and then did rewrites, some at least 2 times.

Even though we were writing short fictional pieces the "rules" of writing applied.

Mark Silverstein

Douglas High School 

Douglas, Arizona

Let's go Mets!!!

Ok, so its not a Met game but on the day that we're going to a Diamondbacks game, (I am SOOOOOOO excited...I freaking love baseball!) we get a crash course in sports reporting.

Very practical, very straight to the point. Here are some important things I learned...
1. I don't know what "enterprise" and "advances" means or what "boosterism" is
2. I didn't realize how much deadlines affect sports reporting
3. I'm still confused about Hazelwood...how do they distinguish when its school supported or when it is in the public domain?
4. There is so much to write about...I NEVER covered sports in my school because there isn't much to cover and school spirit is really low. Now I know exactly what to have my students write about!

Melissa Cordova
Eli Whitney Technical High School
Hamden, Conn.

Absolutely agnostic = democratization of journalism

(At left- Jason Manning reflects the digital divide)

Jason Manning, ASU’s director of student media, seamlessly balances the art of storytelling and the craft of teaching. Using the best teaching techniques designed to keep our interest, he had us read and discuss compelling quotes and watch and interact with multimedia clips. No one in the room will forget “Googlezon” from Epic or the panoramic photo from the Chandra Levy crime scene from his work with the Washington Post.

I learned that I am a sideways driver that contributes to 66 percent of the traffic to the washingtonpost.com site as I point and click on a couple stories per day originating from their staff. I wonder how many people are driven to our site and for what reason.

When he asked if data was journalism, I think it depends of the era of journalism. One hundred years ago, journalists filtered data for their readership, which was comprised mostly of literate white males. The audience, purpose and tone were a given. With today’s transparency and availability, professional journalists have to mine unbelievable amounts of data and present it to a diverse audience so that it doesn’t skew towards a certain bias. This is quite an undertaking.

Manning urged us to teach media literacy. I have been thinking of renaming my course just that since it encompasses all the publishable platforms. His basic skills can be easily integrated into my program.
• Basics of shooting and recording video
• Audio and video editing
• On-camera story synopsis (4 bullet summary)
• HTML and data skills

Debbie Aughey
The Spartan Chronicles
Campbell High School
Smyrna, GA
dlaughey on Twitter

Stats, self promotion and sports in journalism

The Arizona Republic's Tom Blodgett presented on the topic of sports journalism today at the Reynolds Institute.  He briefly mentioned ethics in sports journalism.  As the adviser of the newspaper as well as a coach at my school sometimes it's difficult to know if I'm shamelessly promoting my sports or encouraging my students to be good journalists.  I tend to encourage coverage of topics and sports in which I'm most invested.  How do you avoid doing this?

Also, I know with many high school sports, student managers keep stats for the team.  A coach usually does not have time to do all of this during a game/meet/match.  I have found that although these stats often require verification, team managers can make great resources for student journalists.  If nothing else, they usually can explain how scoring works...usually.   

Ashley Barnes

Bel Air High School

Bel Air, Md.

Sports Reporting for Students like Me

Often times I have wondered about sports writers.  What inspires these journalists?  How do they gather ideas?  I mean a game is a game and yes, stuff happens, but is there really a story beyond that.  The answer...YES and thanks to Tom Blodgett of The Arizona Republic, I know how to instruct my students how to find them.

Several ideas Blodgett offered to cover in the sports section:

• coaching changes
• recruiting
• awards
• features
• much, much more

He also cautioned about the ethical dilemmas that sports reporters/editors at high school newspaper face.  Upon listening to his presentation, I am happy to "blog" that I think I know how to accurately guide my students through sports reporting.

Marc Garcia

Sunset High School

Dallas, TX 

Manning multimedia

Jason Manning, the Washington Post politics editor, spoke about using multiple platforms in reporting. It was a great presentation, Manning sure knows his history. He ain't scared about the future either. The unknown seems to invigorate the reporting process. New rules are being invented.

