November 2006 Stet

Stet

Michigan Interscholastic Press Association November 2006 Vol. 34, No. 1 www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu

Inside In My Opinion

3

Workshop Review

5–12

Membership Form

13

Taylor McGowan of Clarkston HS took this photo at a local coffee shop during the MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop. She won a Sparty Award for “Best Overall Portfolio” in her class, Shoot First, Photoshop Later, which was taught

by Brian Roberts.

Stet The President’s Column

Reflection on Sept. 11, 2001

Rod Satterthwaite Dexter HS

That’s weird The words still haunt me every time I hear someone talk about the terrorist attacks on September 11, not so much for what he said but for my reply: “Oh. That’s weird.”

That’s weird?

That might be an appropriate response to someone who just told you that they have a birthmark on their butt in the shape of Jesus. Or maybe you’d respond that way to someone who told you they were surprised when Lance Bass came out of the closet.

But looking back, it probably wasn’t the right response to Elijah, a quiet, serious student in my Introduction to Journalism class who told me, as he and the rest of the class watched the second plane fly in to second tower on that day that changed so much: “My aunt and my sister are flight attendants.”

But how could I have known, how could he have known, that not only was his sister a flight attendant, but she was a flight attendant that day on United Flight 175, the very flight that we’d watch slam in to the World Trade Center.

And so we sat and watched the tragedy unfold, not knowing that those planes which hit those buildings 600 miles away, had struck uncomfortably close to home.

Go out and find the story The next hour was Newspaper class, and as a staff we spent most of our time watching TV reports of the towers’ collapse, attacks at the Pentagon, a plane crash in rural Pennsylvania and the mandatory grounding of all airplanes. At the end of hour I remember turning off the TV and not knowing what to say to the class.

Did they need to be reassured that everything was going to be OK? The problem was, I wasn’t sure everything was going to be.

Did they need to be told that we’d catch and punish whoever did this? This seemed too simplistic.

So what I told them was something like this: Today’s one of those ‘Where were you when’ days.

For the rest of your life you’ll probably remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about these attacks. But today’s more than that.

Today’s a day for you, as journalists, to be the chroniclers of history for your generation. Today’s a day to tell the story of this disaster and what it means to you and your peers. Your job now is to go out and find these stories. Even in Dexter I’m sure there are people with connections to what happened

MIPA Officers 2006-2007

About Stet

President, Rod Satterthwaite, Dexter HS 1st Vice President, Jeremy Van Hof, Grand Ledge HS 2nd Vice President, Sandra Strall, Carlson HS Secretary, Kim Kozian, L’Anse Creuse HS North Trustee, Nikki Schueller, North Farmington HS Trustee, Paula Pantano, Stevenson HS Trustee, Tim Morley, Inland Lakes HS Newspaper Chair, Julie Price, Haslett HS Yearbook Chair, Lynn Strause, East Lansing HS Broadcast Chair, Diane Herder, Laingsburg HS Legislative Chair, Gloria Olman, retired, 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, Penney Aiken & Amy Brandt, 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.

■ November 2006

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

today in New York, Washington or Pennsylvania.

Before I knew Eli’s sister died that day, my focus was on encouraging students to get the story. I wanted them to pursue any local angles they could find. I wanted them to ask people at school if any of them had connections to what happened that day. I wanted them to tell compelling stories about how this event affected them and their peers. In short, I wanted them to be journalists.

The problem was, and I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, I felt the same way even after I found out that Eli’s sister died that day. In fact, I might have felt it even more.

But that would change.

A private moment of grief Every winter a science teacher, Cheryl, and I take a group of seniors to New York for what is officially known as the Dexter Senior Fine Arts trip. We take students to Broadway shows, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If it’s touristy, we cram it in to three sleepless days in the Big Apple.

And six months after the death of his sister, Eli’s parents signed Please see PRESIDENT, page 14

MIPA Calendar Dec. 1, 2006 InDesign/Photoshop Workshop Dec. 2, 2006 Standards Meeting Dec. 15, 2006 Late fall yearbook deadline Feb. 9, 2007 SND Quick Course Feb. 16, 2007 Newspaper, video, yearbook deadlines March 16, 2007 Late newspaper, video deadline April 17, 2007 Spring Conference

Stet

IN MY

OPINION

Winners

all around

By Agnes Soriano, Journalism Major, MSU

Love the Internet, but still need those publications

W

ith all the “Googling,” “Facebooking” and “blogging” people do these days, it seems apparent how American society has grown accustomed to short and easily obtained answers (as well as the habit of making nouns found in Internet jargon into commonly used verbs).

For instance, I am able to “Google” a timeline of Civil War battles, “Facebook” my best friend from the third grade and “blog” about my latest travels in under an hour.

So much of my everyday life from researching for a class to contacting a friend is now convenient, accelerated and space-saving due to the Internet.

Yet, it also makes much of my life impersonal and superficial, filled with unnecessary obligatory e-mails and Web site referrals.

