ISSAQUAH PRESS INC. THE ISSAQUAH PRESS • SAMMAMISH REVIEW • NEWCASTLE NEWS • SNOVALLEY STAR P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-6434
Three years ago, Editor Kathleen Merrill got teachers at each of the three high schools in The Issaquah Press’ coverage area to start submitting student-written columns to the paper so they could appear weekly on the Schools page. She believed it was important to have student voices in the newspaper. This past summer, a local teen contacted Merrill and asked about having more space for teens in the newspaper. Both were convinced that having such content would increase teen readership of The Press, increase adults’ understanding of teen issues and give teens a voice where they previously had none. The result was The Beat, a monthly full page written by teens about teens for teens. What started as a cool idea has caught on in a big way and as schools prepare to let out for the summer, plans are beginning for the next school year’s pages. The Press now engages teens as readers and contributors in a way the newspaper had not before. The Beat is only the second teen-produced newspaper section in the state of Washington. Every month, there is a hard news story (topics covered have included the deadly choking game, homosexuality and health care reform); a feature from each of the three high schools, often about the same topic (recently featured were quirky clubs); an arts and entertainment piece (student bands, art projects, etc.); a how-to column; The Hot List (three things that are hot and now, including websites, books, music and movies); and Teen Talk, a man-on-the-street-type feature which asks students what they think about an important issue (a recent one talked about their thoughts on the health care law). Since the page started in December, teens have flocked to read The Beat, and to participate in its creation. The Beat’s Facebook page has more than 400 fans! A student posts updates on Twitter as well. Students come to Beat staff members throughout the month with story ideas and opinions. Teen Talk features a diverse group of students from all three schools and includes their photos with their opinions. The Beat is also changing the lives of the students involved in the project. Because of their new self-esteem, confidence and belief in what they’re doing, three members of The Beat staff recently attended a business plan competition at Seattle Pacific University, where they won $250. They were the only teens at the competition. The eight student writers and three student photographers (Beat staff members attend all three schools) meet with Merrill each month to talk about the following month’s issue, so it’s planned weeks in advance, making sure everyone makes his or her deadline among all of the school projects and commitments they already have. The staff also learns a real-life journalism lesson each month. Merrill and Beat Editor Tiffany Xu meet once a month to edit copy and plan some design details of the page. Another interesting feature is that people in the community, through grants and donations Merrill and Xu have obtained, pay for the page. This was done so the page doesn’t have to have advertising, giving the students the maximum amount of space available. This project is growing and breaking boundaries. More people are reading and commenting on it all the time. People are already asking to sponsor pages next year. But most importantly, young people and adults are reading The Beat and talking about issues they previously didn’t discuss. And The Press is more relevant to more of its reader base.