This year CCHS’s Academy of Journalism, made up of Cowboy TV (CTV), The Lariat (Newspaper), and The Round Up (Yearbook), is planning to increase communication between each club to create a more unified journalism program. The Academy of Journalism offers courses including journalism and T.V. production for those who choose any branch of journalism as a future career. Those who take and pass any set of specific CCHS Journalism classes are offered the opportunity to advance their knowledge in that specific branch. According to Tom Grozan, the advisor of The Lariat and Yearbook, they can also carry on their accomplishments to their resume’ for future job applications. Those who take the specified journalism courses can also use it to embellish their diploma as well as academic recognition on college applications. Last year each branch of CCHS’s Academy of Journalism worked at their own pace and followed their course, not really cooperating together as one. Alfredo Pichardo, the advisor of CTV, and Grozan, have discussed ways to advance their programs in any way possible. “We’d like to create a better communication and we hope to achieve this through promoting each other more this year,” Pichardo said. CTV and The Lariat plan to promote each other by combining ad packages in which business can support both clubs. In addition, CTV and Yearbook are working together by creating a video yearbook, in which they share footage and credit. “We decided to work together to build the Academy of Journalism into something better,” Grozan said. CTV informs the CCHS student body through news, entertainment, and sports segments each week. They are planning on producing four live webcasted football games: the kickoff at Harmony High, Hog Bowl, Homecoming; and a fourth game which will be voted on by the students through a poll on their website. “We hope to be far better this year than we were last,” Pichardo said. Through the Academy of Journalism, CTV and The Lariat will share news stories which will offer students more in depth coverage.
“We plan to share story ideas with CTV in order to provide students with more thorough news and information,” Grozan said. The Lariat spends fourth hour, as well as outside of school hours, gathering information in order to provide CCHS with well informative articles about school business. They find their information through interviewing teachers and staff as well as through research and personal knowledge. The Yearbook staff spends their time composing a “scrapbook” of school-related events and activities throughout the year. They have also decided to create a video yearbook along with the standard hard copy, both of which will be distributed at the end of the school year. According to Grozan this decision will help them better bond with CTV and has added to the unity of the Academy of Journalism. “Helping each other only the makes the program, as a whole, stronger. I would like CCHS to have the best journalism program in the county,” Grozan said.