People complain about kids not reading, getting dumber. They said the same thing when the novel became popular. Their kids couldn't read Latin. Doesn't matter. Old ways die, that's the way it is. When our kids run the show, some of them won't know comma splices. If enough of them don't know it, it will no longer matter.

Some of the ways people are now reporting seem very novelistic to me. 360 degree camera shots showing instead of telling, referential asides, video footnotes.

The Chandra Levy Story is a perfect example of this new media.

Embrace it. It's exciting.

Adam Haller
Nortwestern High School
Baltimore, Md

Don't face plant

Embarrassed myself yet again -- took a dive in the middle of the street. I was lucky to be in the company of three gentlemen who swooped to my rescue (thanks guys!), and rescued my pile of papers and wounded dignity. (I told them if I'd known there would be such suave gentlemen around I would've swooned sooner.) 

There's a pothole if you cross from the corner of Taylor across kitty-corner to the Sheraton. Two of my esteemed colleagues at Reynolds have also taken a dive. One was much more scraped than I (I won't reveal any ids.). 

It'd be good if ASU could take a look at that area -- there's also a small-in-diameter hole in close proximity to the pothole that looks like a sinkhole wannabe.  The pothole is not deep -- only about 2 inches, but big enough to twist an ankle.  

Lynn Wolf Dulcie

Rock Hill High School

Rock Hill, SC

Inventing diversity

What is the difference between making sure you cover everything that is going on, as Rick Rodriguez said and being inclusive in order to report truthfully as Sharon Bramlett-Solomon stated?

"Get broad in terms of culture; reflect the reality." Is it reality if we have to go out of our way to find it?

On the one hand, I understand how you need to report everything so that you get a wider range of readers and a more realistic sense of what is going on in the world.

But on the other hand, do you actually go out of your way to find the one white guy on the basketball team when the other players on the team are all black?

Or do you throw away your picture of the woman in the soup kitchen line because she's wearing a hijab and wait for the white woman because you don't want to perpetuate a stereotype of the kinds of people that go to a soup kitchen?

I have issue with that. As I said in class, and I will pick on Puerto Ricans again, if 25 Puerto Ricans are in the news for rape, murder and drug dealing and 2 white guys, is that the fault of the media that no Puerto Rican put himself in a position to be represented in a positive light? Do I just go and report the 2 white guys and cut the 25 Ricans?

On the flip side, if I post a list of the most successful CEOs and they're 93% white, does that mean I'm slanting the media?

I just feel that if you go out of your way to look for that obscure picture to be sure you're showing everything and everyone, you're fabricating diversity that isn't even there.

And maybe, just maybe, if we stop coddling people so much and make an effort to present the raw truth for what it is and stop worrying about PC, what we say or how we say it, then it could be possible for these people who don't like the way they're being shown in the media to do something about it.

Guess what I'm going to say the next time someone says, "Hey, there aren't really any positive role models in the Puerto Rican Community!"

I will be able to say, "sure there are, and here's my story."

And perhaps that will inspire others to say, "I don't like how Puerto Ricans are perceived, let me do something about it!"

Perhaps instead of teaching our kids to go out and find obscurity in the name of diversity, we should teach them to analyze diversity in the news and evaluate the impact it has on their own self-image or view of the world.

Melissa Cordova
Eli Whitney Technical High School
Hamden, Conn.

It is in the attitude

I want to be a Stardust teacher!

Working with Dave Cornelius is everything I hope for when I am asking for help. He is gentle, thorough and supportive.

But, first and foremost, he is a fountain of information. I found from an interview I did with him that he immediately sees things in a visual manner.

It may be the years spent dealing in a visual medium or it may be his bent on birth. But like his points about the page of any news delievery, he is: visual; undated daily; quick; flexible; possessing of a great reservoir of information; and permanent in his influence.

