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DOW JONES NEWS FUND FALL 2013 VOLUME 54, NUMBER 2

https://www.Newsfund.orgCopyright © 2013 Dow Jones News Fund, Inc.

InsideAdviser Update

Sports coveragePages B1-B8

Contest winnersPages C1-C8

Philadelphia kick-offPages A8/A9

Tinker Tour

Jim Streisel Teacher of the YearA journalism advocate

Don’t insult Jim Streisel by refer-ring to the staffers of the HiLite, Acumen and hilite.org as stu-

dent journalists. “It is a derogatory term. It says to

the students they are somehow less than a ‘quote’ professional journalist. The only difference is they don’t get paid for it,” he said.

“I tell them they are professional journalists who cater to a specific audience,” he said. “I treat them as if they are professional journalists.”

Streisel is the 2013 Dow Jones

By Linda ShockLeydJnF deputy director

News Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. He advises the award-winning news-magazines and website at Carmel (Ind.) HS. He has taught journalism for 19 years. Last year, he received a Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association and was honored as a DJNF Distinguished Adviser.

“I’m excited about the recognition this will bring to my students because they really deserve it,” he said.

Richard S. Holden, executive director of DJNF, said, “Jim Streisel is part of a movement of media teachers who believe in collaborating for the

benefit of their profession. We look forward to the coming year promoting that message.”

He was selected by a panel that included Ed Sullivan, executive direc-tor of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Diana Mitsu Klos, DJNF board member and media consultant, 2012 Teacher of the Year Ellen Austin of The Harker School, San Jose, Calif., and Dr. David Bulla of Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, chair of the Scholastic Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

“Jim’s publications are cutting edge,” Austin said, “and he is running

a juggernaut out there in Indiana and showing what can be done in journalism today.”

Streisel will speak and receive a plaque and a laptop computer for his classroom during the National High School Journalism Conven-tion Nov. 16 in Boston. Additionally, a graduating senior at Carmel HS will receive a $1,000 scholarship in his honor. He will also have access to webinars and attend a seminar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. CSPA will underwrite his

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PAGE 2A FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

See ADVOCATE on page 3A

ADVOCATEContinued from page 1A

STAFF— Dow Jones News Fund National

High School Journalism Teacher of the Year

Jim Streisel advises the award-winning

newsmagazines and website at Carmel (Ind.)

HS. The publications produced by the

students have earned the following honors:

CSPA Online Gold Crown, NSPA Online Pacemaker, Webby,

CSPA Silver and Gold Crowns, Hoosier Star

and NSPA Hall of Fame awards.

Last year, Streisel received a Pioneer

Award from the National Scholastic Press

Association and was honored as a DJNF

Distinguished Adviser. He has written two texts, “High School

Journalism: A Practical Guide” and “Scholastic

Web Journalism: Connecting with

Readers in a Digital Age.”

Update photos by Kyle Crawford/HiLite

participation in its spring conven-tion in New York City where he will speak and present work-shops. The News Fund will also honor four Distinguished Advisers and three Special Recognition Advis-ers in Boston. These honorees receive access to Poynter Insti-tute webinars plus subscriptions to WSJ.com courtesy of the pub-lishers of The Wall Street Journal. The Distinguished Advisers are Jason Wallestad, Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Jonathan Rogers, City HS, Iowa City, Iowa; Charla Harris, Pleasant Grove HS, Texarkana, Texas; and Matthew Schott, Francis Howell Central HS, Cottleville, Mo. The Special Recognition Advisers are Michele Dunaway, Francis Howell HS, St. Charles,

Mo.; Derek Smith, Renton HS, Renton, Wash.; and Ana Rosenthal, The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas.

Streisel’s BackgroundStreisel holds a B.S. from Ball State University with certifica-tion in secondary and middle school journalism and English. He is a certified and master journalism educator through the Journalism Education Association. He has written two texts, “High School Jour-nalism: A Practical Guide” and “Scholastic Web Journalism: Con-necting with Readers in a Digital Age,” both published by McFar-land. He is a frequent speaker, presenter and teacher at national scholastic journalism conferences and summer workshops including Nebraska, Ball State, MIPA, Indi-ana and South Carolina. Streisel was the Indiana Jour-nalism Adviser of the Year and Carmel Clay Schools Teacher of the Year, both in 2011. Publica-

tions he advises have won the CSPA Online Gold Crown, NSPA Online Pacemaker, Webby, CSPA Silver and Gold Crowns, Hoosier Star and NSPA Hall of Fame

awards.Teachers collaboratingCarmel HS has a communica-tions department which also includes yearbook, a radio sta-tion and a television station. Last year, they launched the Greyhound Media Network which partners broadcast, digital and print students in the newsgathering process. Strei-sel is in the enviable position of being able to teach journalism all day, everyday.

He refers to his colleagues as a good, tightknit group who get what he does and so can under-stand his concerns, share and from whom he can learn. “I admire when my colleagues do something really cool. I love sharing with them,” he said. While Streisel co-founded the National Journalism Professional Learning Community with JEA President Mark Newton, it was disbanded although its members still communicate. To him it is important that journalism teach-

ers work together to improve their craft and their teaching. He wants to give back by helping new advisers and his contemporaries the way veteran advisers assisted him. Still, the jury is out for him on the Common Core. “Do we touch on Common Core? Yes, but we also touch on a lot of other things as well,” he said. Streisel added that applying it to journalism is analogous to say-ing McDonald’s and a steakhouse are on par. “You can get beef in both places,” he said, “but they are just not the same.” Since journalism is different every day, situations vary from school to school and state-to-state and district-to district, so it’s unlikely that every situation can be compared using a common standard.

GRAPHIC - Discussing an infographic with junior Alex Yu during class, HiLite adviser Jim Streisel checks for readability. Each year, the HiLite staff produces 10 issues of its monthly newsmagazine and four issues of the Acumen and updates its website (www.hilite.org) several times per day.

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ADVISER UPDATE FALL 2013 PAGE 3A

DESIGN — HiLite adviser Jim Streisel works with reporter and sophomore Sha-keel Zia on a graphic in Adobe Illustrator for the upcoming issue of the paper.

PRODUCTION MEETING — Claudia Huang, HiLite editor in chief and senior, and Julie Xu, Acumen editor in chief and senior, work with HiLite adviser Jim Strei-sel to critique a page for the upcoming topically-based Acumen newsmagazine, scheduled for publication Oct. 3. Streisel said, “I tell them they are professional journalists who cater to a specific audi-ence. I treat them as if they are profes-sional journalists.”

Advocate for journalismStreisel wants to be an advocate for jour-nalism education, but not in a self-serving way. He wrote in his application, “I hope my scholastic journalism colleagues will join me in continuing to promote our pro-fession by delving deeply into our shared curriculum and those transferrable skills we all teach. “It’s time we educators, especially jour-nalism educators, stand up for ourselves and show this nation what our programs are all about because our programs are exactly what education should be all about.” “We, as a journalism community, need to do a better job of speaking, contribut-ing and writing articles, even if we are not comfortable,” he wrote. “You can’t be that island anymore.” It is important for journalism teachers to write and speak on the topic and to make sure their writing is read.

Changing Times “The world is continually changing very rapidly. It is impossible to keep up, but I enjoy the challenge of keeping up,” he said. New technology and social media are tools. Students may use them more and understand them better, but the chal-lenge for the journalism teacher is getting students to recognize how they can use technology to tell stories. “I’m still learning along with my kids, which is very exciting,” he said. “But it can be very scary for some people. The field is changing, and we are trying to change with it.” Journalism will never go away. “It’s on the ropes, but it will take differ-ent forms,” he said. “I am teaching kids life skills — the ability to meet deadlines, solve messy problems, work with peer groups. I happen to be using the lan-guage of journalism.” Streisel lives with his wife, Stacia, and sons Jared and Zach in Noblesville, Ind. About five nights a month, he plays in a band, The Dead Squirrels.

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2013 DJNF Distinguished AdvisersCharla HarrisPleasant Grove HS, Texarkana Texas Service: Advises Edge newspaper, PG Edge Online, the Hawk yearbook and the broadcast program PGTVEducation: M.S., interdisciplinary studies and teacher certification (English, history, journalism), East Texas State University, Texarkana; B.A., journalism, University of ArkansasBackground: Harris serves as regional representative for the Texas Association of Journalism Educators; judge and presenter for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. She worked for the Prairie Grove Enterprise weekly newspaper in high school and college.Issue facing scholastic journalism: “I would love a chance to meet with education agency officials at the state level across the country to talk about journalism programs, to tell them about my students and others who have benefitted from working on the yearbook and newspaper. I’d love to show them some of the publications students across the country have produced this year. It might not change their minds, but I think they’d be impressed. I know I am.”

Matthew Schott Francis Howell Central HS, Cottleville, Mo.

Service: Adviser to FHCToday.com, Central Focus newspaper, Odyssey yearbook, iFocus broadcast and Perihelion literary magazineEducation: Master’s, education, University of Phoenix; B.S., communication, Truman State UniversityBackground: Schott was a 2010 Missouri Journalism Teacher of the Year and DJNF Special Recognition Adviser. He received the 2012 Robert Knight Award from the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association. He has worked as a design editor and copy editor at the St. Joseph News-Press, Copley Chicago Newspapers; sports design editor at the Key West Citizen; and a design consultant with Tribune Media Services. Issue facing scholastic journalism: “I believe it is vital for news organizations to engage with their communities. This is something that is often done at just face value with professional

news organizations, via social media and such. At FHC Publications, we strive to not just cover our community, but be an active part of it … Simply showing up, writing a story, sharing a gallery of photos is insufficient and makes the work journalists create only worth the print or pixels they are created upon … In the past year, FHC Publications raised $1,500 in two weeks for a newspaper staff member through our coverage and T-shirt fundraiser for her surgery to remove a cyst in her brain.”

Jonathan RogersCity HS, Iowa City, IowaService: Adviser to The Little Hawk newspapers, LH Magazine, the littlehawk.com website and The Red and White yearbook.Education: M.A.T., English, University of Iowa; B.S., communications, minor in English literature, Missouri State

UniversityBackground: Rogers has been president of the Iowa High School Press Association for two years. He taught at the Ridgway Schools in Ridgway, Colo., before coming to Iowa City HS in 2008 as a language arts and journalism teacher. He is a regular contributor to JEADigitalMedia.org and he teaches at the Washington Journalism and Media Conference as well as the University of Iowa Summer Journalism Camp.Issue facing scholastic journalism: “Aligning scholastic journalism with the Common Core and using 21st century technology skills in scholastic journalism is a huge opportunity that very few programs are taking advantage of in 2013. The best way to align with the Common Core and 21st Century technology skills is through digital journalism.”

Jason Wallestad

Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, St. Louis Park, Minn.Service: Advises the Knight Errant publications. He co-founded, owns and manages School Newspapers Online, a company that provides web publishing, hosting and support services to 950 high schools and college news media. He has built more than 100 websites for high school journalism programs for free or at cost. He has also donated free hosting, setups or upgrades for several scholastic press associations.Education: M.A., education, St. Mary’s University; B.A., English, University of Minnesota, MorrisBackground: Wallestad was the 2012-2013 Minnesota High School Press Association’s Journalism Teacher of the Year. He taught at Bonesteel-Fairfax HS in South Dakota and Bethlehem Academy in Faribault, Minn., before arriving at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School. He publishes a blog about advising at http://journalismadviser.com.Issue facing scholastic journalism: “Our students have the chance to be journalists right alongside the pros. We just need to help them. And before we can do that, we need to shift the way we look at our world, even if it scares us. Rather than lamenting the dying of the print edition, we should be celebrating and exploring all the new possibilities of the online world.”