As a future high school journalism teacher, I have started to notice the impact of Internet usage in the way I receive my news, as well as how technological standards can either be detrimental or beneficial in my lesson plans.

During my time at college, I grew dependent on the Internet.

More specifically, I became used to reading online editions of newspapers. They are convenient, free most of the time—with Internet access— and do not take up a lot of space. They offer up-to-the-minute news alerts, live video feed and extensive photo galleries.

However, as I formulate possible lesson plans for journalism and English classes, I find myself veering away from teaching what is my normal practice in everyday life. I am rediscovering my original apprecia-

tion for newsprint because I have had to pinpoint the overall arching theme of all my lessons. I have had to look past all the flashy graphics, online polls and quick reads by revisiting the true purpose of the written word—communication.

My interest in journalism is based on that essential purpose. It sparked at home as a child, with my parents reading and later subscribing to numerous publications ranging from the Detroit Free Press and the Troy Observer & Eccentric to Reader’s Digest and Highlights Magazine.

My parents, as poor emigrants from the Philippines, read newspapers for free at the local public library in order to familiarize themselves with American society and the English language. As they saved money and moved from Detroit to the suburbs, I began to see newspapers and magazines appear at our door or in our mailbox. Although they watched TV news too, it was easier for them to comprehend English when reading the words, rather than listening to them.

As I recently recalled these memories in reflection papers for other classes, I realized how scanning the Web version on a computer just doesn’t seem comparable to holding a publication in my hands.

It is easy to get lost in the entertaining and seemingly convenient nature of the Internet and of technology in journalism as a whole. Yet as English Language Arts teachers and especially as journalism educators, it is our job to keep in mind what was— and still is—existent before the Web. We, as teachers, must empower our students to focus on how to use their publication to communicate with and educate their readers.

Agnes Soriano is a senior at MSU majoring in journalism education. She works at The State News as the assistant copy editor chief.

Photo by Rachel Evans

Betsy Pollard Rau, adviser at H.H. Dow HS in Midland, received the Midland Teacher of the Year Award from the Association of Retarded Citizens. Rau and her student, Amanda Brown, share a moment after the awards dinner. Brown takes photos for the Update staff. Two other staff members received recognition as well.

Photo by Betsy Rau

Jane Briggs-Bunting, right, received a JEA Friend of Scholastic Journalism Award at the JEA/NSPA convention in Nashville. Briggs-Bunting won the award because of her tireless work to help students win their First Amendment rights.

Sara-Beth O’Connor received a JEA Future Teacher Scholarship this fall.

O’Connor is the first MSU student to win the $1,000 scholarship, which is given yearly to outstanding students who are in journalism education programs. An intern this year at Everett HS, O’Connor traveled to Nashville to receive her award.

Photo by Lydia Cadena

November 2006 ■

Stet

AdviserWatch

Breckenridge adviser loves advising and her students

By Agnes Soriano, MSU Student

F

■ November 2006

Photo by Matt Myers

Dawn Landis analyzes photos from her students’ first photo lesson of the year.

Landis has been advising the yearbook for six years.

“We spend enough hours doing our own jobs, let alone taking up the slack for another staff member who fails to do their job,” Landis said. “So, everyone on staff must pull their weight.”

Her involvement in several professional associations has contributed in getting her to where she is today as an adviser and has also benefited her students. She recommends joining the Journalism Education Association (JEA), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) and MIPA. These organizations offer advice via listserves, conferences and workshops.

Landis has attended camps with her students for several years, in addition to actually teaching at them. For the first time, she plans to bring her students to the JEA/NSPA convention this fall in Nashville.

‘‘

However, Landis also emphasized that she discovered one of her greatest resources as an adviser right in her own classroom—her students.

“Utilize your staff members’ knowledge to help you with mastering computer programs you may be unfamiliar with,” Landis said.

“I remember how much knowledge I absorbed my first year trying to master PageMaker and Photoshop.”

She continues teaching journalism because the students have as much passion for it as she does.

“Advising journalism is a joy because of the great kids I have doing the tremendously difficult but gratifying job of covering their year,” Landis said. “I can say without a doubt that my students love yearbook.

I love that they love it!”

‘‘

or Dawn Landis, a yearbook holds more memories than the pictures in it could ever show. As the journalism teacher for six years at Breckenridge High School, she has produced a yearbook, as well as a few newspapers if time allows for it, each year with her class.

She said she is proud of her program because her staff also takes pride in what they do. Landis describes her class as if they were own children.

“I feed them to keep them motivated, I listen to their gripes about the world in general, and they listen to mine,” she said.

Landis recalls a defining moment in her teaching career during the summer of 2005, when her students received second place for their theme development at the Herff Jones camp.

Last year, with the same book, they earned 21 individual awards from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA).

“When my students shine, I beam!” Landis exclaimed.

In addition to her journalism class, she teaches Spanish and English. Landis said journalism is her favorite class of the day because of the bonds the students and her create with each other.

“Some of my students are with me for four years when they join the staff as a ninth grader,” she said.