But, in addition, he is a bit of a hobbit. He has a sprite spirit and an intensity that moves his listener. Dave is totally pleased with his life choices and enjoys each day he wakes up or so he told me. But judging from his demeanor and the picture below, I think it is a pretty accurate assessment. He is a link to a critical site.




See, he's a hobbit in not so much disguise.








Carol Clarke
Visalia, Ca
Mt.Whitney High School

Sports writing made simple

Thursday afternoon's presentation on high school sportswriting truly hit home for me, as I've served as a high school sports editor, a sports columnist in college and now a freelance sports photographer.

While my school is not known for excelling in the sports field, I found it an enjoyable challenge to help my students seek sports features. Yes, our football team went 0-10 this year, but our readers still needed to know about the defensive end that was practically raising his younger siblings and working full-time hours at a local store.

We even found it interesting to do an in depth feature on cheerleading, which most don't even consider to be a sport. I do believe we changed the views of many about cheerleading once they read about the long hours before and after school, the high-jumps, the leg lifts and the many bumps and bruises. 

The star athlete on my campus happened to be a female student, standing shorter that five feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds. Her initials are O.V., and I'm sure many of the readers here have probably seen or heard of her in the news. Small frame and all, she took on competitors larger than herself and walked away with 51 medals for her high school career. 

O.V. and her family moved from Mexico to Texas when she was two, and because of immigration laws she was unable to accept the full scholarship she received to attend a Texas institute. Regardless of our individual beliefs on the subject of immigration, O.V. has a very compelling story. She recently graduated and this story developed after our last issue was sent to print, but we will definitely be following up on her in future issues.

I've never had a problem with developing sports story ideas, but listening to Tom Blodgett has made me even more curious about sports reporting. Just because we may teach at schools that have less than impressive sports programs, that doesn't mean we just ignore sports and the children devoted to them.  Even in losing, there is definitely a story...

Ariawna Talton

Molina High School

Dallas, TX

Some things will never change

Jason Manning, Director of Student Media at ASU, talked to the assembled Fellows of the Reynolds Institute on Thursday morning about The Future of Journalism. He brought in a few pertinent quotes about the changing platforms of journalism, but my favorite one was the one from Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the owner of the New York Times: "I am absolutely agnostic regarding methods of distribution." He said that if someone would invent the technology for it, he would have no problem beaming news content directly to someone's cortex. Isn't that what iPods & earbuds do? Just kidding. Sort of.

I think this is probably the healthiest mindset for a journalist to have. We don't know how things will change, we just know they will change. What doesn't change, according to Manning, is the need for:

• good writing
• multimedia skills
• ethics
• diversity

There's more, but frankly, I'm perilously close to information overload. Just chew on this bit for awhile whilst I regroup.

Juli Stricklan
Rigby High School
Rigby, Idaho

The Future is Upon Us

Better integration of all media were Jason Manning's parting words as he addressed the Reynolds Institute fellows Thursday morning.  Manning is the ASU Student Media Director and provided insightful information about where we are now and where we are heading in terms of media storytelling.  

In order to be successful, Manning said we must incorporate media literacy lessons into current high school instruction, especially as it relates to digital media.  I wholeheartedly agree with him.  Many of our students know all the ins and outs of their cellular phones, but when it comes to formal instruction and computer programs which will aid them in their future careers, they simply don't have nor get these skills.  Granted, many schools don't have the resources to provide such curricula.  However, too many times teachers themselves don't know how to utilize media in their classroom and therefore don't push students to learn it.

During Manning's presentation, he also showed a great piece of media named EPIC.  Although a few years old and based purely on fiction, it is an accurate representation of what COULD one day happen.

It is definitely something to think about.

Marc Garcia

Sunset High School

Dallas, TX 

What is good?