Charla Harris Matthew Schott Jason WallestadJonathan Rogers

Special Recognition AdvisersAna Rosenthal The Hockaday School, Dallas, TexasService: Advises The Fourcast newspaper, hockadayfourcast.org, Cornerstones yearbook, Vibrato literary magazine; She is a judge for the Columbia and National Scholastic Press AssociationsEducation: Syracuse University, MFA, advertising design; East Texas State University, B.S., advertising art; Universidad Autònoma Metropolitana Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico, graphic designBackground: Rosenthal is chair of the Mass Communications Department at Hockaday where she teaches Upper School students introductory journalism and publications skills and exposes them to convergent media. Before coming to Hockaday, she was a member of the graphic design faculty at The Art Institute of

Dallas. Rosenthal was owner and partner of Nopal Enterprises LLC, an importer of design decor in Northville, Mich. She was also the owner and graphic designer for Roz & Thal Design in Farmington Mills, Mich. She also worked as a graphic designer at Pangbor Design LTD in Detroit.Issue facing scholastic journalism: “I believe scholastic journalism should concentrate on how to provide worldwide opportunities to our journalism students. We should open the doors to a more global conversation regarding political and social issues affecting high school students around the world.”

See SPECIAL RECOGNITION ADVISERS on page 5A

Michele DunawayAna Rosenthal Derek Smith

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2012 – Ellen Austin, Palo Alto (Calif.) Senior HS2011 – Aaron Manfull, Francis Howell North HS, St. Charles, Mo.2010 - Valerie Kibler, Harrisonburg (Va.) HS2009 – Paul Kandel, Palo Alto (Calif.) Senior HS2008 – Karl Grubaugh, Granite Bay (Calif.) HS2007 – Jim McGonnell, Findlay (Ohio) HS2006 - Alan Weintraut, Annandale (Va.) HS2005 - Linda Ballew, Great Falls (Mont.) HS2004 - Brenda Gorsuch, West Hendersonville (N.C.) HS 2003 - Beth Fitts, Oxford HS, Oxford, Miss.2002 - Donald Bott, Amos Alonzo Stagg HS, Stockton, Calif.2001 - Terry M. Nelson, Muncie (Ind.) Central HS2000 - Robin Gibson Sawyer, Manteo (N.C.) HS1999 - Randy Glenn Swikle, Johnsburg (Ill.) HS1998 - Kathleen Zwiebel, Pottsville (Pa.) Area HS1997 - C. Dow Tate, Hillcrest HS, Dallas, Texas1996 - Merle Dieleman, Pleasant Valley (Iowa) Community HS1995 - Pat S. Graff, LaCueva HS, Albuquerque, N.M.1994 - Nick Ferentinos, Homestead HS, Cupertino, Calif.1993 - Jack Kennedy, City HS, Iowa City, Iowa1992 - Gloria Grove Olman, Utica (Mich.) HS1991 - Carol Lange, Thomas Jefferson HS for

Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.1990 - Steve O’Donoghue, John C. Fremont HS, Media Academy, Oakland, Calif.1989 - Candace Perkins Bowen, St. Charles(Ill.) HS1988 - Robert L. Button, Grosse Point (Mich.) South HS1987 - John Cutsinger, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas - Jack Harkrider, Anderson HS, Austin, Texas1986 - Alyce Culpepper, South Plantation (Fla.) HS1985 - George Taylor, Tamaqua (Pa.) Area HS1984 - Rod Vahl,* Central HS, Davenport, Iowa1983 - John Bowen, Lakewood (Ohio) HS1982 - Homer Hall, Kirkwood (Mo.) HS1981 - Wayne Brasler, University HS, Chicago, Ill.1980 - Dr. Regis Boyle,* Walt Whitman HS, Bethesda, Md.1979 - Jackie Engel*, McPherson (Kan.) HS1978 - Col. Charles Savedge,* Augusta Military Academy, Fort Defiance, Va.1977 - Ron Clemons, Truman HS, Independence, Mo.1976 - William Steinecke, Jr.,*Frontier Regional School, South Deerfield, Mass.1975 - Christina Beeson Bailey,* Colton (Calif.) HS

1974 - Randy Stano, A.N. McCallum HS, Austin, Texas1973 - Ronnie Hayes, Lewiston (Idaho) HS1972 - J. Brent Norlem, Brooklyn Center (Minn.) HS1971 - Ann Heintz,* St. Mary Center for Learning, Chicago, Ill.1970 - Elaine Pritchett, Memorial Senior HS, Houston, Texas1969 - Virginia Woodring,* School District of Springfield, Mo.1968 - Ruth Marie Griggs, Broad Ripple HS, Indianapolis, Ind.1967 - Mary Benedict*, Arlington HS, Indianapolis, Ind.1966 - Ralph Chavez, Thomas Jefferson HS, El Paso, Texas1965 - Dorry Coppoletta, Oakland (Calif.) Technical HS1964 - Jim Powell, Carlsbad (N.M.) Senior HS1963 - Opal Eckert, Maryville (Mo.) HS1962 - Dorothy Greer, Topeka (Kan.) HS1961 - Anthony L. Cassen,* Blair Academy, Blairstown, N.J.1960 - Dr. William Nolan, Harry Ellis HS, Richmond, Calif.*deceased

Previous DJNF Teachers of the Year

Michele DunawayFrancis Howell HS, St. Charles, Mo.Service: Advises Francis Howell Spotlight newspaper and Spotlight online, the yearbook, literary magazine and FHHSToday.comEducation: B.S., elementary education, University of Missouri, St. Louis; M.A. media

communications, Webster University, 30 graduate hours post master’s at various universitiesBackground: Dunaway taught at several Missouri elementary, middle and high schools before arriving at Francis Howell HS. She

holds a 2010 Gold Key from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and a JEA Medal of Merit. She was the 2012 Missouri Interscholastic Press Association Journalism Teacher of the Year, 2012 JEA Distinguished Yearbook Adviser of the Year and the recipient of the First Amendment Press Freedom Award in 2013. She is the author of 23 novels for Harlequin Enterprises.

Issue facing scholastic journalism: “Reduction in programming is one of the most pressing issues facing scholastic journalism. In many places, our student numbers are shrinking and our classes are disappearing. As advisers, we need to find a way to work well with fewer staff members, and we need to find ways to prove that just because programs are small, they are no less valid or essential … The smaller a program is, the more endangered it seems to be. As we face extinction of many newspaper programs, we need to focus on development and retention of those that are left.”

Derek SmithRenton (Wash.) HSService: Advises The Arrow newsmagazine, website and literary magazineEducation: M.F.A., creative writing, Seattle Pacific University; professional certification in English, secondary education, Pacific Lutheran University; B.A., English, secondary education, Western Washington UniversityBackground: Smith was named the Washington Journalism Education Association’s Journalism Adviser of the Year 2013. He and his staff received the 2012 Diversity Award from the Journalism Education Association; his students collaborate with two local NPR

stations. He publishes a blog www.magicalteaching.com and has written a manuscript about his first year of teaching. He won a JEA Rising Star in Journalism Award in 2006.Issue facing scholastic journalism: “ ‘How do we best use a variety of social media platforms?’ or … ‘How can we develop and expand a publication’s digital footprint?’ would not be issues I would address during my term as Teacher of the Year. I would instead champion the ways print can do what it does best: tell a story. My tenure will explore ‘How does the turning of pages become an event?’ ”

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DJNF PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Survival rules emerging

It was an uneasy, eventful sum-mer for those who care about quality journalism in the age of

the Internet. The unease arose primarily from the sale of three mainstream publications in quick succession followed by disclosure of plans for sharp cutbacks at the nation’s most ambitious experiment in hyperlocal journalism. Announcements in a three-day period in early August of the sale of the Boston Globe, Newsweek and the Washington Post generated voluminous and often contradictory commentary on the current state and unknown future of legacy media and journalism. For the Globe, Newsweek and Post all were unloaded at bargain-basement prices, underscoring the massive disruption and financial damage the Internet has produced for traditional print publishers. The New York Times Co. sold the Globe to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry for $70 million, a newspaper the Times had acquired in 1993 for $1.1 billion. Terms of IAC/InteractiveCorp.’s sale of Newsweek to IBT Media weren’t disclosed, but financial experts believe the digital-only publication went for next to nothing. The real shocker was the decision of the Graham family, which acquired the Washington Post in 1933, to sell the storied paper to billionaire Jeff Bezos, the creative 49-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc. after a brutal decade of declining circulation and revenue that led to sizable operating losses. Bezos agreed to pay $250 million, approximately 1 percent of his net worth. The stunning announcement

Richard J. Levineis president of the board of directors of the Dow Jones News Fund Inc. In five decades with Dow Jones & Co., he has served as vice president for news and staff development, executive editor of Dow Jones Newswires, vice president of information services, editorial director of electronic publishing and Washington correspondent and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He can be reached at [email protected].

spawned an outpouring of specu-lation about what motivated Bezos to buy the Post and what he would do to fix it and, by exten-sion, an ailing newspaper industry that The Wall Street Journal described as “desperately in need of a makeover.” In his first state-ment, he limited himself to broad support of the Post’s journalistic independence and values and offered only a few hints as to how he would proceed. He said:

“The values of the Post do not need changing. The paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners. We will continue to follow the truth wherever it leads…. “There will, of course, be change at the Post over the coming years. That’s essential and would have happened with or without new ownership. The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering costs. There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment. Our touchstone will be readers, understanding what they care about — government, local leaders, restaurant openings, scout troops, charities, businesses, governors, sports — and working backwards from there.” In an interview before a two-

day visit to the Post in early September, Bezos went further, declaring that he seeks to shape a new “golden era” at the Post. “We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful,” he said. “Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient. If you replace ‘customer’ with ‘reader,’ that approach, that point of view, can be successful at the Post, too.” In meetings with Post editors and reporters, Bezos expressed optimism about the future of the paper and serious journalism and spoke of the need to create a ”daily ritual bundle” or a personalized package of news and information that readers will be willing to purchase. The Post must grow again, he insisted. “What has been happening over the last few years can’t continue to happen.” Bezos also indicated he plans to invest part of his wealth in the paper and to apply lessons learned building Amazon in resuscitating the Post. In the digital age, he said, the content of the newspaper should be determined by “a blend of human judgment and metrics.” It was an uplifting message delivered confidently to a worried newsroom, and it drew rave reviews from Post journalists. Against the ongoing drama at the Post, the downsizing of Patch, the nationwide hyperlocal news unit of AOL Inc. drew much less attention. Determined to put Patch on a fast track to profitability, AOL CEO Tim

Armstrong, a co-founder of Patch, made plans to close 150 of 900 websites and look for partners for another 150. The jobs of 500 of Patch’s 1,100 staffers could be eliminated, a major blow to a news organization that has emerged as a major employer of journalists in recent years. Amid all these unsettling developments in the news business, it is essential to recognize some important rules of survival that are emerging in the constantly changing digital landscape. First, newspapers must continue to invest in serious journalism. Second, they must experiment with and embrace all manner of digital delivery while not abandoning print prematurely. And they must continue to look for effective ways of charging readers for the news they produce, reducing their over-reliance on advertisers. Yet another thought emerges from the uneasy summer of 2013, well put by James Fallows, a respected national correspondent for the Atlantic, in the immediate aftermath of the Washington Post announcement. “The money required to run a news organization is for this era’s new wealthy, relatively modest,” he wrote. “So let us hope that this is what the sale signifies: the beginning of a phase in which this Gilded Age’s major beneficiaries re-invest in the infrastructure of our public intelligence.” If realized, that could make a big difference for an institution that remains an essential cornerstone of a free society.

