VOLUME 1
SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Today’s News by Tomorrow’s Newsmakers
The following are excerpts only — for full stories, check out: www.JRNOLA.org
Having The Talk: Louisiana Teens, Abstinence, and the Abortion Ban B Y I S A B E L L A B R O W N
SUPPORT JRNOLA JRNOLA is a free afterschool program that empowers high schoolers aged 14-18 by positioning them as credentialed members of the media, teaching journalism through live event reporting and photography. We are a small nonprofit founded in 2017 that aims to change the face of journalism, addressing the underrepresentation of women and people of color in professional media. Our students don’t just learn about journalism; they are journalists. JRNOLA students cover events from behind the scenes, the press box, sidelines, courtside, or backstage. Our students engage with their community while learning how to think more critically and ask better questions.
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Protesters gather for a pro-choice protest at the Louisiana State Capitol building. PHOTO BY JENNY HOLL
On May 15, protesters gathered at the Louisiana state capitol. They were clad in white shirts with messages expressing their indignation: “Just Laws or Outlaws,” and, “Stop Colonizing Our Bodies.” Many lay on the floor, splattered in fake blood and red glitter. One protester stood and listed their demands: an increase in the minimum wage, access to childcare, and comprehensive sex education. It was clear what their main message was: stop regulating abortion. But to others, the cleanliness of Memorial Hall was more concerning. The protest ended after the group refused to move for the staff to mop the fake blood and glitter off the floor— police and security then escorted the protesters out in handcuffs. The abortion bans have drawn age-old lines in the sand—you’re either pro-choice or pro-life which essentially means you’re a Democrat (with the exception of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who is pro-life) or a Republican. The bans will be taken to the ballot box in Louisiana in early November 2020 and everyone’s going to want to know which side you’re on. However, for one group, it doesn’t matter which side they’re on because their voices will not be heard: teens younger than 18. The abortion ban will have a particularly large impact on teens in Louisiana because here they face an extreme disadvantage: lack of comprehensive sex education. While the abortion bans are concerning many residents of Louisiana, some go as far as to say that the state of sex education is even more grave. For example: Mandie Landry, a lawyer and supporter of abortion rights, who is running to represent District 91 in the Louisiana Legislature. “I think the lack of access to proper sex education and birth control at the moment is a bigger obstacle than abortion restrictions,” Landry said. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
Lighting the Pathway to Esports: New Avenues for Gamers B Y C H R I S T A Y L O R As you walk into a Major League Gaming (MLG) event, with fog at your feet and lasers glaring in your eyes, you can feel the electricity from esports fans cheering on a round-winning kill. Tons of tables are set up with gaming consoles for gamers to warm up, with sponsors lined up across the wall selling gear to fans stoked to rep their favorite squad. In the past five years, esports has stepped squarely into the sporting spotlight. Videogame-based competitions range from smaller, local festivals filled with aspiring pros and video game fanatics to multi-million dollar professional tournaments that attract tens of thousands of live fans and millions watching online. The League of Legends 2014 World Final that took place in Seoul’s Sangam Stadium—which hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup matches—had over 45,000 people in attendance with 27 million more people spectating online, according to Bet O’Clock. This past July, a 16-year-old gamer named Bugha won $3 million at the Fortnite World Cup, and pro gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins earned nearly $10 million in 2018, per CNN. And esports’ popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down—viewership has been growing constantly over the past two years. From 2017 to 2018 esports total viewership has grown to over 380 million viewers, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. By 2021 esports is estimated to have more viewers than every professional sports league except the NFL. With esports growing to reach the heights of more traditional sports, so too are the incentives to get there. Esports has already proven its viability as a market, and now there are various new methods of getting a leg up to reach pro gamer level. From colleges offering esports scholarships to automated bots doing real time coaching to tracking gamer stats sabermetrics, the path to professional gaming that was once murky is now becoming much, much clearer. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
Gamers ready for play at the Call of Duty World League tournament in New Orleans in January 2018. PHOTO BY SAM JOFFR AY