Michael Roberts (pictured right) of The Arizona Republic used great examples to define what is good. He emphasized SMART standards.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Action-oriented
• Realistic
• Time-dated

He applied these standards to short video clips and slide shows. He showed two videos and explained why he considered them to be good. This included close and candid shots and capturing subjects in their natural setting. One video shot in a prison did not show the subjects in a natural setting, but the setting was appropriate for the storyline.

Roberts applied the same standards to slide shows. He said the biggest problem people have in putting a story together is in planning. He suggested story mapping and using 5 steps of writing news.

• Idea
• Reporting
• Organization
• Draft
• Revision

I'll use all his ideas in the classroom.

Mark Salvatore
Saint Joseph Academy
Brownsville, TX

Learning on the light rail

I am a naturally inquisitive person (some people might/do say I'm just nose-y), and this has contributed to some interesting moments on the light rail this past week.

For 11 days, our highly accredited instructors have been telling us that the idea and planning end is where the emphasis needs to be when reporting. So maybe that's my excuse for approaching strangers on the light rail and striking up conversations.

I met a very nice young man last night while waiting for the train. He was dressed in slacks and a shirt, all pressed and neat, and he was very forthcoming. I found out he works security at the airport and will be a senior this fall at a charter school. I asked him questions about what he liked about his school and we had a great discussion. We talked for 10 minutes before our ride came, and then, to my surprise, he took a seat next to me on the train, and we talked until I exited.

I am not writing a story about him or anything, but it reinforced that we have opportunities to connect, to learn, to apply knowledge every day, everywhere. We need to help our students understand this, and perhaps get them to put their cell phones down for a minute when they are looking for story ideas and angles.

Stories are everywhere.

Teresa Gallegos
Blackfoot High School
Blackfoot, Idaho

Journalism prepares students for the real world

Because at the high school level most of us can't timely report on a specific game, we have to come up with other ways to tell the stories of athletes. With assistant sports editor from The Arizona Republic Tom Blodgett's help, I think we brainstormed some great ones that we can take back to the classroom: the personality profiles, coaching changes, recruiting (and the legalities behind some of it), awards, unsavory findings, the JV, freshman and women teams (not to be forgotten), making professional sports relevant to our specific students and high schools, etc. Blodgett (pictured right) made a point of reminding us that at the professional level, reporters have to cover stories from different angles.

Having our students develop various angles to cover sports, since they can't cover them in the traditional format, is such a great learning experience for them. If they do go into the professional field of journalism, they will be asked consistently to devise a new and unique angle on the same old topic. If they don't go into the field, no doubt they will enter a job that will require them to have new and cutting-edge ideas. Yet again, being members of the high school journalism class will prepare students for the real world.

Anna Horton
Highland High School
Gilbert, Ariz.

Epic 2014: the future of news

Jason Manning presented us with some very interesting information on where storytelling is heading. With the ways in which information is being distributed constantly changing, many people have shared their concerns for what might happen next. Manning showed us the future through the eyes of the video "Epic 2014" which presented the changing world of technology in a new light.

This film shows us a lot about the history of the internet as well as the possible future. The lines blurred between truth and fiction which was very enlightening. I'm looking forward to showing this film to my high school students because I think they will get as much out of it as I did. It offers a different side to the way things are constantly changing, and I hope it would make them really think about the way things are as well as how they could be.

There are plenty of readers who find their news from the daily print paper, and there are many others who find their news on-line. In the end, it doesn't matter how the information is presented. It only matters that readers can find the information they want and get what they want out of it.

Rebecca Jackson
Douglas County High School
Douglasville, Ga.

Sports writing for high school

The group of ASNE Reynolds High School journalism institute participants heard from Tom Blodgett, the assistant sports editor at The Arizona Republic, today on the topic of sports writing for high school papers.

The most interesting comments were about how to write when your high school teams are not successful. This applies to my staff and my school. My students focus more on the athletes than the scores and records. There will always be at least one interesting person, even on a losing team. At my school we have foreign exchange students, we have students with disabilities and we have many students with interesting background stories. These can all be told without focusing on who dropped the winning touchdown in a football game or who went 0-4 at the plate in another baseball loss.