By RichaRd J. Levine

What the sale of major publications and the downsizing of a digital start-up tell us about the news

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Small actions can define a lifeBy J.F. Pirro

Once an admitted “shy, little, skinny” 13-year-old junior high student — someone others insisted would “blow away in the wind” — Mary Beth Tinker has instead become what

amounts to student expression’s near half-century reigning Miss America. Mary Beth, along with her brother John and others, wore black armbands to school in 1965 to protest the Vietnam War. They were suspended for expressing themselves, then successfully battled the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District to a successful landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision. A 7-2 decision protected their student expression and established the so-called Tinker Standard in the nation’s schools for years, even in some 125 similar cases that followed. In mid-September, the Tinkers blew into Philadelphia on Constitution Day at the National Constitution Center and kicked off The Tinker Tour: The Power of an Armband. About 100 devotees assembled to hear Mary Beth, the 1960s icon turned pediatric nurse who wore a Thurgood Marshall postage stamp pin on a blue blazer over a multi-colored striped blouse. She and John wore black tour armbands, not theoriginals.

Tour goalsThe nationwide campaign has two goals: to encourage students to “stand up and speak up in respectful, effective” ways, she says, and to collect and share stories of young people who are exercising their rights. “It’s a basic lesson in civics,” Mary Beth said after what amounted to a First Amendment pep rally. “Young people have always had a voice, and they need to be an even stronger voice today.” Her overarching message: “You take (your rights) with you right through the schoolhouse gate.” The Tinkers had parents who weren’t shy. Rather, they were active in the civil rights movement. Her father challenged his church’s “whites-only” swimming pool, asking if the exclusion of blacks represented democracy or reflected the U.S. Constitution or was a manifestation of any inalienable rights. The Tinkers were told to find a new church. So at age 5 and 7, Mary Beth and John moved to Des Moines. “But we left with a lesson learned — say what needs to be said,” Mary Beth said. “Growing up, we got the idea that we should use our rights.”

Speaking outGrowing up, the Tinkers said they also saw “bad things” on TV. “Like the war in Vietnam,” John told the crowd. “There were body counts. They were keeping score. We wanted to stand up and speak out.” They learned of a group of local college students who were taking a bus to Washington, D.C., to protest the war. It was Thanksgiving 1965. John asked his parents if he could go. He did. On the return trip, the kindreds discussed wearing black armbands, a traditional symbol of mourning. “Whoopie!” Mary Beth said in Philadelphia. “Wait. Not

Some (administrators) want students to know their rights; some

don’t. It’s important

to have discussions in

schools.

“

”

John Tinker

Tinker TourARMBAND — In mid-

September, the Tinkers blew into Philadelphia on

Constitution Day at the National Constitution Center

and kicked off The Tinker Tour: The Power of an

Armband. Update photo by Sara Gregory/Student Press Law

Center

TINKER TOUR KICK-OFF — Mary Beth Tinker talks with students from

Conestoga HS following the formal presentation at the

Constitution Center kick-off presentation in Philadelphia. “Young people have always had a voice, and they need

to be an even stronger voice today,” she told her audience.

Update photo by Sara Gregory/Student Press Law Center

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Small actions can define a lifeOnce an admitted “shy, little, skinny” 13-year-old junior high

student — someone others insisted would “blow away in the wind” — Mary Beth Tinker has instead become what

amounts to student expression’s near half-century reigning Miss America. Mary Beth, along with her brother John and others, wore black armbands to school in 1965 to protest the Vietnam War. They were suspended for expressing themselves, then successfully battled the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District to a successful landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision. A 7-2 decision protected their student expression and established the so-called Tinker Standard in the nation’s schools for years, even in some 125 similar cases that followed. In mid-September, the Tinkers blew into Philadelphia on Constitution Day at the National Constitution Center and kicked off The Tinker Tour: The Power of an Armband. About 100 devotees assembled to hear Mary Beth, the 1960s icon turned pediatric nurse who wore a Thurgood Marshall postage stamp pin on a blue blazer over a multi-colored striped blouse. She and John wore black tour armbands, not theoriginals.

Tour goalsThe nationwide campaign has two goals: to encourage students to “stand up and speak up in respectful, effective” ways, she says, and to collect and share stories of young people who are exercising their rights. “It’s a basic lesson in civics,” Mary Beth said after what amounted to a First Amendment pep rally. “Young people have always had a voice, and they need to be an even stronger voice today.” Her overarching message: “You take (your rights) with you right through the schoolhouse gate.” The Tinkers had parents who weren’t shy. Rather, they were active in the civil rights movement. Her father challenged his church’s “whites-only” swimming pool, asking if the exclusion of blacks represented democracy or reflected the U.S. Constitution or was a manifestation of any inalienable rights. The Tinkers were told to find a new church. So at age 5 and 7, Mary Beth and John moved to Des Moines. “But we left with a lesson learned — say what needs to be said,” Mary Beth said. “Growing up, we got the idea that we should use our rights.”

Speaking outGrowing up, the Tinkers said they also saw “bad things” on TV. “Like the war in Vietnam,” John told the crowd. “There were body counts. They were keeping score. We wanted to stand up and speak out.” They learned of a group of local college students who were taking a bus to Washington, D.C., to protest the war. It was Thanksgiving 1965. John asked his parents if he could go. He did. On the return trip, the kindreds discussed wearing black armbands, a traditional symbol of mourning. “Whoopie!” Mary Beth said in Philadelphia. “Wait. Not

so fast! The principal found out that we were planning on wearing armbands.” She wore her armband anyway — acting alone at first — and when she did, her math teacher handed her a pink disciplinary form and sent her to the principal’s office where the secretary told her to surrender the armband. She did, then thought that would end it.

The next dayBut John and several others wore black armbands the next school day. All were suspended, then negotiated and appealed to the school board — but ultimately they aligned themselves with the American Civil Liberties Union for representation. The long legal battle only succeeded where it mattered the most in the U.S. Supreme Court. John was in college. Mary Beth celebrated at home with “ice cream and soda pop.” “It was so influential what she did, and so important for allowing students in school to voice their opinions openly and to tell the stories they want to tell and broadcast,” said George Stern, a Conestoga HS senior who as a reporter and anchor for his Berwyn, Pa., school’s morning show interviewed Mary Beth and even shot footage of the tour bus. “She was pretty inspiring,” he said.

Who we areJohn said that the First Amendment defines who we are and allows us to communicate what we are — a democracy. But in schools, he said, “Some (administrators) want students to know their rights; some don’t. It’s important to have discussions in schools. We’re protecting the principle of having the discussions.” He recalled a brief one with his father the day he left with his armband on. “My dad said, ‘Are you sure this is what you want to do?’” John said. “I said, ‘To me, it wasn’t just a piece of cloth. People were getting killed.’ So, then, my dad said, ‘Well, for you, this is a matter of conscience.’” John’s affair in the principal’s office included a truce offer: If John — all of them — carried on without armbands and dropped the cause, the principal would drop the disciplinary case. But the principal also said, “I guess you’re not going to do that,” John recalled.

The symbol“We were not trying to test the limits or break the rules. We tried to be respectful — not disruptive. In fact, we were silent. It was just the symbol (the armband) that suggested our point of view,” he said. In the days — and years — that followed, there were mean-spirited attacks. In one phone call to the house, a woman said, “I’m going to kill you!” “It was crazy,” Mary Beth said at the tour kickoff. “Our protest was about peace.” There was hate mail. One note suggesting that the Tinkers “Go back to Russia.” “What?” she said. “We lived in Des Moines! We were very unpopular, but it’s how history is made — with small actions, but now those actions have defined my life.”

I’ve always cherished coming full circle. So, at least for the day, for the first time in a decade, I was back on the bus — literally a

yellow school bus on a scholastic journalism trip — and jumping on the First Amendment bandwagon, on tour with the Tinker Tour, Mary Beth Tinker’s cross-country student expression express. For 15 years, I ran one of the country’s most comprehensive academic and extracurricular scholastic journalism programs at Emmaus (Pa.) HS, then by choice took on an all-English schedule. But news of the Tinker Tour put me in flashback mode. I talked the current journalism teacher and students into attending the tour’s debut in Philadelphia. Then in preparation, I taught two periods of upper-level journalism classes, courses I wrote 25 years earlier. Before detailing the last half-century of student expression law for my charges, I began with the wrist bracelet I’ve never relinquished. My armband of sorts, it’s represented my unwavering allegiance to the First Amendment. It reads, “Free Speech Isn’t Free.” Of course, I was also guided by the words of Voltaire, the French writer: “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” It was almost my death — at least professionally — on frequent occasions as adviser of The Stinger. If a cat has nine lives, since the average lifespan of a high school newspaper adviser is 2 ½ years, I had about seven lives as adviser, especially since my years immediately followed the 1988 Hazelwood U.S. Supreme Court decision that nearly tanked the Tinker Standard. My teaching and advising career began in an uncertain milieu after the suburban St. Louis school administrators’ censoring of a school newspaper was affirmed. I was summoned to the principal’s office more often than the school’s worst-behaved students. Routinely, I was asked why students were asking questions about this, or taking pictures of that — and never were the kids to know that the adults were meeting. Always, I was expected to handle it. I

agreed, then sided with the kids 100 percent of the time. They’d win state and national awards — even breaking AP wire stories — for the suspect work, and then there wasn’t anything the administration could say — including, “Congratulations!” In the end, I resigned as journalism teacher and newspaper adviser for personal reasons, but I left fulfilled that I built and successfully ran a monster of a program. It growled and always needed to be fed. My kids’ rights always needed protection, and their constant success was absolute affirmation. I sent dozens of them to the best schools of journalism in the country. My alumni remain some of the best in the ever-changing industry. Twice in subsequent years (three succeeding advisers lasted less than five years combined), administrators asked me to take the program back. While appreciated, I declined, preferring to move forward, not backward, believing that in moving forward you eventually come full circle. Frankly, it was exhilarating and exhausting battling for student expression rights. My only regret is that I didn’t finish what I started, though even after I left my program, I remained a Pennsylvania School Press Association Executive Board member and continued teaching at national conventions. PSPA had important work: Legislators wanted to alter the section of the Pa. School Code that protects student expression — the language that’s kept Pennsylvania a Tinker Standard state. Changes would have made Pennsylvania a Hazelwood state. Along with other “friends of journalism,” we staved off the state’s lawmakers, and when I was sure the battle was won, only then did I step down from the state board and retreat from that portion of my teaching career. I left satisfied that we’d helped preserve student expression rights for generations to come. For me, the Tinker Tour represents an opportunity to come full circle. For those fortunate to hear the Tinkers speak, it’s a righteous rallying cry: Students do have rights beyond the schoolhouse gate. More importantly, they have to use them and make sure they never lose them.

Coming full circle

J.F. Pirro advised The Stinger at Emmaus (Pa.) HS for 15 years. Since then, he’s taught 9th and 10th grade English while maintaining a vibrant life as a widely-published freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected].

