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Michigan Interscholastic Press Association December 2007 Vol. 35, No. 1 www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu
Inside Avoiding copyright violations
5
MIPA members mentor second graders
6
Summer workshop review
9–12
Fall Conference photos
14–15
Photo by Darcy Oswalt, Athens HS teacher. See “About the cover photo” on page 13.
Stet The President’s Column
Changing the world, one student at a time
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he sat in the front row of my Intro. to Journalism course, looking out of place. Scared even. She was the only freshman in the class. But it was more than this that made her seem like she didn’t belong. There was something in her eyes. It wasn’t quite fear. It wasn’t quite disinterest. Maybe it was a combination of the two. A look that people get when they wish they fit in but don’t. She was begging to be forgotten, but something told me I should try to reach out to her. I’m glad I did. Journalism saved her life. She told me so herself. And reminded me in the process why we do what we do. Her name was Teri, and she was a good writer, an excellent photographer, but a bad student. She didn’t turn things in on time. Often she seemed distracted. Disinterested maybe. But not quite. At times she would listen intently. When we talked about ways to interview people or when we talked about photo composition, she perked up. Seemed to want to learn more. But just as often her head was on her desk, a faint, sweet marijuana smell following her always. She was, indeed, a mystery. But something told me she was worth a try. Get her interested in something,
I thought. Try to save her from herself. Teachers are funny that way. But she almost did herself in, and I almost gave up, a couple of times. It started in Washington, DC at a JEA convention. She was supposed to enter a Write-Off and then wait for another student to eat dinner and meet us for a monument tour. She didn’t show up. She didn’t call. And she didn’t answer her phone. When I finally found her, her excuse was, “I lost track of time.” I about blew up. But that was nothing compared to when she ran away from home with another newspaper staffer to meet a guy in Texas she met on the Internet. This guy turned out to be in charge of some group that lures young girls to Texas with promises of a better life but ends up selling them to pimps in Mexico. I had had enough. Then when I saw Channel 7’s Ray Sayah talking about her adventure on the news one night, using it as a warning to others about the dangers of the Internet, I knew it was time to give up. But I didn’t. Something told me to keep trying. The same thing that tells us as teachers to give a student another chance even after all the chances
have been used up, spit out. There was some glimmer there I knew was worth a try. So after she returned from her great Texas adventure and spent three months in rehab and another in juvie, she came back to newspaper class. I actually fought this one. Was convinced it wouldn’t work out. She had worn out her store of good will with me, and my store is unusually large. But I took her back to class against my better judgment and against the will of my editors who said, “She’ll only screw us over.” “She won’t turn things in on time.” “She’s a junkie with no work ethic.” For once, though, I was right, and they were wrong. Teri held her own. Had the occasional bout of not turning things in, but graduated on time and with her class. Won some writing and photography awards and redeemed herself, not only in my eyes but in her own. And when graduation day came, she came up to me after the ceremony with a broad smile, a smirking grin and gave me a big hug as she whispered in my ear, “Your class saved my life.” I’m not sure what is it about
MIPA Officers 2007-2008
About Stet
MIPA Calendar
President, Rod Satterthwaite, Dexter HS 1st Vice President, Jeremy Van Hof, DeWitt HS 2nd Vice President, C.E. Sikkenga, Grand Haven HS Secretary, Kim Kozian, L’Anse Creuse HS North Treasurer, Brian Wilson, Waterford Kettering HS Trustee, Paula Pantano, Stevenson HS Trustee, Tim Morley, Inland Lakes HS Trustee, Sue Spalding, Quincy HS Newspaper Chair, Julie Price, Haslett HS Yearbook Chair, Lynn Strause, retired from East Lansing HS Broadcast Chair, Diane Herder, Laingsburg HS Legislative Chair, Gloria Olman, retired from Utica HS Workshop Chair, Betsy Pollard Rau, H.H. Dow HS Middle School Chair, Jenny Birmelin, Orchard Lake MS Hall of Fame Chair, Jeff Nardone, Grosse Pointe South HS Executive Director, Cheryl Pell, Michigan State University MIPA Office, Amy Brandt & Jon Vereecke, MSU students
Stet is the official newsletter of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, an agency of the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. Stet is published four times a year by the MIPA executive director and MSU students.