Needle in the Hay: Finding Black Women in Journalism BY TAYLOR PITTMAN (We at JRNOLA would be remiss to run an article about influential black female journalists without commemorating the life of New Orleans’ own Nancy Parker. Parker, an Emmy Award-winning reporter at WVUE, discovered her love of journalism in high school—just like the reporters in our program. She is remembered by the stories she told and remains an influence to young journalists everywhere.) Anderson Cooper, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Bob Woodward—all names that pop up when you Google “popular journalist, United States.” But as a teenage black girl who is an up-and-coming journalist, it’s disappointing to have to search the depths of Wikipedia to find female black journalists. Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Marvel Cooke, Nancy Hicks Maynard, Ethel Payne, and Ida B. Wells are some of the pioneer black female journalists that broke barriers. None of those pioneer journalists are with us any longer, and none are from New Orleans. But I also have amazing examples and role models to look up to right here in the Crescent City: Nicondra Norwood, Christina Watkins, Kristi Coleman, Liz
Reyes, Sabrina Wilson, Shan Bailey, the late Nancy Parker, and many more. So how far have we come from the pioneers to contemporary black female journalists? And what is it like for black women to work in the industry today? Linda Villarosa is an American author and journalist who is a former executive editor of Essence magazine. She’s worked on health coverage for Science Times and has also authored several books; her first novel, “Passing for Black,” was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 2008. “Right after college, I started my first journalism job at a national magazine,” Villarosa said. “Before my first day, the woman who was my boss—behind my back—announced that I was an affirmative action hire. She later told other editors that I had no talent and shouldn’t be encouraged to write. Now when I write stories for The New York Times Magazine, which I know she reads, I honor my own struggles, resilience, and ability to overcome oppression. And laugh at her,” Villarosa said with a satisfied smile on her face. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
Clockwise from top left: Christina Watkins, Keishel A. Williams, Linda Villarosa and Deja Harrison
How the South Was Won as a College Football Powerhouse BY W YAT T VAUGH N
St. Augustine High School quarterback Kendall Sampson Jr. (11) runs out of the pocket and down their home field. PHOTO BY DEREK DUNBAR
It’s easy to mistake the South’s passion for college football as merely a trend. Or a byproduct of fairweather fans following the recent successes of southern teams. But college football has been a dominant part of southern life since at least the late ‘90s, embedded in the region’s heart and soul. And it shows. From Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide to Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators to Mack Brown’s Texas Longhorns to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers, college football is strongest in the South. But it wasn’t always that way. In the ‘70s and ‘80s teams like Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, and USC dominated the college football scene. But the landscape of college football shifted in the late ‘90s. Of the 20 teams that were in the College Football Playoff in the past five years, a whopping 75 percent of them were from the South. How and why did this seismic shift happen?
In the ‘60s a lot of the Southern football programs were still segregated. While teams in the North and West were fully integrated, it wasn’t until the mid ‘70s that some Southern schools started to integrate their roster, and it took until the late ‘90s for the South to catch up to the rest of the country. It was teams like Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri who were tired of getting drummed by already fully integrated teams like Penn State, or USC. Ron Higgins, a Baton Rouge-based SEC columnist, said, “Integration made them take off because there were a lot of great African-American athletes and they were all going to predominantly black schools [in the South] before this.” It is clear that once integration started happening, the South started to slowly catch up to, and then pass all the other schools in the country. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
PHOTOS FROM EVENTS PAST
JRNOLA student Phillip Petty III looks out into the Superdome during a regular season game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams, November 4, 2018. PHOTO BY NICK BOULET
A Golden Eagle performs at the 2019 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. PHOTO BY ROB NOELKE
The New Orleans Saints defense pose for their signature photo after a dominant defensive performance, forcing two turnovers in the December 23, 2018 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. PHOTO BY CHRIS TAYLOR
JRNOLA student Isabella Brown interviews filmmaker Ken Burns at Tulane University on March 29, 2019. PHOTO BY NICK BOULET