The 35 members of the institute can be invaluable resources to talk to each other about story ideas when it appears that there is none.

Jeff Fencl

Del Norte High School

Albuquerque, N.M.

Playing God

Roseburg High School in Roseburg, Ore. Although remodels have demolished my old journalism room, my passion for journalism and for writing was built there, working on both the newspaper and yearbook staffs.

Jason Manning attributed his desire for a journalism career to his own, high school journalism teacher. Many of the other media professionals that have met with us over the course of the last two weeks also cite their high school teachers as a determining factor in the career paths. I know that for me, personally, it was my experiences in my yearbook and newspaper courses that pushed me to pursue a degree in journalism at San Diego State University. 

When I think back to my experiences in high school, I don't remember any phenomenal journalism lessons that my journalism adviser, Mrs. Bartlett, taught us. I don't remember the pressing news issues we reported on. What I do remember is the family that I built in the Orange R (that was our paper's name) room after school and during production week. I had a home there; it was a place where I belonged. I don't know how many other people from Mrs. Bartlett's staffs over the years went on to pursue journalism careers (I can only think of one or two others besides myself, and I'm not sure I really count)... But I know that there are a whole mess of us that look back and earmark the Orange R as a defining, learning and community building experience. 

This makes me wonder what kind of impact I have on kids. Everyone says that teachers have this amazing opportunity to connect with and shape kids. I have never really considered myself to have that kind of power. Sure, there are kids that spend more time in my classroom than they do in their own rooms at home, but I guess I never really thought it was because of me. Manning's comments, along with those of the other industry professionals, made me realize that I really do have a lot of influence over my students.

To me, this is both... empowering... and terrifying. I like the idea that I can teach them things, I can help them fall in love with something that I love. I like the idea that I can provide them with their niche on campus, something to look forward to. But, and this is also what terrifies me about parenthood, what if I screw them up? What if I make them dumber? What if they end up hating journalism and writing and it is all my fault and because of me we lose a great writer? Maybe that's an extreme, but as Juli pointed out to me earlier this week, I'm a bit of a worrier. 

The best that I can do is keep in mind the potential that I have. If that is always running somewhere, in the back of my mind, I think that will prevent me from dropping the F bomb in front of my kids, or from committing waves of unprofessionalism in their presence. 

Jessica Young

Orange Glen High School

Escondido, Calif.

Back to reality...

The two weeks we have spent here have really opened my eyes to many possibilities for my newspaper staff. I have a lot of new knowledge and experience to take back for my students. Seeing what other high school newspapers are accomplishing, like the one that Alan Weintraut advises in Annandale, Va., or the one that Mark Webber advises in Laredo, Texas, has been inspiring. The excellent speakers have instilled again the importance of a newspaper for high school students to learn about the need for a free press. So now what? 

I'll be returning to a high school in a struggling city in a struggling state. Money will be tight, and the chance for any updated technology is pretty slim. The same administrators, students, parents and community will mean the same issues. I don't want to get bogged down in all the ideas and goals; for me that means I'm stuck for good. The list grew longer every day! So I've set my "top five" agenda for the upcoming year. 

1. I'm going to fight for greater freedoms for my student journalists. I want the principal to reconsider prior review, and I want people to revise their thinking so they see the paper as something that belongs to the students. 

2. Our staff will guiltlessly focus on going online. The goal is a weekly publication online, and 3-4 print editions throughout the year (but with a deadline we will stick to!). From day one of the Reynolds Institute, the message we've heard is that the platform is not as important as the message. We have a head start, since a local alternative weekly paper is hosting our site for free!

3. I will spend much more time on the basics, especially story ideas and reporting. The focus has been on the writing part, and that has not been very fruitful. We do spend time on ethics, but I want my students to also think about their rights. 

4. My students will get more direction from me. Michael Roberts inspired me to create lists and templates to help them know what defines "good."