Update photos of J.F. Pirro and John Tinker by Maura Benner/Emmaus (Pa.) HS

By J.F. Pirro

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52.I4 PAGE 10A FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

Fifty years ago in August, hundreds of thousands marched on Washington,

D.C., for voting rights and full employment. Martin Luther King’s “Dream” speech would be memorialized much later, but at the time it was hardly of interest to the mainstream media which only considered potential mayhem — not the march’s message — as the story. During some of this summer’s extensive anniversary coverage, a commentator pointed out the technology of the day 50 years ago was not capable of carrying Dr. King’s speech or those of the other speakers to the masses gathered on the national mall. They learned about the goings on later, much later. Today, with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, cell phones, tablets, email and texting capabilities, we can be there virtually getting the play-by-play from any event or giving it to our followers and friends. It reminded me of a series of actions and reactions nearly 44 years ago at my high school in suburban New Jersey. The Lawnside Board of Education, led by its president Morris L. Smith, passed a resolution April 9, 1968 — the day of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s funeral— designating his birthday, Jan. 15, a school holiday. The Lawnside School Board is believed to be the first governmental entity in the nation to do so. Our town is the oldest incorporated African-American municipality in the northern United States. Set in Camden County, just 10 miles from Philadelphia, it traces its roots to the abolitionist movement, the Underground Railroad and aid from the Society of Friends. Mr. Smith, Lawnside’s top scholar when he graduated

By Linda ShockLey

dJnF deputy diRectoR

DJNF DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

‘I just never understood ... ’

from Haddon Heights HS, joined the school board in 1960 after earning a degree in chemistry from Michigan State University. He worked as a chemist for Scott Paper Company where he would eventually be granted patents to introduce colors and patterns into paper products. He was president of the school board from 1963 to 1974. Mr. Smith remembers he was shopping for a suit with a nephew who had just landed a teaching job when he heard of

the murder in Memphis. Like many who had been transfixed by the media coverage, he said he was struck by the need to do something. Key to the resolution was ensuring that students in our one kindergarten through eighth grade school were told the purpose of the holiday and encouraged to mark the day with prayer and reflection. For those of us bused to high school in a neighboring district, it was a different day. We arrived at school on Jan. 15, 1969, and sat

silent in the auditorium protesting for a school holiday. We were threatened with detention, then suspension if we did not go to class. Since we refused to budge, the buses were summoned, and we were sent home. When the African-American student leaders called the local newspaper to tell them our side of the day’s events, they were told their comments weren’t needed. Threatened detentions and suspensions did not materialize. Nothing appeared in our school newspaper or

yearbook. The lesson for a high school freshman: It is sometimes hard to appreciate greatness even when you are a witness to it; some adults don’t appreciate youth’s ability to reason and care about the important issues of the day; and finally, you can’t tell the complete story if you don’t seek all sides. As for Mr. Smith and our school board, there has still been no major media acknowledgment of what they did 44 years ago, but perhaps that will change in 2014. Finally, though we sing the chorus to Stevie Wonder’s 1981 melody now at birthday parties, here is a stanza of “Happy Birthday:”

I just never understoodHow a man who died for goodCould not have a day that wouldBe set aside for his recognitionBecause it should never beJust because some cannot seeThe dream as clear as hethat they should make it become an illusionAnd we all know everythingThat he stood for time will bringFor in peace our hearts will singThanks to Martin Luther King

While we were struggling with our experience for recognition in January 1969, Mary Beth Tinker, her brother and friends would soon win a Supreme Court decision affirming their right to protest the Vietnam War, a war Martin Luther King vociferously opposed, at their school in Des Moines in 1965. Mary Beth and Mike Hiestand are wrapping up the Tinker Tour traveling the country educating people about the landmark decision. If you’d like to use the teaching resources compiled on the Tour website, go to: http://tinkertourusa.org/teachers/resources/.

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DJNF TEACHER OF THE YEAR

W hen I first started advising a newspaper, I tried to explain to

a fellow adviser how much publications had meant to me in high school. I described long frantic dead-line nights for yearbook and the hilarity that ensued, and the endless hours parked in the darkroom under the red glow of safelights as I printed sports photos for the paper, and then the race to the printer in a nearby town in late afternoons with my best friend as we dropped off pasted-up and waxed pages to be printed. The adviser nodded, then replied, “Some kids find their home in theater or in sports. You found your home on the publications staff.” She hit it exactly right.We live in the land of kids who have found their home in our land of picas, typography, and decisive moments. That sense of tribe and togetherness can be a heady brew. Georgetown freshman and former co-editor in chief Nora Rosati likened Viking to her cross country team. “For me, I’ve never been on a team where the coach told me what to do – I was the one who did the extra miles after school, and that’s given me the edge. As a runner, I had to take the initiative,” she said. “Same thing with Viking,” she continued. “We take what we get, and we put in our all to get what we have. Even though I don’t know how many innings there are in baseball or who [49ers coach Jim] Harbaugh was until I came on staff, I have learned so much

– but I also entered the staff with that team mentality.” We teachers also seek our tribe, our crew, both in the school environment in which we work and in the extended community we inhabit in scholastic journalism. We find our “virtual tribe” through the JEA list serve, the Twitterverse, and through the pages here in Adviser Update. Our students are equally drawn to finding their own “virtual tribe” in the great possibilities open in the realms of social media connectivity. That connectivity also carries some of the great concerns we face in guiding our students into the post-school world. This fall has brought with it too many more sad stories about children maligned and harmed by their online tribes who live together in virtual hives in social media, away from the walls and desks where we can see them – or intervene. Cyber stalking and online bullying are new vocabulary words we have added to our lexicons. And there’s the near-addiction that seems part and parcel to the always-present status updates, which we see in our classrooms through secret glances at cell phones during class. We cavalierly refer to these high levels of participation in social media as ‘addiction’ and imply that these kids are wrong to attend so assiduously to their online lives. Lately, I’ve been re-thinking that viewpoint. Imagine being at a big party with everyone in your social group. Suddenly, you spot

someone who isn’t your favorite person and who has the potential to trash talk you. For adults over 30 or so, this probably brings to mind an actual recallable party in the past, and the actual face of a frenemy. You keep a close eye on that person during the party, to check on what’s potentially being said about you. You wouldn’t say you’re being “addictive” or “paranoid,” but rather socially savvy in guarding your reputation. Move the cocktail party to the world of thumb-driven and instantly disseminated messages online. If your reputation could be maligned and torn down in 30 minutes of vicious status updates, comments, and shares to your entire social world, wouldn’t you be checking Facebook every five minutes, too? If that’s where everyone’s looking, shouldn’t we be there, too – as journalists, but also at the teacher level, providing an “adult in the room” presence? But these tools are also transforming lives positively for kids who face being isolated where they live. A year ago, I spent the summer in London studying Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.” While I was there, I had dinner with a former student from Cannon Falls, Minn. He had been a gifted speech star, the lead in all of the musicals, a fabulous artist, and a contributor to the school newspaper. Rick, who is gay, left town for good after graduation. A few years ago, he married the love of his life, an English journalist, and he moved across the pond to live with his husband. Being gay in little Cannon Falls wasn’t easy for Rick. As his

teacher, the main thing I hoped for (and prayed for more than once) was that this very talented and bright young man would survive to reach the vibrant and happy adulthood I knew was waiting for him. And thankfully, he did. You can see some of his work in Vanity Fair and Harper’s now. Over a pint of cider, Rick mentioned how glad he was for me and other teachers in his school who had taken a stand against those who bullied or taunted kids like him. I asked Rick whether he thought a young man growing up now in Cannon Falls would have the same challenge and sense of danger and isolation that he had faced a dozen years ago. He thought for a bit and said, “No, because kids growing up queer now have the Internet – and with the Internet, it doesn’t take you long to figure out you’re not alone anymore. You find the ‘It Gets Better’ videos [a heartfelt project championed by Seattle columnist Dan Savage] pretty fast.” Rick faced bullies in a bricks-and-mortar hometown. He didn’t expect the town to be shut and locked: he just expected us to try to keep it safe. Perhaps that’s how we need to start seeing social realms: it’s a “hometown” for a generation, with the great ways of bringing people together, and also the potential for harm. It’s part of our job to help keep it safe. We all need a tribe, and we will search until we find a safe place to call home. I’m grateful that a classroom and a camera led me to mine.

By EllEn Austin

Ellen Austin is the News Fund’s 2012 Journalism Teacher of the Year. She is the director of journalism at the Harker School in San Jose, where she advises the yearbook, newspaper and online publications. She chairs the Student Press Law Center Steering Committee and is a JEA Northern California board member. She can be reached at [email protected].

noplace likeh me❤

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.I4 PAGE 12A FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

‘A fall of anticipation’PRESS RIGHTSBy CandaCe Perkins Bowen

& John Bowen

See ANTICIPATE on page 15A

Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE directs the Center for Scholastic Journalism and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association and is an assistant professor at Kent State University. She can be reached at School of JMC, 201B Franklin Hall, Kent, OH 44242 or by phone at 330-672-8297 or at [email protected].

John Bowen, MJE chairs the JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission. He is an adjunct professor in journalism at Kent State University. He can be reached at School of JMC, 201B Franklin Hall, Kent, OH 44242 or by phone at 330-672-3666 or at [email protected].

Although journalism programs have been in full swing since August

and September, new teaching and content materials continue to appear. This fall some major journalistic resources have been updated and some new ones created. We thought we would take this column to make you more aware of them, in what we call “A Fall of Anticipation.” Check these out.

✔SPRC Constitution Day lessons and activities A variety pack of six lessons make up this

Constitution Day package now available online at http://jeasprc.org/constitution-day-2013-teaching-materials-and-lessons/ . These lessons and activities focus on issues of sourcing for student media. The lessons have legal, ethical and content-based angles, including a lesson aimed at helping students build policy guidelines based on what journalists mean when they talk of responsibility and accountability. Links to Constitution Day materials designed the last two years also are there. Constitution Day, mandated by Congress to be Sept. 17 each year, is designed to help students celebrate the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The commission ties the concepts directly to journalistic issues.

✔Quill and Scroll’s The Principal’s Guide to Scholastic JournalismThe print updated version is due Nov. 1; online version is available now. Significant changes include tying the value of scholastic

journalism to Common Core and P21 standards. The booklet – and added, updateable website version – contain new sections on social media and online journalism. Law and ethics areas are updated. The Principal’s Guide provides a handy reference and orientation to scholastic journalism for teachers as well as administrators, especially new administrators and maybe even school board members, too. The booklet version will be available about Nov. 1 at http://quillandscroll.org. The online version, with an introduction by JEA’s 2012 Administrator of the Year, Susan Enfield, superintendent of Highline Public Schools, Burien, Wash., is available now, online, at http://principalsguide.org.

✔ Lori Keekley’s Teachers Guide to Quill and Scroll’s The

Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism. Available now at http://jeasprc.org. “Advisers and administrators should be partners in education and not adversaries,” Keekley, a member of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission, writes. Advisers must teach principals about the importance of journalism and its relevance to today’s curriculum as well as enlightening them on the pitfalls of prior review and restraint.” Keekley said she created these talking points to help advisers begin to build their cases for a strong student-driven journalism program. Most of the points are from the new edition of The Principal’s Guide to Scholastic

Journalism. The piece is titled “Building the case against prior review and restraint: talking points to help start a discussion between advisers and administrators.”

✔ Fourth edition of Law

of the Student Press Available at the end of September from the Student Press Law Center. SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte said the major addition to the book is a greatly expanded section on the law of student broadcasting. That addition will cover such frequent areas of uncertainty as the use of licensed music in online and over-the-air broadcasting. The book also is substantially updated throughout to reflect the increasing migration of journalism to Twitter and other social-media platforms; the word “Twitter” did not even appear in the body of the third edition. Among several new sections is one focusing on student journalists’ successes in using state anti-SLAPP laws to win dismissal of frivolous defamation claims, and another focusing on the privacy issues raised by publishing material obtained through social networking pages. “We’ve actually kept quite a lot of the substance and structure of the third edition,” LoMonte said. “In rereading it, we were pretty satisfied that the framework holds up – it’s just a matter of adding five years’ worth of legal developments, including quite a lot in the area of online publishing, obviously. Five years ago, we had just gotten the first of the ‘student social networking’ rulings,

Doninger v. Niehoff, and now we have dozens of them.” LoMonte said another noteworthy addition is a section specifically about the law of access to places for news-gathering purposes because of all the cases involving clashes between police and photojournalists/videographers (including multiple arrests of students covering Occupy).