Although she teaches one journalism class of 10 students, Landis said she strongly believes yearbook must be taught as a co-curricular rather an extra-curricular. The amount of time involved outweighs the number of students in attendance.

“The grades are a way to keep the students accountable,” she said.

“I probably would not be able to get students to dedicate as much time if it weren’t for the grade they receive.”

Landis indicates how students take the class and sometimes even sign up for one more independent study section because they want more time during deadlines, despite already spending many hours after school working on their pages.

Students must maintain a B average or they will be asked to drop the class.

Producing her award-winning yearbook requires teamwork to also be a priority.

Advising journalism is a joy because of the great kids I have doing the tremendously difficult but gratifying job of covering their year.

—Dawn Landis, yearbook adviser, Breckenridge HS

Special Report

Stet

Workshop Review Summertime and the living was fun—at least if you were part of the three weeks of workshops offered by the MSU School of Journalism and MIPA. More than 600 people spent time on campus where they learned everything from column grids to column writing and a lot in between.

Take a look . . .

Getting a Betsy Buck was a highlight for Luke Altomare, a workshop attendee from Dexter HS. Students receive Betsy Bucks and Chad Change throughout the week when they approach director Betsy Rau and assistant Chad Sanders and tell them something they learned that day or just say hi. They deposit their bucks in a box throughout the week and at the closing students can win prizes.

Altomare was a student in the Cartooning during the week and also received an Excellent Award.

November 2006 â–

Stet

Workshop Review

Workshop Writing

MSU adviser courses fun, meet the needs

By Marilyn Klimek, Adviser, Niles HS Linda Andrada never had so much fun in a class.

The newspaper adviser at Lake Fenton High School spent a week at Michigan State University in Betsy Pollard Rau’s advising class this past July.

“It really helped me evaluate what I’m doing,” said Andrada, who traveled to Michigan State with her husband and two small daughters.

“My challenge is to be two people at once,” said Andrada of the fact that she has beginning and intermediate journalism students all in the same class at the same time.

For her part, Rau finds it refreshing and fun herself to visit and teach other publications advisers during the summer at MSU. “It has been my best year ever,” said Rau, who said she tailors the class to meet the particular needs of her students.

“We talked a lot about grading, downtime projects,” Rau said.

A publications adviser herself for 30 years, Rau is the newspaper adviser at H.H. Dow High School in Midland. The biggest change she has seen in her three decades-long career? One word: technology.

“Technology is huge,” said Rau. And to that end, Ike Lea spent a week teaching Photoshop to a group of people who spanned in age from their mid 40s to 19. Some came from as far away from the Philippines while others hailed from the nearby Lansing area to attend class.

Lea, a Media Art and Information Technology professor at Lansing Community College, said he enjoyed instructing Photoshop this summer. He said his class was one of the best groups yet.

“I get to talk to the advisers,” he said. “It keeps me focused on, ‘Are we teaching the right things?’ ” He noted he has inherited students from a few advisers, including Pam Bunka, a 28-year newspaper and yearbook adviser veteran at Fenton High School.

She found Lea’s class informative and an excellent way to brush up on her technology skills.

“I learned the things I wanted to learn,” she said, adding that keeping pace with technological upgrades is one of the biggest challenges with which a high school publications adviser encounters in their job.

Rau directed and Lea instructed during the high school journalism conference at MSU the first week

Advisers

Please see ADVISER COURSES, page 14 ■ November 2006

The Feature Writing class, taught by Peggy Morton, listens to Crystal Miller, a survivor of the Columbine shooting. Workshop staff member Jamie Flanagan helped to arrange the conference call with Miller.

Lifestyle of Love

Feature writing class gets a chance to talk with Columbine High School survivor

By Emily Serkaian, Okemos HS “Life is short,” Crystal Miller said. “What we do matters.”

Miller was a 16-year-old junior at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting rampage in the school in Littleton, Colo. The event inspired Miller to take a look at her life, to change the way she lived.

A standard high school student, Miller was a three-sport athlete who did many things to fit in the so-called “in” crowd. “I was focused on my friends and the approval of my peers,” she said.

Miller partied and drank, and sometimes made fun of people just to fit in. But, at the end of that day, with 12 of her schoolmates and one of her teachers dead, Miller said it was time for a change.

Going to study for a test during lunch, Miller was “shocked” when Harris and Klebold burst into the library and began shooting. Ducking under the table, she experienced “the most intense fear,” knowing she might be living the last moments of her life. “At that moment,” she said. “I made some serious decisions.”

Miller’s life was spared. The table she had hid under was the only one untouched by Harris and Klebold. Her friend, Rachel Scott, was one of the students killed. Scott was a “voice for the voiceless,” kind, compassionate, always reaching out to those who seemed alone. Miller decided to model her life after Scott’s. She had been given a second chance, and she was determined to live her life differently.

She began doing simple acts of kindness, such as holding a door or genuinely saying “thank you” to others. Miller hopes to reach out through these acts of compassion.

