I am such a bad photographer! This isn't my best shot of Le Templar, opinion page editor for the East Valley Tribune, but it might as well have been. As is appropriate for such a high energy, high intensity job, Le moved around pretty much constantly. Because I am such a bad photographer, I wasn't able to time his occasional moments of zen very well. But Le was very informative and inspiring. I know I can do a better job of teaching my students about opinions and editorials.One point that Le made that resonated with me was the fact that he is in the business of "opinion journalism," which means he's not just sharing his opinion with the public. Because he looks for answers to questions, behaves ethically, and applies all other journalistic norms to his editorials, he establishes his credibility with his audience every day.
I have students with opinions. What I hope to do next year is train those opinionistas in journalism, using the points that Le made about the differences and aspects of editorials and opinions. Professional writers that Le suggested as possible models of opinion journalists are Ellen Goodman, Eugene Robinson, and Leonard Pitts. There are obviously many more out there, but that's a good place to start.
Juli Stricklan
Rigby High School
Rigby, Idaho
Posts
Juli, I share your photo frustrations! I also hope I can wrangle my opinion writers into more responsible "reporter-like" thinking so their columns will be stronger.
ReplyDeleteThat photo is great. I especially enjoyed the example he gave us about dialing the visceral emotions back for the purpose of a solid opinion piece. It is easy to get angry at a lady like Sheehan, as his editor at the East Valley Tribune did. But in reading the piece, it seemed level-headed while maintaining a strong stance. The man had his facts straight too. Who can argue with that?
ReplyDeleteFrom the session with Le Templar, I think it would be good idea to bring in a professional writer/columnist to talk about ethics and professionalism, and tips on writing. I really learned a lot in that session, and I think my students would feel the same if they were here.
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