✔ JEA’s Curriculum InitiativeAvailable in spring at the San Diego convention. “As the largest scholastic journalism organization for teachers, the single most important task we are charged with is helping our members teach journalism,” vice president Sarah Nichols said. “JEA’s Curriculum Initiative is our answer to that charge,” Nichols said. “Based on 14 content areas to encompass everything from law and ethics to multimedia broadcast, the curriculum will offer modules that include activities, materials and evaluation tools in four different lengths of time.” Nichols said this initiative marks the best of what JEA is and does — and utilizes the expertise of JEA members as educational leaders in curriculum and instruction, solving a pressing need for all types of journalism educators. “What teacher won’t benefit from a dynamic curriculum, developed by an expert, specifically tied to Common Core State Standards and 21st Century Skills?” she asked. “Beginning teachers will have tried-and-true lessons, activities

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At the beginning of a publica-tion year, and well into the first semester, publication

advisers are faced with an incred-ible number of issues, some approaching crisis level. Are all the computers working? Is the first issue of the news publication going to be out sometime before Christmas? How much reviewing of our stories will go on outside the j-class? One significant issue,

mainly internal in nature, is how to combine effectively the return-ing j-stu-dents with first-year students who have no previous experience in commu-nication. How do you super-

vise the operation of your news-room while also teaching the basics of journalism to the rook-ies? Here are some ideas that might help, but be warned: some suggestions might cause advisers to re-think how their publication operation is set up. Create a “beat” system that divides the school community into broad subject areas and assign first-year reporters to those beats. Publication content always improves when the staff knows what is going on in the school, and a great way to accomplish this is to make sure all impor-tant aspects of school life are covered — clubs and organiza-tions, the four classes, student government, arts and entertain-ment, sports, faculty and staff. One model for this might be to see how the yearbook has been divided into sections. Keep first-year reporters on a beat for about

six to nine weeks, then rotate. J1s can write about things not on their beat at the same time, but they are responsible for their beat. Assign first-year reporters to the “wall poster” beat in addition to their actual beat assignment. Require J1s to bring at least one story idea to the newsroom each week taken from a wall poster. You could turn this into an assignment for a grade: bring in an idea, describe why the idea is important, include the names of at least two or three people to interview (including titles) and list two or three questions to ask of each source. The wall poster beat is a year-long beat, by the way. Assign first-year reporters to collect all information on clubs and organizations for a clubs page or column. Some clubs are huge; most are not. Taken together, however, the clubs and organizations in a school generate a lot of interest and activity, and student energy, and usually form the core of what’s going on in the school. You could determine whether the clubs in the school can be divided into logical categories (science, math and technology; foreign languages; service organizations), and these groupings can be assigned to first-year reporters. Have one of your returning students collect the official list of all authorized clubs at the beginning of the school year and divide the clubs into categories, then assign J1s to each category. Create a news briefs column and assign J1s to write the items for this column. These are the one- and two-paragraph shorts about fundraisers, upcoming events, individual student honors and awards. As adviser, you can determine which of your J1s need help in writing by how they handle these items. You also can assign J1s to retrieve all the announcements that are read

over the public address system or broadcast over the in-house TV channel, as a way to help editors determine story assignments. Assign first-year reporters to collect information for all newspaper calendars. This corresponds to assigning first-year reporters to cover clubs and organizations, but it also means that someone is collecting information on all athletic events and all art-drama-music events, too. This also will help the first-year reporters understand how much is happening in the school outside their own areas of interest. If your publication does “man-on-the-street” interviews, have first-year reporters collect this information. This is not time-consuming, and it gets J1s familiar with interviewing techniques. Be sure that the questions asked are not answered by simple “yes” and “no,” and make sure the first-year reporters can vouch for the quotations they bring back. Assign first-year reporters to collect all sports scores, statistics and schedule changes, and have them collect information for a sports briefs column. This is similar to the news briefs column process. Sports stories are often about numbers and statistics, and few scholastic publications ever publish numbers and statistics in their sports stories. Have the J1s collect line scores (scores by quarter, period or half) and game statistics, not all of which you will use. Make sure all sports get covered—boys and girls varsity, boys and girls JV, freshman teams. You might not run stories about JV sports, but you could run a line score in small type. Also find out which player is leading the conference in scoring or points per game or home runs, and what are those numbers? This helps put more names in the publication, by the way.

Require first-year reporters to interview students outside the journalism or communications class. In fact, prohibit first-year reporters from interviewing anyone in the class. This improves interviewing skills and helps get first-year reporters comfortable with talking to strangers, including adults. Too often, J1s think they can fulfill an assignment by talking to someone in the J-class. You might even require J1s to interview at least three people for any story, and they all can’t be in the same category — not all students, not all teachers, not all administrators. Allow first-year reporters to accompany returning reporters and editors on feature interview assignments, not just to observe, but also to participate in the interview. The first-year reporters will absorb some of the skills the older reporters have (assuming they have such skills) by observing, of course, but the first-year students also might develop some of their own skills, especially if you require them to ask at least two questions during such an interview. You also can reward the efforts of the J1s by giving a double byline atop the story, or by adding at the end “Susie Jones also contributed to this story.” Do not allow first-year students to write editorials or columns during their first year, and do not allow them to write reviews until at least the second semester. Let your veterans handle these assignments; make sure the first-year students receive experience in basic news writing and interviewing first. Perhaps J1s could write capsule reviews on occasion, but nothing substantial until at least the second semester, or second half of the first semester for those on block schedules.

Use inexperienced students wisely

Steve Rowis currently a journalism instructor at East Carolina University. He was journalism education coordinator at Richmond Newspapers Inc. from 1992-2003, after working 24 years as a reporter and editor at The Richmond News Leader. He was assistant director of the DJNF’s Urban Journalism Workshop at Virginia Commonwealth University and chairman of the Virginia Press Association’s journalism education committee, and he has been an instructor at state, regional and national scholastic journalism conferences. He served as associate editor at CityView magazine in Knoxville, Tenn., 2004-05 and is doing freelance writing and editing from his home in Greenville, N.C. He can be reached at steverow_editor @hotmail.com.

WRITERS’ BLOCKBy Steve Row

Be warned: some

suggestions might cause

advisers to re-think how

their publication operation is

set up.

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.I4 PAGE14A FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

This fall Maryssa Sklaroff left Palo Alto (Calif.) HS for Northwestern University, but she took along a

$1,000 scholarship, a reminder of the singular honor awarded to her adviser, Ellen Austin. Austin, former adviser to the Viking Sports newsmagazine and co-adviser of INfocus, the daily school broadcast program, was the 2012 National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. She started the new school year as director of journalism programs at The Harker School, San Jose. Maryssa was executive producer for INfocus in her senior year and ran the publication along with two of her peers. She wrote, “Ms. Austin is a teacher who does whatever she thinks is best for her students. She has a strong passion for English and journalism and she genuinely wants her students to thrive and to love English and journalism the way she does. This is what I admire and respect most in her as a teacher and mentor. “I love broadcast journalism and multimedia in general because I feel that when used in the right way, videos have the ability to spread a message to an enormous amount of people in an extremely powerful way. With this principle in mind, I am starting at Northwestern University this year and pursuing a major in radio/television/film production. I am especially interested in

long-form video journalism (like the projects I produced my junior year) and documentary filmmaking. I plan to learn how to use the correct tools in the best way to spread my and others’ messages through multimedia,” she said. Examples of her work can be seen on YouTube. PSA: SportsmanshipPSA Feature: 28:30 A Day In the Life of Paly StudentsNews: Daily broadcast Jeremy LinAnchor: Daily broadcast 2/8/13 Kevin Dukovic was the alternate at Palo Alto. He, too, is attending Northwestern University. Students of Distinguished Advisers Jim Streisel of Carmel (Ind.) HS and Bretton Zinger, then of Chantilly (Va.) HS, received $500 scholarships. Lindsey Walker, Streisel’s student, is enrolled at Indiana University. Joshua Wallace, Zinger’s student, attends the

University of Virginia. Lindsey and Josh were selected for scholarships after winning writing competitions at their schools in May. Lindsey wrote a profile on the head of safety officers at her high school. James Benedict, who also attends Indiana University, was the alternate at Carmel HS. Josh wrote about Mary Kay Downes, English department head, adviser to Chantilly HS’s yearbook and a former president of the Columbia Scholastic Press Advisers Association. The alternate at Chantilly was Christina Castle who attends George Mason University.

News Fund names scholarship winners

Maryssa Sklaroff

Lindsey Walker Joshua Wallace

JOURNALISTS — These three student journal-ists won DJNF scholarships for excellence in writing. The scholarships are provided by the News Fund for one student from the Teacher of the Year’s school, and one student each from the Distinguished Advisers’ schools.

ROUNDUPFALL 2013

Post your state, regional or national association’s activities in Adviser

Roundup by dropping editor George Taylor ([email protected]) a line with your information. Photos with captions from events are welcome. Next deadline is Dec. 1.

AEJMC Monica Hill, director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association (NCSMA), received the Scholastic Journalism Division’s David Adams Journalism Educator of the Year Award during the SJD’s business meeting at the AEJMC convention in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 9. Hill is a national leader in journalism education. She has contributed as either chair, board member, committee member or judge to the work of every national scholastic journalism organization. The David Adams Journalism Educator of the Year Award is given annually during AEJMC’s summer convention to recognize a deserving division member for his/her outstanding performance in the college/university classroom and in scholastic journalism workshops and conferences.

CSPAThe 2014 recipients of five prestigious honors to be bestowed by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association of Colum-bia University will be announced Dec. 1. The awards presentation will take place at CSPA’s 90th annual Spring Scholastic Convention which will be held at Columbia University from Wednesday, March 19, through Friday, March 21, 2014. The awards convocation ceremony will be held March 21 in the Low Library rotunda on the university campus. The honors include: The Joseph M. Murphy Award which recognizes outstanding service to the association over many years. It is intended as the ultimate distinction

offered by the association for service by a person. This honor is named for the CSPA’s founding director and honors his 45 years of distinguished service to the student press and to Columbia University. The Charles R. O’Malley Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes “a sustained record of outstanding teach-ing” in support of student journalism or student publishing. It is intended to be the CSPA’s highest accolade in sup-port of the core function of teaching as related to student-practiced journalism. The award is named for the CSPA’s second director and honors his gener-ous service to the student press and to Columbia University, his alma mater. The James F. Paschal Award for

state or regional school press associa-tion officials who have distinguished themselves in the field . This award honors the late James Frederick Pas-chal, a former director of the Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association and a former editor of the CSPAA Bulletin. The CSPA Gold Key is given “In recognition of outstanding devotion to the cause of the school press, encour-agement to the student editors in their several endeavors, service above and beyond the call of delegated duty, leadership in the field of education, and support of the high ideals from which the Association has drawn its strength and inspiration.” The Gold Key tradition began in 1929. The Edmund J. Sullivan Award is

for student journalists who have fought for the right to speak their minds while in pursuit of the truth on behalf of their students. The award may be given to a student or a group of students and it honors Edmund J. Sullivan, the CSPA director since 1981.

ILLINOISTen high school journalists and their advisers were honored at the annual IJEA All-State Luncheon in June at the Executive Mansion in Springfield, Ill. They are Kristin Brentlinger, Cisne, Trudy Hurd, adviser; Michelle Czaja, Elk Grove, Lisa Martineau, adviser; Maggie Devereux, Prospect, Jason Block, adviser; Michael Geheren, Huntley, Dennis Brown, adviser; Arthur

Hecht, McHenry, Dane Erbach, adviser; Melissa Karp, Deerfield, Buffy Sallee, adviser; Johnathan Marchbanks, Belleville West, Laurie Bielong, adviser; Joseph Salvato, Rolling Meadows, Stan Zoller, adviser; Rachel Tripp, Belvidere North, Mike Doyle, adviser; Seth Wade, Washington Community, Jennifer Reiser, adviser. Molly Beck, education reporter for the State Journal-Register, was the featured speaker. The event was hosted by the Illinois Press Foundation. Laurie Bielong, adviser from Belleville West HS, accepted the Illinois Scholastic Journalism Educator of

Monica Hill

See ROUNDUP on page 15A

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the Year Award at the annual Advisers’ Breakfast during the IHSA state journalism finals in April at Eastern Illinois University. Greg Bilbrey, editor of the Robinson (Ill.) Daily News, and John Gonczy, adviser at Marist HS in Chicago, were named at-large members of the IJEA Board of Directors by President Sarah Doerner. Dann Gire, movie critic for the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Ill., was named Friend of Scholastic Journalism for Illinois at the September IJEA Fall Conference at the University of Illinois.