Not only has she changed her lifestyle, Miller has centered her career on sharing a message of hope and love. She participates in Rachel’s Challenge, a program that aims to bring positive change to communities. Miller also authored a book on her experiences, “Marked for Life,” which focuses on helping those who have experienced any kind of suffering to help turn it into a more positive experience.

Miller is grateful to be where she is today. She recognizes that her experience, however painful it was, has changed her life for the better.

“I wanted to share my story since the very day (it happened),” she said. Her goal is to help others find hope, no matter what type situation they have encountered.

And that is a life that will, she hopes, “matter.”

Students

Stet

Workshop Review

BUILDING A STAFF Students in Kim Green’s Leadership Class learned how to connect with each other while playing team-building exercises.

Interviewing skills Maurice Joseph, a Spartan basketball player, was part of a press conference at the workshop.

Students had a chance to ask questions.

UP CLOSE AND TOO PERSONAL Sparty cuddles with workshop instructor Dan Trommater and MIPA office manager Penny Aiken at the opening session. Sparty’s a workshop regular.

The tuesday night picnic

It’s a tradition. On Tuesday night we have a picnic out behind Shaw Hall along the Red Cedar River. Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, chips, brownies, pop and an ant or two.

CONCENTRATION

A student studies over his writing. The MIPA Workshop offers eight different courses in writing.

November 2006 ■

Stet

Workshop Review

NOT ONE OF THE KIDS Justin Bilicki

was a new instructor teaching a new class at MIPA: Cartooning. MIPA is probably the only workshop in the nation offering this course, and we know we’re the only one to have such an awesome instructor. Go ahead, Google Justin Bilicki and see what you find . . .

YES, IT WAS WAY TOO HOT Workshop assistant Jenny Toland wipes her

brow as she delivers water to the workshop. Temperatures reached into the high 90s, and living in the dorm with no air conditioning was a bummer.

JACK ROBERTS ROCKS The ex-

ecutive director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association is a frequent speaker in Jeff Nardone’s Sports Writing class. He shares with students the latest news about high school sports.

■ November 2006

THE T-SHIRT Everyone gets a free t-shirt,

but this smart student brought her own MIPA T-shirt.

WORKING HARD A beginning yearbook student works diligently on his spread in Lynn Strause and Sandra Strall’s class.

Workshop Review

Stet

Creating classroom diversity

By Jason Skiba, adviser Battle Creek Central HS

T

hink alphabet soup. Different letters all made up of the same stuff. Now, think of a classroom in any high school. Different kids all made up of the same stuff.

Although soup is something that almost everyone can make, creating a classroom environment that accepts diversity, and even focuses on it, is not. That’s why today’s journalism educators are such a special breed.

Most journalism teachers are cognizant of the fact their school is a diverse community and their classes need to reflect that. “My room and classes are often more diverse than most other classes,” Marnie Hade, an adviser at Northwest High School in Jackson, said.

Hade, along with eight other veteran advisers, recently attended the Power Advising class put on by the MSU School of Journalism.

“We have to [create a diverse classroom] . . . ” Hade said. “But, recruiting needs to occur.”

She echoed the sentiment of other advisers who say a diverse classroom is important but there must be an effort on the part of the teacher to make it happen.

Keith Rydzik, an adviser at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn for 10 years, has recently seen his recruiting efforts pay off.

“I used to go to other English classes and make a pitch and literally tell them I need a staff to reflect the school. Lately, I don’t need to do this.”

Rydzik’s school is a culturally and racially diverse school. He feels he has seen “too many little stories … [that] exhibit the pressure these students feel in reconciling being an American and being Muslim.”

Easy as ABC He’s not alone. Many advisers see the importance of creating diversity in their classroom so that students have the opportunity to be exposed to it.

“I guess I’m no expert at creating that percent racially, but I do think it’s important,” Judi Henckel, a second-year adviser from Athens High School, said.

Advisers aren’t the only ones paying attention to a diverse environment though.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors

Jason Skiba, publication adviser at Battle Creek Central, led a discussion with students in the Power Advising class about the importance of diversity in the journalism classroom.

(ASNE) have set a lofty goal of having the workforce in newsrooms match the minority population of the United States by the year 2025.

ASNE, with 860 members, is an organization of the main editors of daily newspapers in the Americas.

They have adopted a newsroom diversity mission statement that highlights their goal in creating parity with the population by 2025.

In a 2004 press release, thenASNE President Edward Seaton, editor-in-chief of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, said, “This mission statement strongly reaffirms our commitment to having newsrooms that reflect the communities that we cover.”

The problem, at least to journalism advisers in high schools, is that this seems an unlikely goal to be met. “. . . realistically, no. The Detroit area [for example] is so segregated between the city and the sub[divisions] – it’s not a journalism issue, it’s a societal issue,” said Marissa Mazur, Romeo High School’s adviser for the last three years.

She’s not the only one that doesn’t see the goal as attainable with the amount of work and effort that is happening right now.