Rod Satterthwaite Dexter HS
2 ■ December 2007
Send letters to the editor and advertising inquiries to mipa@msu.edu. The MIPA Web site is maintained by Cheryl Pell. Web site: www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu MIPA 305 Communication Arts Building Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212 Phone: (517) 353-6761 Fax: (517) 355-7710
Please see PRESIDENT, page 13
Feb. 22, 2008 Deadline for contests Feb. 22, 2008 Deadline for contests March 1, 2008 Judging Day: Sign up to help! April 21, 2008 Spring Conference July 15, 2008 Deadline for yearbooks and literary magazines for Spartan Contest July 21–Aug. 1, 2008 School of Journalism adviser courses in East Lansing Aug. 3–7, 2008 MIPA/MSU Summer Journalism Workshop in East Lansing
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AdviserWatch
Former student journalist turned pro now advises at Seaholm By Jayna Salk, Journalism Major, MSU
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welve years ago, Ben Harwood had no idea that he’d eventually be in the place he’s in now. But now that he’s the newspaper and yearbook adviser at Birmingham Seaholm High School, albeit “completely by accident,” he and his students agree that they wouldn’t want it any other way. Despite learning the trade from Bob Button and Jeff Nardone while he was a staff member of Grosse Pointe South’s The Tower, he actually says that he actually took steps to distance himself as far away as possible from journalism. Harwood declared himself a biology and pre-med major at Michigan State University when he enrolled there as a freshman in 1995. Harwood transferred to the University of Montana after his first year, but kept the same major. His roots in sports writing inspired him to apply for a position on UM’s daily newspaper, The Kaimin, and within two months he was promoted to sports editor. “The staff there was amazing. The stories they broke, and the never-take-no-for-an-answer was incredibly inspiring,” Harwood said. In 1998, when he left The Kaimin, he had been so inspired in fact, that he said his major was firmly rooted in journalism. He took a job at the campus radio station doing live play-by-play for the women’s soccer team and live half-time reports and post-game shows for basketball and football games. The station assigned him a weekly call-in sports talk show, as well as the sports reports on the morning and afternoon news. Two days after graduating in 1999, Harwood landed a job with Fox Sports Net in Los Angeles. “I took everything I owned, put it in a U-Haul, and drove 24 hours non-stop to California,” he said. “I ended up living in a youth hostel for my first six weeks there.” Harwood was originally hired as an assignment desk assistant, but within a year, he had worked his way up to assignment manager and field producer. “It was a sports fan’s dream job,” he said. “The chase of the story and the excitement were unbelievable.” Eventually, Harwood’s show, The National Sports Report was replaced, and he left for an assignment manager position in Portland Oregon. A year later, he found himself back home in Detroit working as a sports producer at CBS/UPN. “I worked at WKBD/
Photo by Jess Miller
Ben Harwood, adviser at Seaholm HS, talks with a student about a story she’s working on. Harwood was a journalism student himself and had both Bob Button and Jeff Nardone as advisers.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the work my reporters have done this year.” Ben Harwood, adviser
WWJ for the next two years, but it never matched my expectations,” he said. Harwood interviewed with stations in Chicago and San Francisco, but decided he was tired of moving. He had been moonlighting as a substitute teacher at Grosse Pointe South, and found it rewarding enough to enroll in a teaching program at Eastern Michigan University to teach History and geography. “I actually followed a course study that took me away from journalism. I was afraid- perhaps just cynical- that it would be difficult to inspire students in a subject that I had, in some ways, abandoned and lost faith in.” But when he graduated from EMU three years later with a teaching certificate in social studies, and applied to more than 100 school districts to no avail, he was again at a loss. Finally, in 2006, a social studies/journalism position opened at Seaholm.
“I applied, got it, and couldn’t be happier,” Harwood said. “People often use the clichés ‘meant to be’ and ‘happened for a reason’ and I can’t think of a better example.” A year later, Harwood is now advising both The Piper, Seaholm’s 320 page full color yearbook, and The Highlander, Seaholm’s bi-monthly student newspaper, as well as teaching a journalism-intro class, an economics class, and an AP American Government class. Every day, Harwood finds more proof that he’s made the right decision. “This past week has been pretty memorable. My staff is facing a huge decision on content for the next issue,” he said. After a medical emergency, which involved a student consuming a very large amount of alcohol at lunch, Harwood has seen his staff in a new light. “My staff took pictures, has interviewed local lawyers, crisis counselors, administrators, and has secured, via FOIA requests, copies of the incident reports.” Sitting back and watching his students work so professionally is Harwood’s favorite part of advising. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the work my reporters have done this Please see ADVISERWATCH, page 13 December 2007 ■ 3
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IN MY
OPINION
By Jeremy Van Hof, Adviser, DeWitt HS
Those who go on make us proud
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he web page countdown clock marks off the seconds. 112,991...112,990...112,989, and it’s not stopping. Each tick makes that weight on my shoulders a bit heavier, the pressure behind my eyes a bit greater, the urge to scream in frustration a bit more intense. The clock (which I, being no stranger to self-abuse, created myself) is counting down the seconds to the next newspaper deadline, now less than 32 hours away. It’s at moments like these, with un-edited stories, thinly-sourced columns, posed photos, missing advertising contracts, and the countdown ticking like a still-beating heart, that I question why I subject myself to this. Advising is hard work. Really hard. Students, being students, too often don’t take their work seriously enough. Teachers, being teachers, too often complain about the work the students do. Principals, being principals, too often limit the students’ freedom. Parents, being parents, too often make unfair demands. And advisers are left to juggle this all – on deadline, at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday, with dinner getting cold at home, and the kids’ dance lessons starting in 25 minutes. But then something happens. A colleague walks in, himself the student government adviser and comrade in advisory arms. Knowing I like to use as many different publications in my classroom as possible, he’s brought me the latest edition of the local community college’s student newspaper. There on page one, and again on page 11, and again on page 13 is the name of one of my former newspaper students and three short words: Editor in Chief. The weight is gone, the pressure is released, and the scream bursts out not as a frustrated primal yell, but as an
unbridled hallelujah. “That’s my kid! I know him! I taught him! I didn’t know he was still reporting!” This is the value of publication advising. Some students (not all, but enough) take what I teach them, find value in it, and pursue it. Motivated by my newsroom discovery, I make an effort to reach out to some former high school reporters and see how their experiences as high school journalists have shaped them. Jennifer Orlando, a sophomore at Michigan State University, was an editor on the yearbook staff while in high school. She is now majoring in journalism and is a writer for the university yearbook. “In being a high school journalist, my career goals were molded through the people I met, the stories I wrote and the lessons I learned. Those experiences in high school were indispensable to me,” she said. Orlando says that she would encourage any high-schooler to give journalism a try. “High school journalism is probably the most exciting type of journalism because it’s a time of exploration for students. They are in the midst of finding their own voice, and because of this, are able to dip their toes into a multitude of different kinds of writing, deciding what works for them and what doesn’t. It’s such a special time because most students are writing just on natural abilities and talents, without much formal training, and you’re seeing writing basically at its truest form,” she said. Another MSU sophomore, Emily Fox was a writer for her high school paper. As a senior, she wrote a lengthy story about one fellow student’s experience with abortion. The story was
&NEWS
NOTES
Strause honored with JEA award
Longtime Michigan yearbook adviser Lynn Strause received the JEA Lifetime Achievement Award at the JEA/NSPA fall convention in Philadelphia earlier this month. Strause advised 30 yearbooks and taught 32 years in Harrison, Houghton Lake and East Lansing. For three years, she left teaching to become a yearbook representative but realized that she missed teaching and interacting with her own students. The publications she advised consistently won Spartans, Pacemakers and Crowns. Strause teaches at workshops all over the country and has plans to continue to do so. “Advising has added so much to my life. It’s opened doors for me and allowed me to meet some of the coolest people I know—both students and fellow advisers. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything. I hope I can continue to be meaningfully involved—minus the deadlines—for a very long time.”