5. YES, we will follow AP style. Jennifer Johnson's presentation really simplified this for me, and I won't shy away from this anymore. 

Lynne Schneider

Murrah High School

Jackson, Miss. 

Unsavory reporting requires courage: an example of a student journalist who uncovered the unsavory

During Tom Blodgett's session on sportswriting, he said that it takes courage to uncover unsavory stuff, especially due to Hazelwood. He also said that courage, more than intelligence, makes a good journalist.

One story I like to share with my journalism students is about a high school journalist who did some serious investigative reporting and discovered that the military in his area encouraged recruits to fabricate documents. Posing as a potential recruit, David McSwane taped conversations and wrote a story revealing the truth. The story was picked up by CBS, and soldiers were suspended from recruiting. CBS called the story "How far will army recruiters go?"

This is a great story for inspiring journalists and for generating discussion. It also brings up ethics and law regarding taping sources.

Jill Bhowmik
Granite Hills High School
El Cajon, Calif.

Sports guy talks sports

Tom Blodgett, Assistant Sports Editor at The Arizona Republic, discussed the challenges and benefits (freebies are not one of them) of covering high school sports.  

As the wife of a sports writer many of his tales about young reporters covering high school sports rang true.  Yes, they do work mostly afternoons, nights and weekends (we don't get to see each other a lot).  No, there aren't a lot of perks, although, as my husband says, what's better than getting to go to a game and then telling people about it?  We did have a golf course manager offer to give us a good deal on our wedding if his course got some coverage, but of course we couldn't accept it, and we didn't get married there (darn ethics!).  

The part of the talk I found most helpful was when Blodgett suggested possible story ideas including coaching changes, recruiting, awards and traditions.  He also stressed that sports stories need multiple sources like teammates, coaches and even parents.  

Although I don't call myself a sports fan, I think my husband has rubbed off on me more than I realized.  When Blodgett told his Duke story and asked why someone would go to Duke for basketball, I couldn't help but say in my mind, "Duke is Duke."  

For those of you who are are interested, the book that was mentioned is  Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie.

Becky Gemmell

Escondido High School

Escondido, Calif.  

cultural literacy, media literacy . . . the lowbrow version

Remember way back during Dean Callahan's press conference when I asked about the place for comedy in our websites?  (I was probably more inarticulate than that.)  Well, if "Charlie bit me and it hurt" means nada to you, then you should take the following tutorial of YouTube relevance.

You can catch up really quickly.  You will be on the same page as many of our digital native readers/viewers AND you might have a laugh or two.   You can spoof these.  You can mention them in text.  

This is media literacy, too.  ;0)

Joanna Greer

John F. Kennedy High School

Silver Spring, Md.

Hard Knocks Video Production

1.  Don't use musics with lyrics in your videos.  The words always overwhelm the message of the visual.  See article Tuesday's NY Times in the Science section.  Ear vs. Eye . . .

2.  Don't use a video camera with a microphone with the power source the plug in the wall IF YOU ARE SHOOTING A BLACKBERRY ADDICTED PRINCIPAL.  There is a buzz that goes through the audio that cannot be fixed and the administrator will think you are incompetent after the third try.  Buried in the fine print it tells you the noise comes from the wiring to the wall plug.  Whatever.  Don't do it.

Good audio is all.  Good audio is all.  Good audio is all.

3.  When you are editing, think about when you are ready to blink as you watch a shot.  That is a tip as to when you can cut away.  Water Murch talks about this in his book, In the Blink of An Eye.  He is considered the best film editor in the business.  