“It’s a great goal,” Hade said. “But it will require a lot of recruiting. The

numbers . . . entering journalism programs in college have to shift dramatically.”

She thinks that it is something that needs to be addressed.

“Many minorities in my school are not interested in journalism versus other programs so recruiting is a big issue,” she said.

Simple as 123 It’s those numbers entering journalism programs that advisers see as one of the downfalls of ASNE’s goal.

They also see one of the largest obstacles to creating those opportunities for students to become involved in journalism—there may be no journalism program where students go to school.

“First, with budgeting and state curriculum, journalism programs are in trouble in lots of school districts – so preserving the programs comes first—diversity has to be second,” Hade said.

Many agree with her. Journalism educators respect the goal but think that if curriculum changes happen at the school level there won’t be initial interest in the subject in the first place.

Some advisers are worried that these cuts are happening because some peoPlease see DIVERSITY, page 14

November 2006 ■

Stet

Workshop Review

Workshop Students who

MADETHEGRADE

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.

Congratulations to all winners!

Sparty Winners Name

School

Class

Award Name

Taylor McGowan Maria Brundage Will Lawrence Veronica Nagy Brijit Spencer Luke Arreguin Brandi Kushuba Robbie Fisher Taylor Hauck Evan Welch Elisabeth Dion Dallas Dralle Caitlynn Haas Abby Wood Sara Humphreys Cecile Cosby Lisa Venable Jessica McKeever Lauren Myrand Sarah Rogers Joelle Jacobs Christy Duan Teal Inzunza Evelyn Maidlow Emily Serkaian Gavin Jackson Mike Carson Angela Soyad Sarah Bowman Ryan Moore Carly Moore Adrianna McIntyre Brittney Osborne

Clarkston HS Dexter HS East Lansing HS Fenton HS Fenton HS Findlay HS (Ohio) Goodrich HS Grosse Pointe North HS Grosse Pointe South HS Grosse Pointe South HS H.H. Dow HS H.H. Dow HS Haslett HS Haslett HS Heritage HS Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Lake Fenton HS Mercy HS Mercy HS Midland HS Novi HS Okemos HS Okemos HS Okemos HS Southeastern HS Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stevenson HS Stoney Creek HS Stoney Creek HS Traverse City East Jr. High Utica HS Wayland HS

Shoot First, Photoshop Later Photoshop CT Sports Writing Photo 2 Photo 2 Video Production Editors YB Leadership Radical Writing Radical Writing Adv. NP Design Adv. NP Design Photoshop Begins w/Photo Editors YB Adv. YB Writing/Reporting YB Writing/Design Adv. YB Design InDesign Editors NP Rethinking Your Pub Entertainment Writing Opinion Writing Journalistic Writing Opinion Writing Feature Writing YB Writing/Design Editors NP InDesign InDesign Journalistic Writing Jr. High Journalism InDesign Bus. Management

Best Overall Portfolio Creative Imaging Award Most Excellent Sports Feature Photo for Publication 2 Photo for Publication 2 Video Production Outstanding Editorial Leadership Editors’ Choice Leadership Award Outstanding Writing Outstanding Writing Advanced Newspaper Design Outstanding Advanced Newspaper Portfolio Great People Photos/Photoshop Experimentation Outstanding Editorial Leadership Exemplary Writing Yearbook Writing & Design Outstanding Yearbook Design InDesign Leadership Award Outstanding Effort Excellence in Entertainment Writing Excellence in Cartooning First Rate Cub Reporter Outstanding Work in Opinion Writing Feature Writing & Leadership Yearbook Writing & Design Leadership Award InDesign Excellence Superior Design Quality Outstanding News Story Journalism Excellence Outstanding Theme Package Design Business Management

Classroom Excellence Awards

10 ■ November 2006

Name

School

Class

Award Name

Courtney Kazmierczak Amber Cooper Kellie Kondrat Beth Jackson Joy Wilke Josh Derezinski Rachel English Hayley Albright Sarah Tharrett Melissa Bailey Wendy Roberts Khonsu A. Spratt Raven Martin Alyssa Robinson Katie Johnson Luke Altomare Karly Stanislovaitis Jaymi Bradley Kevin Reeves

Alpena HS Bath HS Boyne Falls HS Carman-Ainsworth HS Chelsea HS City High MS Clarkston HS Clarkston HS Clarkston HS Clarkston HS Clarkston HS Cranbrook Schools Dakota HS Dexter HS Dexter HS Dexter HS Dexter HS Eastern HS Eastern HS

Entertainment Writing Journalistic Writing Video Production Editors YB Editors NP Photoshop CT YB Writing/Design Photo 1 Editors YB Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Photo 1 Journalistic Writing Journalistic Writing Photoshop Begins Radical Writing Cartooning Feature Writing Journalistic Writing Journalistic Writing

Best All-Around Entertainment Writer Best Attitude Excellence in Video Production Dedication to Craft Best Staff Editorial Creative Imaging Award Sparkler Award Photojournalism Excellence People’s Choice/Design Outstanding Writing Excellence in Photojournalism Best of Show Leadership Strong Visual Imagery Radical Writer Excellence in Cartooning Excellence Endurance Best Work Ethic