Photo by Betsy Rau
MSU student wins scholarship
Agnes Soriano, an MSU journalism education major, received a Future Teacher Scholarship from the Journalism Education Association. The $1,000 award is given to up to three education majors a year who intend to teach scholastic journalism. Soriano is currently doing her internship year at Southfield HS with Diane Hofsess.
Two advisers earn CJE
Luttke
Please see OPINION, page 13
Have an opinion about a scholastic journalism topic? How about writing a column for this space? Your deadline is Feb. 22! E-mail mipa@msu.edu. Smith
4 ■ December 2007
Two MIPA members received their Certified Journalism Educator status through the Journalism Education Association at the JEA/NSPA convention in Philadelphia in November. Alexandria Luttke, adviser of the Roving Rock newspaper at Berrien Springs HS and Kendra Smith, adviser of The Rock, the yearbook at Berrien Springs HS, each received her pin and certificate at the Saturday luncheon.
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Get permission n Many companies will grant you permission to use images from their media sites. It does take some time and work, however. n Sign up to be on the mailing list at gomoxie.org n Go to www.designhawg.com and click on the “link-tacular” option which has many media sites consolidated in one spot. n Here are a few more media sites not included at designhawg.com PENGUIN BOOKS: http://penguingroup.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ penguingroup.cfg/php/enduser/acct_login.php?p_next_ page=myprofile.php BUENA VISTA PICTURES MARKETING: http://www.bvpublicity. com MIRAMAX FILMS/DIMENSION FILMS: http://www.miramaxpublicity.com, http://www.dimensionpublicity.com LIONS GATE: http://www.lionsgatepublicity.com/index_flash.html FOX STUDIOS: foxpressoffice.com
Generally, any photos from a site ending in .gov are OK to use. Be sure to give proper credit, though. Use a photo service n The American Society of Newspaper Editors has partnered
with McClatchy/Tribune Information Services and offers two levels of service to student publications:
Ways to avoid copyright violations Rod Satterthwaite presented a session at the MIPA Fall Conference in October on copyright and plagiarism, and this is one of the the handouts from that session. MIPA is taking a stand against these two common problems in the publishing world. Please go to mipa.jrn.msu.edu and click on our recently adopted “Copyright and Plagiarism Policy.” We will be strictly enforcing this policy beginning with all 2008 contests.
1. High School Newspaper Service is a one-time fee of $100.
You have access to two weeks of photos, graphics, illustrations, comics, cartoons and puzzles. You must carefully follow their rules and guidelines.
www.highschooljournalism.org/asnemctcampus/
2. To receive the ASNE/MCT unlimited yearly archives, the cost is $200 per year for newspapers and $300 per year for yearbooks. You must carefully follow their rules and guidelines. www.mctcampus.com
Consider fair use guidelines n Using a small portion of a copyrighted work for non-commer-
ical uses such as news articles or reviews is probably OK.
n Using works that contain mostly factual material as opposed
to those that contain mostly original material is probably OK.
n Using no more of a copyrighted work than is necessary is
probably OK.
n Using a copyrighted work so it does not reduce the poten-
tial market for the original material is probably OK.
For more information The Student Press Law Center: www.splc.org
United States Copyright Office: www.copyright.gov
December 2007 ■ 5
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Tower editor-in-chief Eva Dou reads over a feature story with a Maire Elementary School second grade student. Dou visited Maire with other Tower reporters to help students edit their work as part of a feature writing unit.
Journalism students mentor second graders By Jeff Nardone, Grosse Pointe South HS Photos by Linda Whelan, Maire Elementary School
6 ■ December 2007
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When people tell you that journalism isn’t an important skill for young people to learn, have them peruse the state of Michigan’s new curriculum for second graders. Last spring, Shannon, my step-daughter, came home pretty excited. Her second grade teacher at Maire Elementary School, Linda Whelan, spoke to the class about an assignment to write a feature story, in compliance with the state’s new curriculum. When Mrs. Whelan mentioned the assignment, Shannon’s hand shot up. She told her teacher her stepfather was the adviser of “The Tower” at Grosse Pointe South and that he would gladly help. When I came home that evening, it was wonderful to see the excitement on Shannon’s face, but at the same time, I dreaded the possibility of shouldering another task. We’re a weekly paper, and we’re always fighting deadlines. But the moment of dread passed when I talked to Mrs. Whelan, who forwarded the state guidelines and examples for the assignment. I was not impressed. Their material resembled a researchpaper type article from a “National Geographic for Kids” style of magazine. Tons of data. No story. Mrs. Whelan and I decided to scrap this approach and come up with our own plan. She was working on a social studies assignment about interviewing someone—a senior citizen, preferably a family member, and we agreed that we could modify this assignment to make it more like a personality feature. This way we could introduce the important journalism skills of interviewing and notetaking, and give the students an experience in learning about history and community, too.