4.  Editing is not unlike composing music.  There are beats and rhythms in the piece.  Really listen for them.  

Yep, that was my car in the picture.  Not a fun day.  ;0)

Joanna Greer

John F. Kennedy High School

Silver Spring, Md

Discourse on sports

Covering sports story can be tedious, especially if you have little to no background or knowledge of the various skills it takes to perform competitively. I teach at a high school that prioritizes and focuses on academics. However, 14 to 18 year old boys and girls simply love sports as well; albeit, many believe its what college admissions officers want to see on their applications. Nonetheless, sports still experience a lot of support by our students, parents, teachers and administration. I'm sure our athletics department would disagree with my statement, but compared to some academically-driven institutions, we are relatively vibrant in the sports department. In the context of journalism, this makes for some very unique stories from a multitude of perspectives. I look forward to returning and sharing some of the insight I obtained from the program. (Photo source: Google Images)

Eric Gutierrez
Whitney High School
Cerritos, CA

They are rewiring my BRAIN!!!!

The EPIC video was scary.    Jason said that media literacy is more important than ever.  That is true so here is more.  We read this interview in my senior English classes for a Neil Postmanesque project on the influence of media. 

 Check out the article interviewing Nicholas Carr (Is Google making us stupid?) from The Sun Magazine.  Carr asserts that Google is rewiring our brains.  Is this bad or good in your estimation?

My students also had to do Postman's diet of 24 hours without any media and record their reactions/actions about this experience.  It is something to chew on.  They were like crack addicts with no access to drugs.  They hated it but many realized what "tools" they are of the media they use.  

I am a digital immigrant and they are digital natives.  Not my line, but a good one.  There is much to ponder in the interview.

I think of Fahrenheit 451 when I see that big screen in the Forum.  I also realize that I can't think with extraneous noise going.  What does that say about me or my age or my brain wiring?I am not trying to be funny.  I wonder how this will affect us all long-term.  

Joanna Greer

John F. Kennedy High School

Silver Spring, Md  

Media Literacy

Jason Manning, ASU's director of student media, touched on several interesting topics in today's session about the direction of storytelling. One of which was media literacy.

"Teaching students media literacy is more important than ever," said Manning. Give them experience with varying types of digital media. Television, video and the Web are a part of the new generation of students more than ever.

I feel our students need more guidance in discerning the good from the bad, the real from the not real that can be so much of digital media. A great way to do that is to teach video production techniques. We should teach them about the angle of the camera and how it effects the viewer. We need to teach them the effect of a close up, mid shot and long shot and how it contributes to the story, not just how do publish the video to a Web site.

Manning said he felt all schools should require students to have a digital media class.

(photo - Jason Manning, ASU Student Media Director)

Denice Westover
Snowflake High School
Snowflake, Arizona

Susan Jacoby is right

Jason Manning used what I think was presented as a quote from Susan Jacoby's Washington Post opinion piece titled The Dumbing of America. In her piece, Jacoby was actually paraphrasing the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Is that an important issue? Maybe, if you're not familiar with Jacoby's work and want to know if anyone else of stature agrees with her.

I would suggest reading Jacoby's entire article. It is extremely compelling, interesting and well structured.

An actual quote from Jacoby's column is: "That leads us to the third and final factor behind the new American dumbness: not lack of knowledge per se but arrogance about that lack of knowledge." I would think some of my colleagues would agree with this. I am not only astounded sometimes at what high school students do not know; I am even more astounded by their pompous attitudes about thinking that what they don't know is not important.

This might be my last post on this blog, so I would like to thank Steve Elliott for helping me be more skeptical and check my sources, and for the marvelous people at the Cronkite School--Dave, Monique, Anita, Christopher, Tom, Sharon, Krisitin, Jennifer, Andrew, Jason, Rick, Carol, and Alan, Le, Steve, and all the talented people at The AZ Republic.

Truly, this has been a marvelous two weeks.! An especial thanks to my 34 colleagues. We were so lucky.

Rick Burd
Wickenburg High School
Wickenburg, Ariz

I

Avoid being bloggy (or tweet, but don't be a twit)

How much time do you spend on Twitter? Facebook?

What widgets do you use on your blogger?

Do you have more real friends vs. virtual friends?