Workshop Review Name

School

Class

Award Name

Amy Cooper Tori Cowger Becca Rausch Diane Teall Summer Ballentine Nicholas Husted Danielle DeArment Anne Donovan Aaron Hamel Nora Christiansen Stephanie Harvey William Schrage Janine Plourde Kirsten Ditta Kaitlin Arnold Megan Durisin Hannah Koaches Darin Smith Duane Allen Whitney VandenBerg Nathan Moore Caitlynn Haas Malorie Urda Sagal Ali Meaghan Cassin Pat Garvin Priya Agrawal Anna Kuhn Rebecca Turchanik Jordan Garza Kelsey Sopel Alexa Allen Natalie Minott Crystal Thayer Heidi Lentz Taylor Nunley Tia Doyle Lauren McLeod Brittany Jones Mia Sandler Logan Reigner Amy Poole Darby McGaw Dennis Oosterhart Kurt Juday Kurt Juday Elaine Magiera Katie Maynard Katherine O’Donnell Jenn Linton Coutney Williams Julie Mulloy Rebecca Zhou Nathan Zemanek Sarah Fletcher Krystle Wagner Simone Anderson Nicole Brooks Caitlin Tetrick Claire Abraham Priya Bayisetti David Hopper Bradley Perry Zareen Van Winkle Emily Pfund Katie Walch Haley Foydel Octaevis James

Farmington HS Fenton HS Fenton HS Fenton HS Fenton HS Fenton HS Findlay HS (Ohio) Findlay HS (Ohio) Fraser HS Goodrich HS Grand Haven HS Grosse Pointe North HS Grosse Pointe North HS Grosse Pointe South HS Grosse Pointe South HS H.H. Dow HS H.H. Dow HS H.H. Dow HS H.H. Dow HS Haslett HS Haslett HS Haslett HS Haslett HS Heritage HS Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Howell HS Ithaca HS Ithaca HS Ithaca HS Laingsburg HS Laingsburg HS Laingsburg HS Lake Fenton HS Lake Fenton HS Lake Orion HS Lakeview HS Battle Creek Lakeview HS Battle Creek Lakeview HS Lakewood HS MacDonald MS Marshall HS Marshall HS Marshall HS Marshall HS Marshall HS Mercy HS Mercy HS Mercy HS Mercy HS Mercy HS Midland HS Mona Shores HS Mona Shores HS Mona Shores HS Niles HS North Farmington HS Novi HS Pioneer HS Plymouth HS Port Huron Northern HS Portage Northern HS Portage Northern HS Portage Northern HS Romeo HS Sexton HS

Adv. NP Design InDesign Photo 2 Adv. NP Design Feature Writing Journalistic Writing Video Production Video Production Radical Writing Photoshop Begins Journalistic Writing Sports Writing Opinion Writing Radical Writing InDesign Radical Writing Rethinking Your Pub Entertainment Writing Photoshop CT Editors YB Adv. NP Design Photoshop Begins Photo 2 InDesign YB Writing/Design Adv. YB Writing/Reporting InDesign InDesign InDesign Editors YB Editors YB Rethinking Your Pub Editors YB Editors YB InDesign Adv. NP Design Editors NP Photo 1 Bus. Management Bus. Management Leadership Editors NP Jr. High Journalism Adv. YB Design Editors NP Editors NP Editors NP Photo 2 InDesign Entertainment Writing Photoshop CT Editors NP Editors NP Adv. NP Design Shoot First-Photoshop Feature Writing Journalistic Writing Adv. NP Design Adv. YB Design Sports Writing InDesign InDesign Opinion Writing Rethinking Your Pub Feature Writing Bus. Management Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Journalistic Writing

Outstanding Redesign Outstanding Newspaper Design Most Improved Most Creative Excellence in Feature Writing Certified Cub Reporter Excellence in Video Production Excellence in Video Production Radical Writer Great Eye for People Pix & Experimentation Most Promising Journalist Excellence in Sports Writing Excellence in Opinion Writing Radical Writer Excellence Radical Writer Outstanding Alternative Story Package Excellence in Entertainment Writing Creative Imaging Award Outstanding Section Designs Outstanding Designer Great Eye for People Pix & Experimentation Excellence in Photojournalism Outstanding Magazine Cover Design Picture Perfect Outstanding Writing & Attitude First Place Theme Package Design 3rd Place Theme Package Design Outstanding Performance Outstanding Theme Development Outstanding Theme Development Outstanding Consistency Award Outstanding Theme Development Outstanding Theme Development 2nd Place Theme Package Design Overall Best Redesign Best Policy Statement Photojournalism Excellence Best of the Best Award Best of the Best Award Above & Beyond Award Best Staff Editorial Outstanding Effort & Production Outstanding Design Portfolio Best Staff Editorial Best Policy Statement Best Policy Statement Best People Photography Outstanding Performance Excellence Creative Imaging Award Best Staff Editorial Best Staff Editorial Outstanding Feature Design Image Excellemce—Portrait Excellence in Feature Writing Certified Cub Reporter Student’s Choice Award Outstanding Design Portfolio Excellence Outstanding Performance Design Excellence Excellence in Opinion Writing Outstanding Nameplate Design Excellence in Feature Writing Best of the Best Award Outstanding Writing & Boundless Potential Excellence