JEAJulie Dodd, a pro-fessor at the Uni-versity of Florida, has resigned from the Journalism Edu-cation Association Board as scholastic press association liason. Dodd said

that working with the SPA leaders has been a great experience. “Being on the JEA Board has enabled me to be a part of discussions on a wide range of issues as we – as individuals and as an organization – work to promote scholastic journal-ism and provide resources, support and encouragement for advisers and students,” Dodd wrote in an email mes-sage to all SPA Roundtable members.

ROUNDUPContinued from page 14A

Dodd, who received the Carl Towley Award in 2001, has served on the Board with six different JEA presidents. As a Board member, she was on the original Certification Committee that developed the JEA Certification Program and also was on the original Multicultural Committee. She was chair of the JEA Nominations Committee for four elections. She will continue to serve on the JEA Mentoring Committee. JEA presented its annual awards during the fall JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Boston.Carl Towley Award: Linda Barrington, MJE, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, Wis.Administrator of the Year: Evans Bryant Branigan III, North Central HS, Indianapolis, Ind.Medal of Merit: Carrie Faust, MJE, Smoky Hill HS, Aurora, Colo.; Karen Flowers, CJE, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.; Kim Green, MJE, Columbus (Ind.) North HS; and Cindy Todd, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas.Friend of Scholastic Journalism: Jim Angele, Lincoln, Neb.; Dann P. Gire, The Daily Herald, Hoffman Estates, Ill.Lifetime Achievement Award: Pat S. Graff, Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva HS, retired); Rod Howe, Omaha, Neb. (Westside HS, retired); Dianne Kuppig, Lincoln, Neb. (Lincoln Southwest HS, retired); Mary Luckenbill, CJE, Glendale, Ariz. (Deer Valley HS, retired); Cheryl Pell, CJE, East Lansing, Mich. (Michigan State University/MIPA, retired); Ann Quinlan, Lincoln, Neb. (Lincoln Southeast HS, retired); Mark

R. Sherwood, Orlando, Fla. (Milwee MS, retired); Terry Sollazzo, Valrico, Fla. (Wharton HS, retired); Darryl Stafford, Denver, Colo. (Kent Denver School, retired); Mark Thompson, CJE, Lake Villa, Ill. (Antioch Community HS, retired) and Kay H. Windsor, Clemmons, N.C. (R.J. Reynolds HS, retired).

KEMPAChange is afoot at the Kettle Moraine Press Association from its re-invented summer workshop to the selection of a new logo and the development of a brand-new website (KEMPAjournalism.org). KEMPA’s summer workshop featured two new classes: Digital and Social Media and Student Media Advisers. A new summer internship program gave college-age students an opportunity to work as journalists at the workshop, reporting about events and experiences at camp. KEMPA’s fall conference featured the Tinker Tour and awarded member publications with their critiques and rankings. The following individuals won KEMPA awards: Administrator of the Year: Jeffrey Eben of J.I. Case HS in Racine, Wis.Friend of KEMPA: Kellie Doyle of Lake Forest College, Ill.Media Award: the Wisconsin Newspaper AssociationJan Kohls Yearbook Adviser of the Year: Tom Juran of Brookfield (Wis.) Central HSNancy Becker Newspaper Adviser of the Year: Charles Pratt, retired from Niles (Ill.) North HS;

Hall of Fame induction: Mike Doyle of Belvidere (Ill.) North HS Student Gebhardt Feature Writing Award: Ivana Kosir, recent graduate of Niles (Ill.) North HS. KEMPA members look forward to the Winter Advisers’ Seminar, March 7-8, 2014, featuring Carrie Faust, MJE, as the keynote presenter. For more information, check out the seminar at http://kempajournalism.org.

NESPAChoose a topic, find a local angle and present it. That’s the challenge of the New England Scholastic Press Association’s fall contest. The key is for student journalists in New England to show how issues and events that affect people in the region, the United States or around the world affect people in their own schools. Possibilities for topics range from credit cards to gap years to the price of gas to standardized testing. Among the topics winners have written about — and that could still be great choices this fall are • Facebook and the college admissions process • a graduate on a professional sports team • head injuries • members of the military coming home on leave • school lunches • school security • sleep deprivation • weird New England weather

Entries are due Jan. 10. For details go to: blogs.bu.edu/nespa

Send entries to New England Scholastic Press Association, Helen F. Smith, executive director, Boston University, College of Communication, 640 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass. 02215.

SPLCThe Student Press Law Center is expanding its work with youth activism organizations that promote student involvement in the formulation of school policy. Schools that are welcoming to student input will necessarily be schools more hospitable to inquisitive journalism. As part of that youth outreach effort, the SPLC partnered with the advocacy group Student Voice to create “The Digital Backpack,” a set of tips and examples for young people interested in getting involved — effectively and safely — in social and political causes. The package went live on www.stuvoice.org Aug. 20. SPLC alumni and supporters

throughout the greater D.C. area donned their best black attire Sept. 3 to honor the SPLC’s “man in black,” Adam Goldstein, on the 10th anniversary of his joining the organization. Adam

has personally handled nearly 14,000 calls for legal assistance as the SPLC’s Attorney Advocate, and his running video blogs on the SPLC.org website have attracted a cult following.

and assessments to get a solid start in the journalism classroom during that ‘survival mode’ stage,” Nichols said, “while veteran teachers will benefit from the ability to mix and match parts of each module to meet their own unique needs all as part of a national professional learning community. “The driving energy behind the project is powerful,” Nichols said, because nearly every day she receives questions about when the curriculum will be available to

members. “Just a quick scan of JEAHELP posts validates the need for a curriculum with established learner outcomes and materials for assessment. The level of academic discussion from the curriculum leaders is inspiring, and their work so far has been impressive,” she said.

✔Social Media Toolbox.By Marina Hendricks, previously director of Communications at the Newspaper Association of America and now a doctoral

student at the University of Missouri. Available now at http://hendricksproject.wordpress.com. Social media all too often evoke negative rather than positive reactions in adults who are in the position of making decisions about its availability in schools. The fact is, teens use social media – and do so regardless of well-meaning restrictions or firewalls. High school journalism programs can lead the way by modeling responsible social media and journalism practices – accuracy, verification, prompt correction of errors. In the

ANTICIPATEContinued from page 12A

process, they can provide a valuable civic service for their communities. The Social Media Toolbox, which includes lesson plans and related resources, helps student journalists and their advisers get started with social media, or refine what they already are doing with these 21st-century technologies. Especially because of social media’s use by scholastic journalists, these currently and soon-to-be-available educational materials can change the Fall of Anticipation into a Spring of Growth in student media.

What teacher won’t benefit from a

dynamic curriculum, developed by an expert, specifically tied to the Common Core State Standards and 21st

Century Skills?

“”

Adam Goldstein

Julie Dodd

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Address Service RequestedAdviser Update is published by the Dow Jones News Fund andis provided freeof charge. To be placed on the mailing list, to request information about DJNF or to correct this label, contact:

Dow Jones News FundP.O. Box 300Princeton, NJ 08543-0300609-452-2820

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDPrinceton, NJ

Permit No. 411

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NEWS FUNDADVISER UPDATEn Who are we?The Dow Jones News Fund, a nonprofit foun-dation supported by the Dow Jones Foundation and other newspaper companies, encourages young people to consider journalism careers.

n Adviser Update’s missionAdviser Update, a newsletter published by the Dow Jones News Fund for high school journalism teachers and publications advis-ers, is a free quarterly serving the inexperi-enced as well as the veteran. It will be the seminal free resource for these educators, a clearinghouse of practical, topical informa-tion.

n Contacting the News FundMail: P.O. Box 300, Princeton, NJ 08543-0300Phone: 609-452-2820Fax: 609-520-5804E-mail: [email protected]

n News Fund staffRichard Holden, executive directorLinda Shockley, deputy director Diane Cohn, director of finance

n Contacting Adviser UpdatePlease address all news items to George Taylor, Adviser Update editor.Mail: 200 North Lehigh St., Tamaqua, PA 18252Phone: 570-668-4451E-mail: [email protected]

n Article submissions, story ideasAdviser Update welcomes story ideas and articles from its readers. Some articles are reprints from other publications in the field of scholastic journalism. Original articles should be between 400 and 600 words in length and on topics of importance or interest to Update’s targeted audience. Articles can be sent to George Taylor via e-mail (Word, RTF or text file). Color photos (high resolution jpegs) or PDF graphics are welcome. Authors must include a paragraph biography and a color mug shot. Copy and graphics can also be sent to the editor on CDs. Writers are paid based on the depth of the article, accompa-nying artwork and placement in the publica-tion. Please address all news items to:George Taylor, Adviser Update editor.Mail: 200 North Lehigh St., Tamaqua, PA 18252Phone: 570-668-4451E-mail: [email protected]

n Editorial reprints/permissions,subscriptions, back issuesTo be placed on the Adviser Update mailing list, to report a change of address, to order reprints of articles or to obtain permission to use any part of Adviser Update, contact Linda Shockley at the News Fund at 609-452-2820 or [email protected].

n Web site servicesInformation about the News Fund, its services and programs and selected articles from Adviser Update are available at the News Fund’s Web site: https://www.newsfund.org.twitter.com/djnf

n UpdateGeorge Taylor, editorKathleen Zwiebel, designMary Kay Davis and Elsa Kerschner, production

T H I S S T R U C Kf ancymy

This cover started out as a back-up cover. We had an original plan for a posed shot for the cover, but the pic-

ture did not turn out well. During that photo shoot, we took a back-up photo of the three football players featured in the first row of the cover. We sharpened the photo and noticed how good and dramatic it looked, so we decided to expand on the photo by taking pictures of six other seniors. For each picture (shot in .RAW), Trevor Currie, our photogra-pher for the cover, sharpened the picture. We then proceeded to cut each picture out. I did most of the cutouts, but Amanda Pollmann, Jane Manwarring, Trevor Cleveland, Trevor Currie and Lucy Dwyer helped as well. The process of cutting out took around five hours at the school. After band camp, I went home and finished cut outs until 3:35 a.m., which is when I finished the cover. It was a diligent process, but worth all of the sleep depriva-tion in the end.The athletes on the cover are: Blake Goddard, Jordan Brown, Eric Phil-lips, Connor Scott, Antonio Weston, Robert Young, Brendan Doyle, Amon Mason and Rico Felton (all seniors).

Daniel Witt, design editorKirkwood Call Kirkwood HSKirkwood, MO

Mitch Eden, [email protected]

Back to School issue cover

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fancyT H E S E S T R U C K

ourKeeping sports coverage

FRESHProviding coverage in a newspaper that comes out once or twice a month is unto itself a challenge. The challenge is heightened when it comes to covering a school’s athletic programs. While many schools use their newspaper’s website for game stories, they now face the challenge of making their sports sections interesting and timely. Sports features about in-season athletes, issues such as concussions or other athletic news are becoming more common Engaging sports coverage requires newspaper staffs to work cooperatively more than ever before. Where a dominant game photo used to be a hook, it now screams “dated story.” A high school sports editor must take the lead in identifying not only engaging stories, but ways to make the sports pages and coverage appealing to a wide audience. Some schools see fit to cover, sometimes to an excess, local professional teams even though nearby dailies do so on a regular basis. The challenge for scholastic sports editors and writers is to be crisp and creative. How is this being accomplished? Many schools include not only sports briefs, but often take the time to feature sports in a series of extended wrap-ups, often including dominant artwork. Sports sections are also taking a closer look at students who participate in non-school sponsored sports. These not only offer diversity to a sports section, but highlight students who might otherwise go uncovered. With the advent of school publications online, and more school newspapers publishing only once a month, student journalists are challenged to keep their publications fresh and invigorating. In sports, many school publications have not only met the challenge, they’ve exceeded it.