Stet After talking, Mrs. Whelan and I came up with a list of questions. (See breakout box on this page.) We wanted to keep it simple but informative.To introduce the assignment, I visited Maire one morning. She invited the other two second grade classes to observe the session, and I started with a brief overview of the importance of the newspaper in society and an overview of the job of a journalist. I brought with me two of my editors, who then modeled the interview from the questions we provided.
opening angle, but Mrs. Whelan felt the students now better understood what was expected of them. To help the students one more time, Mrs. Whelan conducted an interview with her kids. She allowed them to question her and had them write down her responses. They then wrote a practice story. Mrs. Whelan sent the stories home with the students, and the students were now prepared to go forth on their own. They had a week to conduct their own interview. We set up an interview The students were between Shannon and my mother, enthralled. As Kevin, JoAnne. My wife and Shannon my then editor-insat at the kitchen table, and I chief, interviewed couldn’t help but listen as they Eva, my current edihad a wonderful conversation tor, the students listened intently. over the speaker phone about my Kevin and Eva did an incredible mom growing up on a farm in job of showing the students what West Virginia. Shannon took an interview involves, and afternotes diligently, and my wife wards we all commented on how helped her fill in the blanks. it went. We reiterated to the stuThe next week at school, the dents that it was important to find students worked on their stories. a quiet place to do the interview, Here’s how Shannon’s turned out. and that they could modify the Grams was a foster child. She questions if needed. They also was born in Grafton, West could have their parents help Virginia. with taking notes. She grew up on a farm. Her As we drove back to school, favorite animal was a cow named Kevin and I discussed an examDolly. It was a long way to ple story we were going to send school. to the students at Maire. It would “We didn’t have any neighbe a short feature, about four to bors,” she said. six paragraphs, with a strong She spent a lot of time with journalistic approach. It would her sisters. open with a summary of the per“I played paper dolls. I cut son being interviewed, transition them out of cardboard and made into an anecdote, then use a clothes with paper,” she said. direct quote, then end with a “Since I grew up on a farm, we summary. If students wanted to had animals as playmates, too.” include another anecdote and “My special memory was time quote, they could. spent with my brother and I dropped Kevin and Eva off sisters.” at the door, drove around the But Shannon wasn’t the only building to park, and then scamstudent who nailed the assignpered through a hard rain into the ment. Every student returned building. As I entered the “Tower” with a story built on strong direct office a few minutes later, I saw quotes and revealing anecdotes. Kevin typing away. He looked up A few days later, Mrs. Whelan at me and said “Done.” asked me back. This time I We looked over the article brought a group of 12 “Tower” (See page 8) and we e-mailed it students along, and we talked to Mrs. Whelan. She read it that about the editing process. afternoon to her students, who “When reporters write a story, actually complained that Kevin they hand it to an editor who left out an interesting anecdote proofreads it and helps them that they all enjoyed. It involved improve it,” I said. “I brought Eva’s stuffed bear—the second ‘Tower’ reporters with me to help graders thought it should be the with the process.”
T
Tower Adviser Jeff Nardone asks Maire Elementary School second graders how many of them read the newspaper that is delivered to their homes. Nardone visited the school as part of a unit on feature stories that the second graders were doing in class last year.
Questions the students asked 1. What year were you born? 2. Where were you born? 3. In what type of community did you grow up? What made it special? 4. Could you tell me something about where you grew up that is different from where you live now? 5. How did you and your family spend your free time? 6. What were some of the games you played as a child? 7. What were your favorite toys as a child? 8. Could you tell me something you remember about your childhood that would be different for a child of 2007? 9. Please share a special memory about your past. That day we visited all three second grade classes for about 15 minutes each. Every “Tower” reporter worked with a group of two or three students, and I worked with students, too. I told the reporters to be positive with the kids—to compliment them, but also to show them how to improve their work in the future.
A
As I read over the stories, I was delighted with what I saw. The students interviewed parents, grandparents and neighbors. They contained fun and interesting anecdotes, and their stories flowed in a conversational, logical manner. I’ve been advising almost 20
years, but I was so proud of my kids that day—and of the elementary students. My staffers sat at those little tables, and the second graders looked up in awe that they were able to work with real high school reporters. As we drove back to school, I was amazed at how much my students talked about their experiences and the stories they read. They were all glowing—literally. They were reminiscing about their elementary schools and how they would have loved an opportunity like this themselves. Afterwards, Mrs. Whelan and I talked about the experience. She said the students were Please see SECOND GRADERS, page 8 December 2007 ■ 7
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Second graders, cont. from page 7 thrilled with everything—from the assignment to the writing to the editing process. She also told me that the students were already talking about who was going to be on “The Tower” staff in high school. They were wondering who might be editor for the Class of 2017. This year already, the elementary teachers had their first meetings to discuss curriculum. The reason I know this is because an e-mail popped up from Mrs. Whelan. She said she understood if I couldn’t do this again, but she wanted me to check my schedule to see if I could come speak to her class.
I
I told her that I wouldn’t miss it. She then told me that the second grade teachers across the district had recently met, and they were all interested in modeling her assignment. This year, my twin boys are in second grade. They don’t attend the same school as Shannon, but I’ve contacted their teachers and told them that I would come in to their classes, too. We plan on setting up my visit in the spring when the students’ skills are more developed. Besides telling you all this story, I think part of the purpose of me writing this is to show my appreciation to teachers like Mrs. Whelan, whose passion and hard work helps prepare my students to accept their roles on the newspaper staff. I am also reminded of the importance of journalism. If these teachers and students could produce terrific features as part of the state’s new curriculum, and the students on my staff could go work with them to make them better, it illustrates the benefits of this type of writing. Of course, on a purely selfish note, it also helps me select my editor—for the Class of 2017.