Why does it matter if you are a blogger or 'real' journalist?

Yesterday's session on Exploring Social Media Carole Schwalbe was a fabulous discussion. I especially enjoyed the Map of Online Communities and the wheel showing the convergence of online tools. But it is a conversation that will keep on going, and going, and going...
I am part of so many online social communities that I need to be ever conscious of what/how I say things, make sure I check in on all of them, and find time to shut them off.
While we can debate the merits and pitfalls of using these social networks in our classrooms, the ubiquity of these communities and forms of communication prompts us to focus on how to use them for educational and journalistic purposes.
Fortunately, there are professional journalists who are already experimenting with these tools and sharing how they use these tools.
I found this post on mashable.com talking about how twitter can be used to connect with readers, identify sources, and serve as a form of professional portfolio.
Another post I read was from Australian journalist Julie Posetti who writes extensively about the do's and don't's of tweeting for journalists.
Check out the link or here is a list of her "take-away's" from her posting:

TOP 20 TAKE AWAY TIPS FOR TWEETING JOURNOS

1. Think before you tweet -- you can't delete an indiscreet tweet! (Well, you can, but it will survive in Twitter search for three months and it's likely live on as cached copy somewhere.)
2. Think carefully about what you're re-tweeting and acknowledge if it's unsubstantiated.
3. Be an active twit: tweet daily if you want your followers to stick.
4. Determine your Twitter identity.
5. Be human; be honest; be open; be active.
6. Don't lock your account if you want to use Twitter for reporting purposes -- this fosters distrust.
7. Twitter is a community, not just a one-way conversation or broadcast channel -- actively engage.
8. Check if your employer has a social media policy.
9. Be cautious when tweeting about your employer/workplace/colleagues.
10. Be a judicious follower -- don't be stingy but avoid following everyone as your list grows to avoid tweet bombardment.
11. If you quote a tweet, attribute it.
12. Expect your competitors to steal your leads if you tweet about them.
13. Don't tweet while angry or drunk.
14. Avoid racist, sexist, bigoted and otherwise offensive tweets and never abuse a follower.
15. Scrutinize crowdsourced stories closely.
16. Find people to follow. Foster followers by pilfering the lists of other twits.
17. Twitter is a 'time vampire' (via @anne_brand) -- you don't need to keep track of all tweets, so dip in and out through the day.
18. Prevent information overload by using an application such as Tweetdeck.
19. Add applications to your Internet-enabled mobile device to allow live-tweeting on the road.
20. Add value to your tweets with links, Twitpic and other applications for audio and video.

As these social networking tools evolve, fade, and new ones spring forward, it is important for us to experiment, err, and improve on how we use them. I am planning to develop my lesson plan around using social networking tools in the high school newsroom.

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Roberts teaches story development model

Arizona Republic Deputy Managing Editor for Staff Development Michael Roberts presentation to the ASNE High School Journalism Institute took an unexpected turn yesterday. An Institute participant asked Roberts how teachers can get students to write their stories more thoroughly so that page designers don't have to resort to adjusting tracking which can radically affect the look of the final product.  

Looking back at my last few years advising newspaper, I can see that the story suggestion process by reporters has been lacking. The unexpected question lead Roberts down a trail he hadn't intended to follow but may well be the most valuable lesson I take away from the institute.  

I was furiously taking notes in his off-the-cuff lesson on the story development process and expect that his I-R-O-D-R technique will yield better story ideas that don't fall apart after covering the 5 W's and 1 H. 

In one of the first sessions of the institute, Steve Elliott walked us through the story mapping process and elaborated on how to successfully narrow the angle for a story idea. Seeing Mr. Roberts model the exact same thing yesterday drove the point home for me. I am going to really focus much more effort in the coming school year to drive story ideas through the mapping process and establish more specific, coherent angles students can use to do their reporting. 

Trampus Willis

South Side High School

Fort Wayne, Ind.