THE HUB, DAVIS SENIOR HS (DAVIS, CALIF.)

March 29, 2013: This page has a lot of wow factor by virtue of its dominant art, headline fonts and use of running the type down the side. The photo collage, handled by a team of staff members at the HUB, including art director Henry Anker, photo editor Lani Chang and editor in chief Daniel Tutt, is effective because the bottom image takes your eye right into the story. The story is tightly written for an unusual subject. A deck to tweak the reader as to the subject may have helped as would setting the story ragged right to take advantage of the openness of the bottom of the photo may have added a bit of spice to the layout, but the overall layout and design remains strong.Did you notice? The excellent use of spot color in the headline calls attention to the story by blending in well with the photo.Says the adviser: According to adviser Kelly Wilkerson, the layout was “kind of a last-minute thing” because the staff was working together and looking at a variety of possibilities of each element including the headline and photo treatment.Adviser: Kelly Wilkerson

By Stan Zoller

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PAGE 2B FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

THE HIGHLANDERHOMESTEAD HS (MEQUON, WIS.)

June 2013: An attractive page that lets readers know that The Highlander is covering all sports. The use of six strong student-taken photos across the top with well-placed and readable headlines make it an easy read. The inclusion of the athletes of the issue makes the coverage of spring sports complete. To aid in the page design, the use of cutouts of the featured athletes highlights the story and accents the page while bringing the reader into the story. It is a great blend of stories in an attractive easy-to-read package.Did you notice? The outstanding incorporation of print with digital and online media tells the readers there is more information available. The use of both the QR codes and URL shows a progressive approach to providing consumers information that best suits their needs.Says the adviser: “We were going for a page that was pleasing to the eye and covered all the spring sports and our Athletes of the Issue, which we do every issue. We also wanted it to be very interactive — hence the QR coded Vine videos related to each sport,” says adviser Rachel Rauch.Adviser: Rachel Rauch

Stan ZollerStan Zoller, MJE, has been a journalism

educator for 15 years. Before that, he worked as a journalist and media relations

professional. He is vice president of freedom of information for the Chicago Headline

Club, the nation’s largest local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was a DJNF Special Recognition Adviser

in 2010 and Distinguished Adviser in 2011. He is a member of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission and the Multicultural

Commission. In addition to his work in scholastic journalism, Zoller is a freelance writer and, starting in January, will be an

adjunct professor of journalism at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill. He can be reached

at [email protected]

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ADVISER UPDATE FALL 2013 PAGE 3B

December 2012: Think tabloids have to be crowded and gray? Take a look at the Red & Black. The use of dominant art and a subtle variety of fonts in the headlines, helps the story about a student boxer pop off the page. The use of an outlined photo in the bottom of the page provides a nice accent. Subtle design elements including horizontal rules and spot color in boxes surrounding folio elements are an effective use of spot color without detracting from the page. Did you notice? The depth of field and lighting in the main photo taken by Jimmy Herd-Bond is most effective.

April 2013: The page featuring the triple jump deserves triple praise. Clearly sports editor Samantha Votzke and photographer Jimmy Herd-Bond were in synch on how to shoot and design a story about a talented triple jumper. The photo illustration captivates readers and brings them into the story, which is augmented by the story about Jeremiah Green’s extraordinary career and future. The headlines work well and are clever (A hop, skip and a jump) and complement the photo well. The headline below, although a bit short, does not result in trapped white space.A look behind the scene: According to sports editor Samantha Votzke, “A piece was already being written on Jeremiah Green’s success at the triple jump and his future career at the University of Alabama and beyond. However, none of the sports editors or otherwise actually understood the complex event and that confusion inspired the photo.” Photographer Jimmy Herd-Bond added: “I began this piece with the idea to capture the triple jump event in one photo. In order to do this, I decided to take a series of photos and overlay them into one. This idea proved to be tricky in execution. In order to make a quality photo illustration, I first had to set up a tripod with a fixed focus and angle so all of the actions of the jump were caught from the same perspective. Next, I had to manually fix the aperture and exposure so the quality of each image was identical. Then, after three jumps, I had the series that I needed. I began construction of the overlay with the final image in the series and worked back from there. The trick for each overlay was to cut out just Jeremiah and his shadow then over lay that on the final image. The important detail was to include every shadow with each image of Jeremiah, this creates a better sense of realism.”Adviser: Joe Humphrey

RED & BLACKHILLSBOROUGH HS(TAMPA, FLA.)

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THE REMARKERST. MARK’S SCHOOL (DALLAS, TEXAS)

February 8 2013: Q&A interviews often come across as boring space fillers, but not in The ReMarker. Its consistent excellent photography and effective use of white space make the feature on soccer coach Kathryn Schoeberlein effectively packaged. In addition to the obvious Q&A, a sidebar, “A Schoeberlein Story,” gives her biographical information in a quick, easy-to-read capsule. Rather than fill the page with excessive photos of Schoberlein, sports editor Sam Khoshbin opted to include a news feature about a coach leaving the school to coach a minor league baseball team. Rather than use a standard headshot, The ReMarker used the coach’s baseball card from his days in Major League Baseball.A look behind the scene: The concept for the page and its story was initially developed to get a feel for the unique perspective that our female soccer coach has at an all-boys school. The alternative copy, being pure quotes, follows the flow of the interview in a natural storytelling progression. The base idea originated from an Esquire magazine issue that was doing spreads on celebrities where they gave tidbits of knowledge and advice.Says the adviser: “Sam did an extensive interview with the coach, then spent several hours transcribing and editing her words down to what you see on the page,” explains adviser Ray Westbrook. “He showed tremendous tenacity in weaving her quotes into what, I feel, is a very readable story, albeit one presented in a very different presentation style.”Adviser: Ray WestbrookAnother example from The ReMarker appears on page B7.

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ADVISER UPDATE SUMMER 2013 PAGE 5CPAGE 4B /5B FALL 2013 ADVISER UPDATE

THE TORCHGLENBROOK NORTH HS (NORTHBROOK, ILL.)

March 1, 2013: Effective page design can be achieved without four colors. Strong photos both above and below the fold enhance this page, even with a lengthy story. The lead story combines a strong headline with eye appealing photo. It does draw the reader into the story because of the action involved in dancing. The Torch shows strong headlines by using a deck to further tell the reader what the focus of the story is besides dancing. The spread below the photo is a fun way to show a first-person account, in this case The Torch’s managing editor taking on a four-year member of the badminton team (shades of Billie Jean King taking on Bobby Riggs – if you’re old enough to remember). The copy is short and to the point with information about each person set up as a simple info graphic.Did you notice? The Torch identifies the Athlete of the Month with a trophy incorporated into the stet head.What the adviser says: In regard to the layout and design process, adviser Bryan Halpern notes, “I don’t think we do anything unique. Just lots and lots of time collaborating. We brainstorm, then move to at least two or three rough mock ups, more collaboration and then the kids move their ideas to the computers. Often it doesn’t come out as anticipated at which point they regroup, collaborate some more and go back at it again. The sports section had a group of six or seven regulars that contributed to the process.”Adviser: Brian HalpernAnother example from The Torch appears on page B7.

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THE SUNRISECORONA DEL SOL HS (TEMPE, ARIZ.)

March 2013: Sometimes sports is the big news. At Corona del Sol HS, rather than focus on just the “main sport,” the staff decided to recognize all of the school’s champions. The lead was the basketball team, which won its second consecutive state championship. However, effective photos also highlighted two state champion wrestlers. The index to the “Championship edition” easily guides readers to coverage of other state champions. The page is anchored by the obvious photo – a title celebration. Its composition, however, is excellent. The trophy in the foreground mirrors and frames the excitement shown by the expression of the team members. It is a nice tight shot that does not let the emotion of the moment get lost in wasted space.Did you notice? Nice crisp fonts for the headlines and subtle use of spot color work well together.Says the adviser: “Because I don’t like to jinx things, we didn’t make the final decision about the special section until the boys’ basketball team won the state championship,” notes adviser Kris Urban. “That made the turnaround less than a week. Truthfully, I had an idea I wanted to do this if we won (and I did speak to my editor in chief about it), but it wasn’t made public to the staff until after the championship game.” Challenges? Of course. “I think the biggest challenge was to not make it look like we were favoring the basketball team. We probably could have made a four-page section about just the basketball team, but I wanted to include all the athletic and academic state champions of that year.” Adviser: Kris Urban

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ADVISER UPDATE FALL 2013 PAGE 7B

THE TORCHGLENBROOK NORTH HS (NORTHBROOK, ILL.)

February 2013: Effective packaging can easily be done without a lot of whistles and bells. The headline and photo illustration are a great example of cohesiveness. The unique angle of the photo draws the reader’s eye into the page. The page boosts a nice combination of a banner headline, deck and photo so the reader immediately knows what the coverage is about. The three-photo spread below the fold makes nice use of photos and serves as a unique way to highlight one of the school’s stronger shooting basketball players.Did you notice? The Torch incorporates part of a page’s photo into the sports nameplate. It’s subtle, but effective.Adviser: Brian Halpern

February 8, 2013: The ReMarker uses outstanding photography and white space to showcase its sports section. The sports cover in its Feb. 8 issue demonstrates not only a clean design, but detailed photo use. Complementing the story, “The High Flyer,” is an effective teaser on top and the feature, “Overtime,” that runs down the left hand rail.Did you notice? The upper right spot is reserved for the mailing label. Adviser Ray Westbrook says the school back folds the paper so the front page design can be free of U.S. Postal Service requirements.A look behind the scene: According to Sam Khoshbin, last year’s sports editor, “The idea for our player profile on Kendrick Spraglin [the player pictured] came from one simple fact: he can dunk. This opened up my mind to many visual ideas, especially after reading through so many ESPN and Sports Illustrated magazines. The one visual idea I thought would go especially well with the complete dunk was a stop-motion picture progression. Since the stop-motion was inherently horizontal, we used another photo of Kendrick with his eyes on the prize to fill the vertical space.” The photographer was Michael Doorey.Adviser: Ray Westbrook

THE REMARKERST. MARK’S SCHOOL, (DALLAS, TEXAS)

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Celebrate with CSPA at our 90th convention

Columbia Scholastic Press Association March 19-21, 2014

http://cspa.columbia.edu

These are scenes from past conventions. CSPA held it’s fi rst convention on March 12-13, 1924. It took it’s fi rst offi cial convention in 1927. More than 340,000 delegates have attended our conventions, conferences and workshops.

CSPA is celebrating Attendance is open to student editors and faculty advisers to newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, video productions and online media from schools throughout the United States and Canada, as well as overseas schools following an American plan of education.

Convention delegates can choose from 350 or more sessions organized in sequences for newspaper — print and online, yearbook, magazine, photography, social media, law and ethics, video, advisers and digital media. All sequences will run simultaneously throughout the three days of the convention.

Free on-site critiques will be off ered throughout the three-day convention.

CSPA is also planning Student and Adviser Swap Shops throughout the 2014 Scholastic Convention. These will be off ered for newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and digital media.

For more information on registration and program content, please check the CSPA web site at:

The 90th Annual Spring Convention on Columbia University’s campus

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This year’s High School Communications Contest winners represented 13 states. First-

place entrants from state contests across the country competed in the national contest. Students competed in 20 categories: editorial, opinion, news story, feature story, sports story, columns, feature photo, sports photo, cartooning, review, graphics, single-page layout, double-truck layout, environment, video news story, video feature story, video sports story, yearbook layout, yearbook photo and yearbook copywriting. Professional communicators and journalism educators judged the contest, which is sanctioned by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Almost every judge this year commented on the overall quality of the entries, the challenging nature of the topics the students tackled and the excellence the students demonstrated whether they were writing, taking photographs, or designing pages and graphics. Alexis Vinton of Omaha, Neb., who was the first-place winner in the columns category, attended the awards luncheon and spoke briefly to the audience about her winning columns, her love for writing and her plans to study creative writing at college. All national first-place winners received a $100 cash award; all first, second and third place and honorable mention winners received award certificates. For more information about the NFPW and its annual contests visit www.nfpw.org.