Tower reporter Max Boomer reads over a feature story with a Maire Elementary School second grade student.
Sample Story by Kevin Bargnes & Eva Dou Byline Lead (summary of basic information or main point of story)
By Kevin Bargnes Many people fail to leave their hometown throughout their entire lives. But Eva Dou, a junior at Grosse Pointe South, has lived in many places before moving to Grosse Pointe before high school. After being born in Boston, Eva and her family moved to Florida, where they spent most of their time exploring the outdoors.
Quote (exactly what was said, using “said” and quote marks)
“We spent a lot of free time outside. We visited almost every beach in Florida. Some of the water was blue and some was bright green. Some were even scattered with shark teeth,” said Eva.
Transition (leads into a story or anecdote—tells something about person)
One afternoon, Eva and her family were rollerblading through a park. They then came across a Diamondhead rattlesnake.
Quote (a conclusion that summarizes story and wraps it up in an interesting manner) 8 ■ December 2007
“It was looking right at us. It just made me think about how all living things have to deal with each other and coexist,” said Eva.
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Summer Workshop REview A Glimpse at some of the Student Work
Raffi Appel, Traverse City Central HS
Sarah Kielinen, Lake Orion HS
Transporter Phone!
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Customer Service
Victoria Esnault, Avondale HS
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Malorie Urda, Haslett HS
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Kelly Nigro, H.H. Dow HS December 2007 â– 9
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Workshop Students who
took home SOME AWARDS We had some awesome workshop students last summer! We think all students are special, but the ones who won awards at the MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop were rated top among their peers. A Sparty is the top award given at the workshop, and a Classroom Excellence Award is another high honor.
Sparty Winners Name
School
Class
Award Name
Hannah Ahlem Regan Alsup Raffi Appel Cassandra Balfour Katie Dalebout Sarah Dolan Victoria Esnault Bailey Hall David Hopper Mimi Karabulut Sarah Kielinen Andrew Krietz Jennifer MacDonald Kristine Mannino Mike McConnell Andrew Mooney Gabrielle Moore Cassie Nealis Kelly Nigro Sharon Paravastu Erica Parkinson Justin Pung Darin Smith Jessica Sowers Jack Stankewicz Lia Stern Malorie Urda Evan Welch
City HS North Farmington HS Traverse City Central HS Forest Hills Central HS East Lansing HS Laingsburg HS Avondale HS Muncie Central HS Plymouth Canton HS Groves HS Lake Orion HS Portage Central HS South Lake HS Stevenson HS Mason HS Catholic Central HS Midland HS Waterford Kettering HS HH Dow HS Troy HS Mercy HS Alma HS HH Dow HS Dexter HS Loy Norrix HS Groves HS Haslett HS Grosse Pointe South HS
YB Editors NP Editors Sports Photo Entertainment Writing Feature Writing YB Adv Design Photo for Pub 2 NP Adv InDesign Taking Your Pub to the Edge Sports Writing Photo for Pub 1 NP Adv InDesign Adv Writing YB Editors Leadership NP Writing/Design Basics Radical Writing YB InDesign Information Graphics Photoshop Creative NP InDesign Opinion Writing NP Adv Design Bus Mgmt Journalistic Writing Radical Writing Shoot First, Photoshop Later NP Editors
Design Creativity Editorial Leadership Best Portfolio, Best Football Best Entertainment Writing Features on both Lorrie Lynch and Stardust Design Packet Excellence in Photojournalism Outstanding Achievement in Advanced InDesign Overall Excellence in Edgy Writing and Design Excellence in Sports Writing and Design Excellence in Photojournalism Advanced InDesign Superior Writing & Reporting Design Excellence Editorial Leadership Outstanding Effort in Journalistic Writing & Reporting Reporting & Writing Superior Design Work and Creativity Sophisticated Phone Concept Visualizations Outstanding Creative Imaging Best Overall ìInDesignerî Excellence in Column Writing Overall Creative Designs, Leadership Excellence in Business Management Journalistic Writing Reporting & Writing Best Portfolio Editorial Leadership
Excellence Winners Name Regan Alsup Caroline Ambrose Eric Anderson Rachel Ariyavatkul Emily Arsen Sana Ashraf Mackenzie Baucum Heather Bicknell Amara Boyagian Jennifer Bresler Andre Brown Tiran Burrell Betty Buynak Lauren Byrwa Stephen Carpenter Michelle Chirby Hannah Colborn Anna Craft Hope Cronkright Kelli Dokes Mimi Domenguez Eva Dou Megan Durisin Amanda Egert Laura Flusty Alexandria Francisco Leah Gibson Christianna Gluys Alli Good Rebecca Guerriero Tessa Hapanowicz Alellan Hirpo
School North Farmington HS North Farmington HS Fenton HS Dexter HS Pioneer HS Henry Ford II HS Lake Orion HS HH Dow HS Avondale HS Waterford Kettering HS Grosse Pointe North HS Northwestern HS Waterford Kettering HS Lakota East HS Romeo HS Dexter HS Grosse Pointe North HS Stevenson HS Cedar Springs HS Henry Ford Academy Waterford Kettering HS Grosse Pointe South HS HH Dow HS Bellaire HS North Farmington HS HH Dow HS Dexter HS Portage Central HS Novi HS Mercy HS Grosse Pointe South HS East Lansing HS