The 48 Hour Film Project: Spinning Two Days Onto the Silver Screen B Y J A C K L Y N L E O On August 2, the New Orleans 48 Hour Film Project held the first day of its 13th annual red carpet screenings in the Central Business District. The hall of the Solomon Victory Theater in the National World War II Museum (an odd location choice, to be frank) was decorated for a banquet, the casts and crews were dressed for the Oscars, and there was an arch made of flowers for them to take photos underneath. If you’ve ever watched “Minute to Win It,” “Supermarket Sweep,” or anything with Gordon Ramsay then you’ll understand the stress of the 48 Hour Film Project. Two days to write, film, and edit a 3-9 minute short film, then have it on display for an audience of your peers to judge and enjoy. It’s like any other game show, except the prize isn’t a brand new car or a trip to Hawaii, but $500, new editing software, and a chance to show your film at the Cannes Film Festival. Teams of experienced and amateur filmmak-
ers pick a genre and are given a character, prop, and line on Friday. They then have to use those prompts in the movie they deliver to the judges on Sunday. As the project’s title suggests, the movies needed to be written, filmed and edited all in one weekend. With no pre-scripting and no time to lose, the cast and crew tested their abilities to work under pressure to the most extreme extent. The results ranged in topics from talking trashcans to murder mysteries. Although each film had its own touch, each film needed to have a character named Jerry or Jeri Arnold the accountant, a trashcan as a prop, and the line “We’re going paperless.” It would be easy to assume that having the same things in every film would get boring, but it was interesting to see the many different ways people used the different elements. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
Photo from Rachel Searcey’s “A Day Without Magic” made for the 2018 48 Hour Film Project
New Orleans Isn’t Known for Theater, But It’s Putting on Its Best Show B Y H A N N A H
Stage at Southern Rep Theatre getting ready for an upcoming performance. PHOTO BY ROB NOELKE
It was the night of the Endymion parade. But five miles away from the bright colors, throws, and beads of Mardi Gras, David W. Hoover, theater director at the University of New Orleans, was building up his own beads—of sweat. He tried to reassure his cast of the always-ambitious “Ghosts” (Henrik Ibsen) by giving them a pep talk before the curtain opened. “We’re doing this for us, so just know that going in,’’ Hoover said to the actors backstage. It was the closing night of his students’ show and it was unfortunately scheduled on the same night as one of the biggest parades of Carnival season. Hoover and the cast expected to see more empty seats than occupied ones in the Robert E. Nims Theater. But after the curtain was drawn, to the surprise of everyone involved in the production, the house was packed that Saturday night. “We had the best crowd. We sold out,” Hoover said.
DARCEY
In some ways, that packed closing night on Endymion was unusual for New Orleans. The city provides a constant stream of cultural events, festivals and art forms, but that busy entertainment schedule creates a challenge for the theater industry. And because there is no possible way to avoid scheduling on top of the many entertainment opportunities New Orleans has to offer, all local theaters have to work around that schedule. Mardi Gras can pose one of the greatest challenges for New Orleans theater directors—and not just because of all the distractions available. Hoover said that during the season, he’s experienced issues with cast members arriving late to rehearsal because they got stuck behind a parade or floats being transported from one side of town to the other. And if the actors are unable to attend a rehearsal, directors may have to replan what was originally intended to rehearse that day. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
PHOTOS FROM EVENTS PAST
Ted Ginn Jr. getting ready for the January 13, 2019 matchup versus the Philadelphia Eagles. PHOTO BY PHILLIP PET T Y III
Chris Taylor and Fox 8’s Rob Krieger at Wrestlemania 34 on April 6, 2018. PHOTO BY NICK BOULET
Auburn’s Abby Milliet gets some elevation during her floor routine at the 2019 SEC Gymnastics Championship at the Smoothie King Center. PHOTO BY W YAT T VAUGHN
King Zulu shares a few words with King Rex and the crowd on Lundi Gras 2019. PHOTO BY DEREK DUNBAR
Investigating New Orleans’ Broken School System From the Inside-Out B Y L A N A L A W S O N
A group of students standing in front of their school waiting for a ride home. PHOTO BY ROB NOELKE
Back in July I attended the New Beginnings School Foundation meeting about the controversy of Kennedy High School editing students’ scores. I walked in and grabbed a chair and a bag of popcorn off of the snack table, expecting a bit of a spectacle. But looking around, there were very few people. I came away confused about why there wasn’t a large crowd. For issues as fraught and consequential to a school as grade-fixing and the suspension of a school’s charter, why weren’t more people involved? I had the idea to write about Louisiana’s education system as a kind of embedded journalism project. I’m a sophomore in high school and felt I had a right to know what happens behind the scenes of the powers that shape my education. So I decided to talk to three New Orleans-based specialists in education with three different perspectives on charter schools, which, as of this year, make up the entirety of Orleans Parish schools.
