4 minute read
Journalism class swap
Thursday, April 7th, 2022 Peppering the Heron Herald
Ian Letts
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Walking into Journalism class at Arcata High School for the first time was a moment that changed my life forever.
It quickly became one of my favorite classes and changed the way I thought about my college future.
Most importantly, it opened my eyes to the importance of student journalism on any school campus, as I believe these programs allow student voices to be heard beyond what would otherwise be possible.
To further my understanding of the subject, I felt I needed to see how other student journalism classrooms operate around our local community.
I reached out to Northcoast Preparatory Academy senior and Co-Editor-In-Chief of The Heron Herald, Zoe Osborn, about the possibility of observing a class period of theirs to learn more about how other student publications operate.
The staff of the newspaper agreed to have me for a day, and I was thrilled.
The Heron Herald is a “student run, student lead, student organized newspaper that focuses on news in the NPA community, but also the greater community,” Osborn said.
The paper features a variety of news, feature and opinion pieces in their issues that cover topics both on and off campus.
Additionally, issues of The Heron Herald feature special sections such as the ‘Sports Corner’ and ‘The Covid Chronicles,’ which make the paper very unique.
The Heron Herald is impressive because it is able to accomplish this in its issues with a staff of only ten writers and two editors, while keeping the experience fun and fulfilling for all people involved.
“Seeing the actual layout of it in physical print is pretty much one of the most rewarding things,” Osborn said about her favorite aspects of the paper.
“On a more intrinsic side of things, it’s rewarding to hear people’s experiences,” she added.
“It’s a small group, but it’s fun to have to write articles and turn them in and edit other people’s articles,” freshman staff writer Brianna Colegrove said on her favorite part of the paper.
The process of producing a newspaper is stressful because of the amount of work required to get it done. However, the reward is always worth it.
“It’s definitely a slog to get it done… but seeing it come out is really rewarding,” senior staff writer Devon Baker-Berry stated.
Additionally, the abilities Heron Herald reporters learn from journalism class are a crucial part of the paper’s allure.
The skills “learned from this class, whether it’s how to interview, how to try to create a non-bias when we’re writing articles, and to formulate an informative piece to give the readers” are senior staff writer, Jaxon Peaker’s, highlight of writing for the paper.
Another admirable aspect of The Heron Herald is that, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, the paper’s production was barely affected.
“I think that’s kind of the nature
- Zoe Osborn
of having a smaller school and a smaller staff,” Osborn said on the matter.
In the 2019-2020 school year, The Heron Herald was able to put out only two issues due to the onset of COVID-19; the next year, they published three issues, the traditional amount of annual issues for The Heron Herald, despite their distance learning schedule for the majority of the year.
“Honestly, Zoom kind of lent itself fine to the process,” Osborn said.
Additionally, distance learning made The Heron Herald stronger in many ways.
For example, before COVID-19, Heron Herald articles were written and edited with pen and paper, but distance learning forced a switch to an online format, which bettered the content the paper was able to put out.
The amount of perseverance Heron Herald reporters showed throughout the pandemic was very impressive.
In addition, it is a prime example of the importance of student journalism on high school campuses.
“Oftentimes, people call journalism the fourth branch of government… we know it’s so intrinsically tied to our whole public system,” Heron Herald advisor and NPA teacher, Andrew Freeman, said.
This system includes high schools, both in our local area and in the global community.
“Sometimes I feel it’s the most important work I get to do here as a teacher is to be the journalism advisor,” Freeman continued.
The Heron Herald along with other student publications in Humboldt County, including The Pepperbox, constantly strive to bring student voices to the forefront of the conversation at their respective schools and around the community.
“I just know how crucial it is to have people going out in the world who understand what’s good journalism,” Freeman concluded. “And how critical it is to a functioning democracy.”
Ian Letts/PEPPERBOX The Heron Herald staff pose in the sunny NPA courtyard on March 11, 2022