Class NP Editors YB Adv Design Photo for Pub 2 YB Adv InDesign Adv Writing Feature Writing YB W/D Basics NP Adv Design YB Chief Editors YB Adv Design Sports Writing NP Editors Radical Writing NP Adv InDesign Sports Photo Radical Writing Journalistic Writing NP InDesign Leadership Journalistic Writing YB Adv InDesign Radical Writing NP Editors YB Chief Editors YB Adv Design Info Graphics Photo for Pub 2 Opinion Writing NP Adv InDesign NP InDesign NP InDesign Feature Writing
Award Name Best Staff Editorial Excellence in Design Best Use of Exposure InDesign Excellence Writing With Precision Excellence in Feature Writing Most Improved Writer Creativity Award Most Improved Designer Excellence in Design Extraordinary Sports Editor Best Staff Editorial Radical Writer Excellence in Advanced InDesign Best Life, Best Positioning Radical Writer Best Reporting Excellence in Design Best Portfolio Overall Excellence InDesign Excellence Radical Writer Report Like Crazy Best Theme Development Excellence in Design Funnest Layout Best Overall Portfolio Column Excellence Excellence in Advanced InDesign Techie of the Week Excellence in Design Excellence in Leadership
Continued on page11 10 ■ December 2007
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AWARDS, cont. Name Audrey Johnson Katie Johnson Sean Kellehan Noelle Kerr Amanda Kleinert Marah Klose Brent Koaches Kayla Krautner Andrew Krietz Ruth Leibfritz Michelle Lepinat Katy Lindemann Matt Ludtke Julie MacDonald Clay Mandel Brianna McCarroll Alissa McClimans Stephanie McClung Chelsea McIntyre Michelle Meunier Caitlin Molyneaux Maggie Moore Nathan Moore Katy Mudgett Stephen Ostrowski Cait Palmiter Christina Pillsbury Nicole Plaza Matt Radick Katie Rinkus Alicia Rockman Emily Rooney Claire Sabourin Elizabeth Sawyer Scott Scher Starr Sexton Kyle Snarski Alyse Snyder Karianne Sophiea Angela Soyad Sean Stoto John Sullivan Kaitlyn Touhey Sarah Townsend Samuel Tzou Amanda Urban Ashley Wahnschaff Ariel Waldman Spencer Walker Aya Waller-Bey Evan Welch Samantha Williams Samantha Wood Aileen Xu Stephanie Yoder Greg Zavitz Nathan Zemanek Masha Zilberman Nicole Zwerlein
School City HS Dexter HS South Lake HS Sterling Heights HS Fenton HS Portage Central HS HH Dow HS Sterling Heights HS Portage Central HS Midland HS Utica HS Sterling Heights HS Pinckney HS South Lake HS Grosse Pointe South HS Findlay HS Fenton HS Lake Orion HS Niles HS Midland HS Fenton HS Midland HS Haslett HS Plainwell HS Plymouth Canton Ed Park Portland HS Loy Norrix HS Waterford Kettering HS Howell HS Troy HS Fenton HS Loy Norrix HS Groves HS Waterford Kettering HS North Farmington HS Waterford Kettering HS Fraser HS Haslett HS Ferndale HS Stevenson HS Loy Norrix HS Grosse Pointe South HS Niles HS Forest Hills Central HS HH Dow HS Plainwell HS Stevenson HS Findlay HS Troy HS Renaissance HS Grosse Pointe South HS Waterford Kettering HS HH Dow HS HH Dow HS Mid-Prairie HS HH Dow HS Midland HS Troy HS Howell HS
Class Shoot First Feature Writing Info Graphics Sports Photo Photo for Pub 2 Photoshop Creative Sports Writing NP InDesign NP Adv InDesign Taking Your Pub YB Adv Design NP InDesign Entertainment Writing Opinion Writing Adv Writing Photoshop Begins Photo for Pub 1 Photo for Pub 1 Bus Mgmt Sports Writing Sports Photo NP InDesign Taking Your Pub Leadership Radical Writing NP Adv Design Opinion Writing NP Editors NP Adv InDesign NP Editors Photo for Pub 2 NP Adv Design Radical Writing NP W/D Basics Bus Mgmt NP Editors Taking Your Pub Taking Your Pub Entertainment Writing YB Chief Editors Entertainment Writing Info Graphics Feature Writing Entertainment Writing Opinion Writing NP Adv InDesign Journalistic Writing Shoot First Photoshop Creative YB W/D Basics NP Editors YB W/D Basics Opinion Writing Radical Writing Adv Writing NP Adv Design Photoshop Creative Leadership Bus Mgmt
Award Name Most Expressive Image Excellence in Feature Writing Nicest Drawing in Illustrator Best Metadata, Best Cheer, Best Baseball Best Student Life Creative Imaging Excellence Extraordinary Sports Editor Pro Designer InDesign Excellence Excellence in Taking Her Publication to the Edge Excellence in Design A+ Attitude Overall Excellence in Entertainment Coverage Overall Excellence in Opinion Writing Superior Researching Composition Best Photo Story Best Composition Excellence in Business Management Extraordinary Sports Editor Best Hockey, Best Single Photo Excellence in Design Excellence in Edgy Packaging Outstanding Leadership Radical Writer Best Redesign Overall Excellence in Opinion Writing Report Like Crazy InDesign Excellence Report Like Crazy Best Portrait Best Redesign Radical Writer Outstanding Effort & Determination Excellence in Business Management Best Staff Editorial Excellence in Edgy Writing and Online Presence Excellence in Edgy Packaging Overall Excellence in Entertainment Coverage Consistent Excellence in Design Overall Excellence in Entertainment Coverage Strongest Concept Sketch Excellence in Feature Writing Overall Excellence in Entertainment Coverage Overall Excellence in Opinion Writing Excellence in Advanced InDesign Best Feature Writing Use of Natural Light Creative Imaging Excellence Outstanding Layout Best Staff Editorial Oustanding Journalistic Effort Overall Excellence in Opinion Writing Radical Writer Professionalism in Journalism StudentĂs Choice Creative Imaging Excellence Outstanding Leadership Excellence in Business Management
To see more work created during the week along with photos of the workshop, visit the MIPA Web site at http://www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu/events/workshops.