Although many things the specialists had to say were different, they were at least on the same page about the basics: the need for more funding and the need to strive harder to improve education quality by giving students adequate support from teachers, administrators, and community members alike. Ashana Bigard, a member of Erase the Board, said that one of the biggest issues with charter schools is that they aren’t held to the same standards as traditional public schools. And that because of that, they lack accountability and oversight. This rang true with my experience as a student at a charter school in New Orleans. There are many rules that students find to be very arbitrary. For example a student is not allowed to use the restroom during the first and last 30 minutes in each class. Another example is our school’s lack of a gym. While other schools might have a gym, for physical education we have to play in our courtyard (a parking lot). Check out the full story at jrnola.org
What New Orleans Baseball Fans Can Do Now That The Baby Cakes Are Gone B Y D E R E K D U N B A R Sadly, the Baby Cakes are on their way out of town for good. Alongside their 22 years in the Big Easy, the Cakes had their ups and downs with the people of New Orleans. The Cakes (formerly the Zephyrs) went from seeing yearly averages of 7,500 fans per game at the Shrine on Airline to the stands looking more like a dog with mange on a good day. Yes, the Baby Cakes’ departure has created a vacuum for diehard baseball fans in New Orleans. But don’t worry, there are still many options for watching —from high school baseball to college baseball at UNO and Tulane. There are also several baseball tournaments that are played throughout the year. New Orleans even has an MLB-sponsored Urban Youth Academy helping to develop inner-city kids’ baseball skills. Even after the Baby Cakes leave, you can still find baseball at Turchin Stadium, home of the Tulane Green Wave. Tulane, a
Division I team, has won a whopping 75 percent of its games in Turchin since its opening—they are currently ranked third in their conference and 96th in the nation. Tulane’s Turchin Stadium is located in Broadmoor, a neighborhood where you have easy access to all the rich culture the Big Easy has to offer. Though baseball in New Orleans may be gone for the professionals, there is still a chance to catch the high school teams that are great foundations for many players. Here in New Orleans during the spring you can find a high school baseball game just about anywhere. And it’s easy enough to find them; most New Orleans high schools share the same baseball diamonds as their home fields. Check out the full story at jrnola.org
Sun partially covers the stands of the Shrine on Airline during the New Orleans Baby Cakes Media Day. PHOTO BY NICK BOULET
Students EDITORIAL Editor in Chief | Liam Pierce Editor | Allison McCarroll
BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS CEO/Co-founder Sam Joffray COO/Co-founder Allison McCarroll
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Lana Lawson - I’m 15 years old and I’m a sophomore at the International High School of New Orleans. My favorite thing about JRNOLA is that it’s a very supportive and comfortable space and I always feel motivated to do great work.
Chris Taylor - I am 16 years old and I am a junior at St. John the Baptist Magnet STEM High School Program. What I love about JRNOLA is the knowledge that we receive every time we meet. We’re always learning something new that will help us in the future, whether it pertains to journalism or life.
Phillip Petty III - I’m 16 years old and a junior at St. Augustine High school. My favorite part about JRNOLA is meeting new people that can teach me a lot of new things. I’ve always been learning something new every week when it comes to photography and also writing.
Derek Dunbar - I’m a senior at St. Augustine High School. My favorite part about JRNOLA is how I can explore New Orleans culture more by covering different events. Hannah Darcey - I’m a junior at Mount Carmel Academy. My favorite part of JRNOLA is being able to collaborate with other people on different projects and that it allows me to explore projects that I’m passionate about, such as theater and entertainment events.
Taylor Pittman - I’m a Junior at McDonogh 35 High School. I love the fact that JRNOLA gives me the opportunity to meet and network with some of the most amazing people in the world of journalism.
Isabella Brown - I’m a senior at Lusher Charter School. My favorite aspect of JRNOLA is how the program gives me the freedom to write what I am passionate about, while also teaching me how to progress in my writing.
Wyatt Vaughn - I am a freshman at Nicholls State University. My favorite thing about JRNOLA is that I get to experience incredible events that we would never get to do without the program.
Jacklyn Leo - I’m 15 years old, and I’m a sophomore at Lusher Charter School. My favorite part about JRNOLA is the community of writers working to improve their craft all together in the same space.
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You - If you have a passion for writing, photography or storytelling, we want you to join our team of talented and passionate junior journalists. Sign up today at jrnola.org or bit.ly/JoinJRNOLA.