Stet

November 2006 ■ 11

Stet Name Meghan Spork Josh Frydman Tricia Makin Catherine Raftery Jennifer VanSparrentak Kristina Hauptmann Jamie Hausman Heather Anuta Ryan Dickson Mina Mineva Brian Schnurr Nick Marckel Jenny Vainberg Nick Mattar Erin Robison Michael Strong Lauren Rollison Brittney Osborne

Workshop Review School

Class

Shrine HS Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stevenson HS Stevenson HS Stevenson HS Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stevenson HS Stevenson HS (Ill.) Stoney Creek HS Troy Athens HS Troy HS Troy HS Waterford Kettering HS Waterford Kettering HS Waterford Kettering HS Wayland HS

Opinion Writing Radical Writing InDesign Editors YB Shoot First-Photoshop Sports Writing Entertainment Writing InDesign InDesign Leadership Video Production Sports Writing Photoshop Begins Editors NP Adv. YB Design YB Writing/Design Shoot First-Photoshop Bus. Management

Award Name Excellence in Opinion Writing Radical Writer Outstanding Yearbook Design Outstanding Section Design Image Excellence & Work Ethic Excellence in Sports Writing Excellence in Entertainment Writing Design Excellence Design Excellence Above & Beyond Award Excellence Excellence in Sports Writing Great Eye for Shapes & Designs Best Policy Statement Outstanding Design Portfolio Lead-the-Way Image Excellence—Capturing a Moment Best of the Best Award

▲ Maria Brundage of Dexter HS created this photo illustration of the blogging seminar for her class in Photoshop Creative Techniques class, which was taught by Ike Lea.

▲ Angela Soyad of Stevenson HS designed this page in her InDesign class at the MIPA Workshop. Her instructor was Kirk Weber. ▲

Dallas Dralle of H.H. Dow HS designed this page in the Advanced Newspaper Design class.

Instructor Sherri Taylor awarded Dralle the Sparty Award for her work.

▲

Veronica Nagy of Fenton HS took this photo at the MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop. She was in the Beginning Photo class taught by Paula Turner and Dan Trommater.

12 ■ November 2006

2006-2007 MIPA Membership Form Today’s date School

List school as you want it referred to on membership certificate and other documents.

Deadline: Schools must join MIPA by Jan. 31, 2007, to participate in contests for that calendar year.

Address City Phone (

State

)

ZIP

Fax Number (

County )

Please check the publications that are joining and include all information.

Newspaper­: Name

Home Phone (

)

Newspaper Adviser

E-mail

Yearbook: Name

Home Phone (

)

Yearbook Adviser

E-mail

Video Journalism: Name

Home Phone (

)

Write very clearly, please!

Write very clearly, please!

Video Journalism Adviser

E-mail Write very clearly, please!

Lit. Magazine: Name

Home Phone (

)

Lit. Magazine Adviser

E-mail Write very clearly, please!

Membership Fees

Send this form and check made out to MIPA to:

$37.50 $47.50 $57.50 $67.50

MIPA, School of Journalism 305 Communication Arts Bldg Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Advisers, want to join the Journalism Education Association?

Add an extra $50 per person, and we’ll send it in for you! List advisers here: 1.

2.

3.

for one publication for two publications for three publications for four publications

$

One (1) publication or production

For office use only please:

$

Other publications or productions ($10 for each beyond the first one)

ck #

$

$50 per adviser for JEA membership

$

Add $5 if this is being mailed after Oct. 16, 2006

$

Total enclosed

4.

amt po invoice date

Stet Adviser Courses, cont. from page 6 in August.

The difference between instructing teachers and then their students?

“The instructors ask more questions,” according to Lea. “They know what they need . . . They know what problems they’ve been having.”

Despite the demands of technology as well as increased academic standards that make it more challenging for high school students to fit a journalism class into their schedule, Rau said she is encouraged by the enthusiasm of her adolescent and adult students.

“They still make time to come in late and work,” she noted.

DIVERSITY, cont. from page 6 ple don’t view the subjects as important.

“This is a respectable but lofty goal—considering changes to our curriculum in Michigan. ‘Electives,’ aka lesser important classes in the eyes of some, may get cut. Journalism may suffer as a result,” said Linda Andrada, a 15-year veteran adviser.

Andrada has been an adviser at Lake Fenton High School for 10 years and is worried that the programs won’t survive. She thinks that professional organizations like MIPA or the Journalism Education Association could help at the state level by working with decision-makers about curriculum. “[They should] lobby in relation to the state curriculum. We may lose publication classes or have journalism swallowed up within other classes,” said Andrada.* That’s the largest concern for many advisers. They can work for diversity but without the actual classes, there really isn’t a point.