December 2007 â– 11
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Sharon Paravastu, Troy HS
Descriptive Piece for Radical Writing By Lia Stern, Wylie E. Groves HS Tara shifted from one hip to the other and amped up her smile a notch. Her brown hair barely skimmed the tips of her ears, and her eyebrows were plucked into twin mountain peaks. Her lips, a playfully pale pink, curved into a seemingly youthful and happy smile, causing two twin dimples to pinch beyond the arch of her lips. Her skin took on a dewy sheen from the unseasonable heat, and her open-toed sandals showed round, manicured toenails. Her apron brushed the edge of her jean skirt, the pockets stuffed with single bills, and old orders. She was attractive, in a no fuss kind of way. She wasted no moves, made no uncalculated decisions. As she gamboled to the back of the porch, she scanned every table counterclockwise ensuring each guest had what they wanted, when they wanted it. Every so often, couples would stroll in, the more adventuresome taking a seat in the sweltering outdoor café: her domain. Towards 8:15 p.m., a couple moved to the front of the café and took a seat at the open table nearest the boundary hedge. The slim thirty-something woman, tired after a run plopped down onto the metal chair, her brown pony tail slicked with sweat. Her husband, slightly older and just as sweaty, lowered himself from across the table. Tara gives them a few minutes before heading towards their table. “Hi there folks, how are you doing tonight?” she asks, her bright smile providing more light than the candle on the table. She asks the same question of the teenage lovers, the middle aged friends and the mother with two children as they straggle into the restaurant, and into their seats.
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“How are you doing tonight?” she asks again and again. The answer is mirrored from table to table, “Fine. Thanks.” She ambles slowly between tables, refilling drinks; shelling out hamburgers, French fries and side salads; replacing dropped silverware and removing discarded dishes. Doing a thorough table check, she unobtrusively makes her way to the front and most unpopulated part of the restaurant. Alone for the first time, by the hostess podium she lets herself relax. Her shoulders slump just slightly. She winds her left ankle in a clockwise circle, and her left hip rests gently on the pedestal. She sighs, wraps her fingers around a sweating glass of water and takes a long sip. It is here that we see the real Tara: the young woman, staring longingly at the teenage couples sprawled by the nearby fountain. It is here that we see the strain from worry over late bills, school payments and personal fears in the furrow between her brows. It is here that we see the past heartbreak and longing for love in the curve of her lips. It is here that we see the things that make up the woman Tara has become. Out front, a man waves his hand “Miss! Miss!” he yells, chuckling and elbowing his friends. The window into her life snaps shut, the smile takes the place of introspection, and the flirtatious, accommodating waitress returns. She returns to the fast paced, bustling restaurant, the oblivious customers, their cursory answers to her question: “Hi there folks, how are you doing tonight?”
From the Workshop Director, Betsy Pollard Rau One of my favorite weeks of the summer is workshop week. It’s intense and sometimes mother nature feels the need to hammer us with hundred degree temperatures, but these kids come to learn. By the closing at the end of the week they’re begging us for another day. Thirty-seven years ago I attended my first journalism workshop and had the time of my life. I kept in touch for years with three of the girls I met there. One even came to my wedding. Those memories come rushing back to me each summer as I direct the MIPA workshop at MSU. Students from all over the midwest come to campus prepared to learn from the best instructors in the country. They literally soak up knowledge, get inspired and go home fired up about their publication. It’s no wonder some of the nation’s top publications come from the midwest. I’d like to think we had a little something to do with it!
Betsy Rau and her good friend Sparty at the workshop closing
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OPINION, continued from page 4
President, continued from page 2
censored by the building administration, and Fox took a lot away from that. “My experience on my high school newspaper staff made me realize how important activism and free press is,” she said. Fox said that she learned in high school that journalism is a powerful way to teach others valuable lessons. “I am currently working on a documentary about a village in Africa that I hope to show student groups on campus. I realized how many people I could educate and inspire by creating a video. I also plan on traveling to Africa this summer to write an article about the village I am getting involved with,” she said. A freshman at MSU, Jayna Salk says that her experience as editor in chief of “The Murmur” at Waterford Kettering High School was one of the best parts of her high school life. She was able to see the power of the press first hand. “Yeah, it’s stressful, and it’s frustrating, and it’s difficult. But when you walk down a hallway on distribution day and you see classrooms full of students who all have their noses in your publication, everything is worth it. To me, there’s something therapeutic about seeing people reading the words that I spent countless hours perfecting,” she said. Salk is in the midst of her first semester at college, and has found that she still thinks back to her work with “The Murmur.” “I’ve been away from The Murmur now for less than five months, three of which were summer vacation, and I miss it every day. When I received the first new issue in the mail from [my adviser Brian Wilson], I cried,” she said. Her tears were tears of joy. “It’s not that I was upset that it’s still good. I was just really, really proud that those students learned things from me while I was editor. I learned so many things from Mr. Wilson while he was my adviser, but I’ll never be able to say thank you to him enough for letting me teach others while I was there,” she said. Maybe that’s the point. Salk feels that she can’t say thank you enough, because she is still learning from the lessons of her high school journalism experience. Advisers’ work is often thankless, often more stressful than seems worthwhile, and rarely yields quantifiable results. But though the results may not be measurable, they still have real value, whether it’s in a burgeoning journalism career, a documentary on Africa, or in revealing to a student the worth of a lesson well taught. I’ll try to let that thought keep me sane for the next 106,600 seconds. 106,599...106,598...106,597...