13 states represented

News storyFirst: Eliza Llewellyn, Staples HS, Westport, Conn., “Legacies: Investigating a College Application Controversy”Second: Megan Lucas, Allen HS, Parker, Texas, “From Russia With Love … No More”Third: Emma Stancey and Eloise Fischer-Fortney, Naperville North HS, Naperville, Ill., “Achievement Gap”Honorable mention: Clare Varellas, Acalanes HS, Lafayette, Calif., “Boy Scout Denied Membership and Eagle Award Due to Sexuality;” and Sophia Li, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Dornan’s Army: Back for Another Year”Judge: Ed Anderson, former Capital Bureau reporter, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, La.

National Federation of Press Women2012 HS Journalism ContestNFPW

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Feature photoFirst: Brad Wash, Acalanes HS, Lafayette, Calif., “Brett Olson Memorial Vigil”Second: Miranda Wieczorek, Grand Island SHS, Grand Island, Neb., “Nerveless Nocks Nocks Thrill Show performs”Third: Alissa Ousley, Timberline HS, Boise, Idaho, “Philosopher Pangloss (Austin Anderson) and Chambermaid Paquette (Sabrina Garrison)”Honorable mention: Michaela O’Connor, Blue Valley Northwest HS, Overland Park, Kansas, “Warming up her performance at the Korean Folk Festival”Judge: John Ballance, photography editor, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Sports photoFirst: Brad Wash, Acalanes HS, Lafayette, Calif., “Wide receiver Stephen Main fields a catch”Second: Ashley Collins, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “Senior football players Blain Jackson and Ian Shuttleworth celebrate”Third: Olivia Davila, Duncanville HS, Duncanville, Texas, “Some of the same starters”Honorable mention: Nick Kanaly, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Jordan Combs negotiates the bar”Judge: Ron McQueeney, retired director/photography, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Ind.

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ADVISER UPDATE FALL 2013 PAGE 3C

EnvironmentFirst: Charu Srivastava, Palo Alto HS, Palo Alto, Calif., “Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Spare”Second: Vanessa Abplanalp, Katie Hinh, Moira McKinney, and Tori Updike, Southport HS, Indianapolis, Ind., “Are We Making It Hotter?”Third: Kellie Wasikowski, Omaha Westside HS, Omaha, Neb., “Education Key to Recycling Effort”Honorable mention: Jake Knight, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “New Building Comes With Fuel-Efficient Parking”Judge: Amy Wold, environmental reporter, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Feature storyFirst: Claire Schomaker, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “The Fourth Step”Second: Matt Hanson, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kansas, “Water Changes Everything”Third: Claire Fahy, Convent of the Sacred Heart HS, San Francisco, Calif., “Bullying and Depression Take On a New Meaning”Judges: Miranda Tsang, communications manager, and Molly Parent, programs assistant, 826 Valencia, San Francisco, Calif.

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Single-page layoutFirst: Jake Knight, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “Prospective—Page 1”Second: Madison Riehle, Convent of the Sacred Heart HS, San Francisco, Calif., “Local Icon Turns 75—Page 2”Third: Jeffrey Back, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Eye on the Defense”

Honorable mention: Davis Haithcock, Wando HS, Mount Pleasant, S.C., “The Tribal Tribune—Page 1”Judge: Denise Jennings, former news editor, The Palm Beach Post; former news editor, the Gwinnett Daily News, Lawrenceville, Ga.

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GraphicsFirst: Jeffrey Back, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Distracted Driving: What Text Is Worth Your Life?”Second: Diana Connolly, Palo Alto HS, Palo Alto, Calif., “Race and Education: Addressing the Elephant in the Classroom”Third: Jake Knight, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “The Hurt & the Heal”Honorable mention: Leah Arenz, Lawrence Central HS, Indianapolis, Ind., “Using Digital Devices for Schoolwork”; and Alyssa Chapin, East Mecklenburg HS, Charlotte, N.C., “Faces of the Middle East”Judge: Jeremy White, owner/publisher, Red Shtick Magazine, Baton Rouge, La.

Double-truck layoutFirst: Ashton Eley, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “Sleep: Everything You Need to Know”Second: Amrutha Dorai and Howard Lee, Monta Vista HS, Cupertino, Calif., “Wrestling Revolution”Third: Jeffrey Back, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Year of the Defense”Honorable mention: Emily Lor, Wando HS, Mount Pleasant, S.C., “Who Would You Choose?”; and Julia Carroll, Skyline HS, Idaho Falls, Idaho, “Gun Control Debate Heats Up”Judge: Denise Jennings, former news editor, The Palm Beach Post, West Palm Beach, Fla., and the Gwinnett Daily News, Lawrenceville, Ga.

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ColumnsFirst: Alexis Vinton, Marian HS, Omaha, Neb., “Scrolling Through Life: Children Lose Imagination Between www. and the .com;” “Introducing Introverts: There Are Perks to Being a Wallflower;” “Feminism: Uncalled-For Radicalism or Cry for Equality?”Second: Joshua Shi, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Social Media;” “Jumping Higher and Higher;” “Lipstick on a Dead Dog”Third: Madison Lowe, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “Tears Are Not Enough;” “Growing From the Pain;” “It Only

Took 75 Cents”Honorable mention: Caroline Varie, Lawrence Central HS, Indianapolis, Ind., “A ‘Simpler’ Life, a Chilean Life;” “A Proud Culture of Cultures;” “A Positive Side of Graffiti;” and Sarah Hirsch, Blue Valley Northwest HS, Overland Park, Kansas, “Discovering the New Normal;” “Congratulations for Nothing;” “No, LGBT Is Not a Type of Sandwich” Judge: JR Ball, executive vice president, Louisiana Business Inc.; executive editor, The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, Baton Rouge, La.

CartooningFirst: Lydia Fama, University HS, Chicago, Ill., “Dolor Sit Amet …”Second: Molly Wade, Cinco Ranch HS, Katy, Texas, “True Supporters of Politics”Third: David Choe, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind., “Graphic Perspective”Honorable mention: Reyes Brian, Century HS, Pocatello, Idaho, “Space Dudes”Judge: Jeremy White, owner/publisher, Red Shtick Magazine, Baton Rouge, La.

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EditorialFirst: Staff, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind., “The Policy for Punishment Should Accurately Reflect the Crime Committed”Second: Lucie Wall, Wando HS, Mount Pleasant, S.C., “Green for Grades”Third: Jacob Hoepner, Andover Central HS, Andover, Kansas, “The British Aren’t Coming”Honorable mention: Soo Song and Jacqueline Woo, Palo Alto HS, Palo Alto, Calif., “Online Shaming Needs to Stop”Judge: Marie Dillon, editorial page staff, The Tribune, Chicago, Ill.

OpinionFirst: Mitchell Kaskie, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kansas, “Finishing Up Hill”Second: Evan Goodrich, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark., “Fight for Your Right”Third: Taylor Blatchford, Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo., “Overachieving”Honorable mention: Carly Wood, Cy-Fair High School, Cypress, Texas, “Shakespearean Stupidity”Judge: Lanny Keller, editorial page staff, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Sports storyFirst: Julia Poe, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kansas, “Watching Her Fly”Second: Carissa Chan and Alaina Lui, Monta Vista HS, Cupertino, Calif., “Playing Through the Pain”Third: Hannah Lieberman, East Mecklenburg HS, Charlotte, N.C., “Concussions Handled With Care at East”Honorable mention: Natasha Rausch, Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio, “Game Changer”Judge: Bob Neese, promotions manager, Louisiana Public Broadcasting; sports desk copyeditor, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

WINNER — Cynthia Price, president of the board of the NFPW Education Fund, which sponsors the NFPW High School Communications Contest, presents Alexis Vinton with her first-place award for Columns during a luncheon at the national NFPW convention in Salt Lake City in August. Update photo courtesy of NFPW

ReviewFirst: Evelyn Wang, Palo Alto HS, Palo Alto, Calif., “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Found Spinning in Grave”Second: Taylor Blatchford, Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo., “Jason Mraz Concert Review”Third: Tom Heagney, Huntley HS, Huntley, Ill., “Music—Kendrick Lamar”Honorable mention: Abigail Kutlas, Grand Island Senior HS, Grand Island, Neb., “Nutella: Peanut Butter’s New Nemesis”; and Erica Jordan, East Mecklenburg HS, Charlotte, N.C., “Beta a Great Read for Sci-Fi Fans” Judge: Paulette Senior, co-founder, The Ripe Report blog; retired owner/publisher, South Baton Rouge Journal, Baton Rouge, La.

Video news storyFirst: Shane Samuelson, Hastings HS, Hastings, Neb., “A Test of Social Security”Second: Madeline Eggers, Frisco ISD Career & Technical Education Center, Frisco, Texas, “Chil Out”Third: Monica Castro, Lowell HS, San Francisco, Calif., “30-Game Simultaneous Chess Exhibition”Honorable mention: Phillip Macdonald, Oakbrook Preparatory School, Spartanburg, S.C., “Washington, D.C., Day 1”Judge: Susan Wade, magazine columnist and owner, 1320TV, Snohomish, Wash.

Video feature storyFirst: Sam Stockard, Frisco ISD Career & Technical Education Center, Frisco, Texas, “Blessed Union”Second: Sophie Keyes, Clinton HS, Clinton, S.C., “Ask My Name”Third: David J. Klick, Timberline HS, Boise, Idaho, “College Tips”Honorable mention: Henry Jackson, Carmel HS, Carmel,

Ind., “Color Me Impressed”Judge: Susan Wade, magazine columnist and owner, 1320TV, Snohomish, Wash.

Video sports storyFirst: Danny Sheehan, Frisco ISD Career & Technical Education Center, Frisco, Texas, “Techno Physical Ed”Second: Aungelina Dahm, Prospect HS, Mount Prospect, Ill., “Boys Basketball Defeats Elk Grove, Leads East Division”Third: Phillip Macdonald, Oakbrook Preparatory School, Spartanburg, S.C., “Varsity Cheer State Competition”Judge: Susan Wade, magazine columnist and owner, 1320TV, Snohomish, Wash.

Yearbook layoutFirst: Ali Self, Andover Central HS, Andover, Kansas, “Sizzling Summer Days”

Second: Demiana Khoury and Annabelle Carberry, Mercy HS, Burlingame, Calif., “Pinktober”Third: Emily Fisher, Marian HS, Omaha, Neb., “Communication Innovation”Honorable mention: Estelle Dailey, Midway HS, Waco, Texas, “Organizations”Judges: Dr. Reginald Owens, chair, Department of Journalism, and Phillip Michael LeBlanc, production manager, Department of Journalism, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, La.

Yearbook photoFirst: Faith Ford, Andover HS, Andover, Kansas, “Running through the tall grass”Second: Montana Cooley, Oakbrook Preparatory School, Spartanburg, S.C., “Skidding against the lake water”Third: Jeleny Solorzano, Jersey Village HS, Houston, Texas,

“Taking his turn in the physics lab.”Judge: Dr. Reginald Owens, chair, Department of Journalism, and Phillip Michael LeBlanc, production manager, Department of Journalism, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, La.

Yearbook copywritingFirst: Sydney Pelster, Marian HS, Omaha, Neb., “The Girl Behind the Guitar”Second: Rebecca Jenkins, Blue Valley Northwest HS, Overland Park, Kansas, “Seniority Majority”Third: Patrick Stanek, McHenry HS, McHenry, Ill., “Performing Under Pressure”Judges: Dr. Reginald Owens, chair, Department of Journalism, and Phillip Michael LeBlanc, production manager, Department of Journalism, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, La.

NPFW: more winners in high school contest

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