Andrada believes that journalism classes need to survive for anything else to matter.

“If we lose these classes, having diversity in them will be a moot point.”

After all, a class without students is like alphabet soup . . . without the alphabet.

President, cont. from page 2 him up for the trip.

Despite the numerous memorials and honor services held throughout the country, they couldn’t get him to attend any of them. They were worried that he wasn’t grieving for his sister, and they thought this trip might help him start the process. In addition, he had a pass to the family viewing area at Ground Zero, and for the first time he was talking about wanting to see where his sister died.

So on an unusually warm March day I found myself in Manhattan with 15 other high school seniors, a colleague and Eli, standing on a raised platform looking at stillsmoking, hallowed rubble. And as the other students meandered off to the EPSN store or the Hard Rock Cafe or Madame Toussauds Wax Museum, Eli, Cheryl and I found a policeman to direct us to the family viewing area.

It was touching when the police officer—in every respect a stereotypical movie cop with broad shoulders, Brooklyn accent and brusque manner—hugged Eli when he learned what happened to his sister.

It was even more touching when we walked in to the family viewing area and Eli immediately found a mini-memorial to his sister including her photo, some flowers and a poem someone had written for her.

But what made two teachers cry as if the loss was their own was when, in a private moment of grief, Eli slowly approached this tribute to

2007 CONTEST 14 ■ November 2006

Lesson learned We did do a center spread about 9-11 in our paper that year. And we did find other students with connections to the tragedy. But we never did a story about Eli’s sister. Students asked him multiple times, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

And if I hadn’t shared Eli’s private moment of grief with him, that probably would have bothered me. I would have encouraged students to talk to him and to keep talking to him until they got the story. But being at Ground Zero with him that day made me rethink my “get the story” mentality.

Yes, journalism is about getting the story, being persistent, finding the local angle, chronicling history and giving perspective.

Journalism is certainly about all these things.

But as I watched Eli grieve that day for a sister who died too soon in a conflict not of her making, I also realized that journalism is about compassion, sensitivity and when to leave well enough alone.

Sometimes, my time with Eli taught me, journalism isn’t just about getting the story. Sometimes it’s about not getting the story too.

Give a buck.

Get a button.

*Editor’s Note: A meeting is scheduled with the state English/Language Arts coordinator for Saturday, Dec. 2. All are welcome to come to MSU that day to help with the process of matching standards to curriculum. Results will be put up on the MIPA Web site as soon as they are completed.

Watch your mail in early January for the contest announcement.

All materials will be on the Web.

his sister, touched the photo of her gently, tentatively, with the fingers on his right hand as if the photo might burn him, and quietly whispered, “I love you,” as he collapsed in tears.

l actua size

MIPA has some buttons left from the conference.

We’re trying to help the Student Press Law Center meet its financial goals by the end of this year.

We collected nearly $500 at the Fall Conference by selling buttons (thanks to all of you who contributed!), and we’re trying to do more. Send us a buck, and we’ll send you a button. Send us lots of bucks, and we’ll send you lots of buttons. And if you don’t want any buttons, send some money to SPLC at 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209, or visit www. splc.org. Let’s help the SPLC meet its goal!

Stet Although some rooms were crowded and there was that pesky gas leak, we’re still glad that MIPA’s

Fall Conference attracted its largest, coolest group ever!

2,720

THEY’RE THE NEW ADVISERS ON THE BLOCK It’s always a pleasure to meet new journalism teachers and advisers at the MIPA Fall Conference. And to see this many at one time was just plain awesome! Welcome to the MIPA family!

IT WAS THE PLACE TO BE The exhibitor room was full of students sitting all over the floor looking at yearbooks. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

GETTING HELP FROM OTHERS Face to Face Critiques

are always a popular event at the Fall Conference. Here Ruth Mavis of Algonac HS talks with two students about their yearbook.

SPECIAL SPEAKERS Far

left: Kathy Daly from Colorado thrilled yearbook students with her fun, interactive sessions. Middle: Tom Gayda from Indiana was the featured newspaper speaker, while Kevin Kneisley, left, of Georgia spoke to video students.

November 2006 ■ 15

Stet

“It was a gas.”

T

The MIPA Fall Conference was memorable in lots of ways. For one, it was the largest fall conference ever with 131 schools represented and more than 2,720 in attendance. For another, there were great speakers! But perhaps even more than those, this journalism day will be remembered as the one where everyone had to evacuate because construction workers in front of the Lansing Center hit

a gas main. Luckily—if you can use such a word in a paragraph describing this event—it occurred during the last session, right after lunch. Lansing Center personnel were pleased that everyone handled the evacuation so well. Some students did what comes naturally: they started taking notes and photos. Two Lansing Everett HS students had a story and photo published the next day in the Lansing State Journal.

Photo by Erika Edwards, Laingsburg HS

Stet

MIPA/School of Journalism 305 Communication Arts Building Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1212