teachers that makes us want to hang on the Teri’s of the world. Wants to help them. Wants to see them succeed when everyone else—even us sometimes— has given up on them. Why do we keep doing it even when it hasn’t worked out before? What is it about teachers? Why worry, care, about kids you only spend a few hours a week with? I think a big part of it is this. It’s hard to tell who the Teri’s are in our
classes. It’s hard to know when to have faith in them and when to cut them loose. It’s hard to tell whether we are enabling bad behavior or supporting a troubled kid. But what’s not hard to know is when we get it right, as it was in this case, there’s not a better feeling in world. As teachers and advisers we really do have the power to make a difference. To change the world. To save lives.
Adviserwatch, continued from page 3 year,” he said. “These are guys are fearless; that takes guts.” And ironically, the most difficult part for him is also having to sit back and watch them work. “I try to stay as hands-off as possible. That’s hard for me because I’m used to the do-do-doing of work, and I want to jump in and write with them.” Still, advising didn’t necessarily come easy to Harwood. Since all of his experience had been in hard news, he was more than a little concerned about making the transition to advising a yearbook. So he signed up for two advising classes at MSU. “The [yearbook] class I took at MSU was taught by Lynn Strause—a well-known adviser in the state, and the tips I gained were invaluable. I’m not sure I would have had quite the same product if I hadn’t taken the class.” The newspaper class that Harwood took was also inspiring, but in a dif-
ferent way. “When you have a state legend like Betsy Rau (HH Dow) teaching the class, you’re only going to get better,” he said. Now that he’s advising, he said the help he sought was definitely worth it. “I went in looking for ways to improve both my paper and my approach toward advising,” he said. “I think the classes certainly helped both.” Harwood and his staff have high ambitions. “My goal is to put Seaholm’s Highlander on the MIPA map, to be on par with those great publications from Grosse Pointe South and H.H. Dow. Those are pretty lofty standards, but I think with the staff I have, they’re within reach,” he said. “But unless I’m able to pick the brains of people like Rau, Nardone and other advisers I met and worked with at MSU, I’m not sure that can happen.”
About the cover photo Darcy Oswalt, Athens HS, in Athens, Mich., made this photo last summer. She took the photojournalism class at the MSU School of Journalism taught by Julie Price. Although she teaches Spanish and English and not journalism, she wanted to learn more about photography so she could take better photos of her children and her students. Oswalt took this photo at the 4-H Children’s Garden on the campus. The one-week photojournalism course for advisers and other teachers will be taught July 28–Aug. 1, 2008. Watch the Web site and your mail for more information.
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MIPA Fall Conferences provide time for learning new skills, sharing ideas The high school conference was held on Oct. 18, and more than 2,500 students and teachers from 114 schools attended the one-day event at the Lansing Center. Webberville students came dressed in their staff shirts and posed for a quick photo while their adviser, Colleen Scott Keiser, registered for the conference.
Dan Shafer, adviser at Algonac HS, critiques a newspaper. Twenty-two newspapers and yearbooks took advantage of the free service. Attendees enjoyed many new vendors, including the MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences. Others included Apple, Adobe, SchoolTube and Crooks Advertising. Judi Henckel, newspaper and yearbook adviser at Athens HS, was the lucky winner of the Adobe CS3 Design Premium, a $1,800 value donated by Steve Cronin at Adobe.
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Lydia Cadena, adviser at Novi HS, gives the keynote at the Middle School Journalism Conference on Nov. 1. About 450 students and teachers attended the event at the MSU Student Union.
Monte Nagler, a professional photographer, wows his audience with an around the world tour. Nagler studied with Ansel Adams.
Matthew Harbron, yearbook adviser at Abbott MS in West Bloomfield, teaches students how to write interesting copy in their yearbooks.
Even middle school students get into the whole T-shirt thing. Here an Orchard Lake MS student displays her shirt’s message.
Students listen with intent at one of the 21 sessions offered. The event started at 9 a.m. and ended at noon.
A student takes notes during a session on careers.
MIPA director Cheryl Pell hands an award to a student at the award ceremony. For the first time in the conference’s five-year history, yearbook and newspaper students had a chance to enter a carry-in contest, and they were judged on-site, and awards were presented after the last session. December 2007 ■15
Middlebrook speaks to middle school students Walter Middlebrook, director of recruiting and community affairs at The Detroit News, spoke for the first time at a MIPA event. He told students at the fifth annual middle school conference on Nov. 1 about all the jobs available in the journalism field. He also presented a session on the importance of writing good leads.
MIPA advisers: Sign up now for the listserv
T
o help MIPA advisers confer with each other on scholastic journalism issues, MIPA is hosting a listserv group. If you did not receive an e-mail about this, it may mean that we do not have a valid e-mail address for you or you are not a current member. Currently, there are 64 members in the group, and topics have ranged from compensation for advising to grading publication students. This is a free service for MIPA members only. Please e-mail mipa@msu.edu if you are interested and ask to join the listserv.
And now for some solicited feedback It’s amazing how quickly people respond to requests for help. The recent question about help for entertainment reporters got back three or four really great resources within a day.
It is a nice way of knowing you aren’t alone. There really are people who understand not only what you are doing but appreciate why you are still in your room on a Friday afternoon when everyone else has left. n Christina Vester-Hammitt, Andover HS
n Chad Sanders, Everett HS
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MIPA/School of Journalism 305 Communication Arts Building Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212
Keep checking the Web site for contest news! www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu