From the JEA Advisers Institute

Rebecca Pollard, MJE, discusses how to empower students at the 2017 Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Going onward and upward

By Patrick R. Johnson, MJE

W

Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held in Las Vegas, July 10-13.

THE SESSION ONWARD AND UPWARD Is your goal each year to survive the school year? Or make it to the publish or air date? It is easy to get lost in survival mode, but you can do more with less.

Devise an action plan where everyone buys in, feels they have a place to belong and their voice is heard.

Hop off the struggle bus and create direction with your team.

Rebecca Pollard, MJE, Lovejoy High School, Lucas, Texas

hen love comes first, getting “the job” done is exponentially easier. And that is exactly what Rebecca Pollard, MJE, JEA curriculum leader and Journalist of the Year committee chair, firmly endorses in her staff’s program.

I have found that what comes of that love are those “adviser heart happy” moments: When a student says, “I’ll just starve today because I have too much to do,” or when the editor gets on a soapbox, my soapbox, and I don’t have to lift a finger. One of my students set her personal social connections aside because the work she was doing on the publication was more important. My students were thinking about me when they say, “It’s not good enough until it’s great.”

Yeah, those moments, the one’s that make an adviser’s heart melt, make every bit of the job worthwhile.

For Pollard, MJE, she sees these moments necessary to being happy and healthy throughout the year and one’s career. She knows this is how to go “onward and upward.”

In her JEA Advisers Institute session, “Onward and Upward,” Pollard provided a number of takeaways, all of which challenge advisers to focus their attention on leadership and team building in their programs.

TAMING THE MONSTER Instead of “excuses,” or the “victim persona” as Pollard calls it, advisers need to “accept their circumstances for what they are and make [their] situation work for [them].” Improvements can be relatively easy by following a number of quick tips: • Establish norms and expectations: communicate what

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• • • • •

• •

makes the adviser mad because students need to know these things ahead of time. They also need to know what makes the adviser happy as well as what helps take care of their faculty leader.

Reflect on last year’s progress.

Set goals for this year and revisit them.

Facilitate a personality test that will lead to self-discovery.

Train leaders to be leaders.

Create job descriptions that fit the people rather than force the people to fit the jobs. “There may be static jobs that don’t change from year to year. However, I’m going to encourage you to abandon that ship and make the leadership work for the group you have,” Pollard said.

Make the students feel valued.

Force fun.

CRAFTING THE FUTURE After recognizing who and what your program is and was, it becomes more important to focus attention on what’s coming and the why -- the purpose, mission and identity of the program and the people in it. For Pollard, a few quick steps and moments of reflection will guide that process and refocus the program’s attention on the future: Use previous experience as a place to start: What worked well and what did not. As the adviser, steer the conversation in a productive manner, but let the students have the discussion.

Define what a good staffer, leader and adviser look like. By bringing the job to light, the adviser will be able to make sure everyone has mutual respect and common ground to be successful.

FALL 2017

Define what “good” doesn’t look like.

Create an editor commitment packet and contract that both students and parents sign.

Establish and brainstorm classroom and program norms. Instructors, during this activity, bring to light the obvious. These daily experiences and ideas should be obvious, but students do not really know or realize them. Let them know and be a part of the conversation.

Set goals. Set goals for you, the instructor, the student leaders and each staff member.

Some days it is hard to go to work. On those days it is important to focus on the why. Ask the students: What is your why? Why are you here? What are you doing? Check out author Simon Sinek and his work for more about finding the why in life and in the media program.

INVEST IN YOUR LEADERS Teaching leadership and training student leaders is not about the skills. It is about talking as people. Pollard has a definitive timeline she uses to train effective leaders to inspire and to sustain the future: 1. Take a personality test: Myers-Briggs (16personalities.com) is a common one. Bringing personality traits to life helps students feel better about what makes them, them. In addition, a love language quiz is an option for students to get context to themselves and to their daily work.

2. Discuss the results. Put them into context and give them meaning.

3. Have the leadership team give the test to the staff and lead the same discussion the teacher had with them about their traits and how they will impact their work and the program.

4. Become aware of skills needed for a successful year. Train the staff in the areas where they have weaknesses.

5. Develop a training timeline, which includes a leadership retreat and “onthe-job” training.

TIMELINE • Leadership norms.

• Leadership personality results.

• Leadership training: Have all leaders pick a topic and get it approved.

They then need to prepare an instructional talk so they can teach the strategy to the group.

• Leadership role defining: Job descriptions fit the students, not the other way around.

• On-the-job training. Plan skills-based workshops. Establish staff norms.

• Take personality tests. Discuss results. Build teams. Celebrate.

• Assess staff needs. Look at individual and the whole group experience.

• Build a training schedule accordingly and stick to it by planning on paper and building a calendar. Include fun in the calendar to be sure the staff sticks to the schedule. It is where the “forced” in forced fun comes from.

• Have fun and invest “the time now knowing it is going to pay off later.”

LEADING WITH LOVE “I’m not the robot in the closet that comes out to teach them and then goes back in the closet at night to recharge,” Pollard said. “I have a life outside of the classroom, and they need to know and recognize this.”

This philosophy is why Pollard knows advisers need to invest in their leaders and love them intentionally. After student leaders take charge, it frees time for the adviser to participate in that genuine love.

The lessons adviser/teachers can impart go beyond journalism skills and focus on life skills and lessons — the meat of who the students are as people and the future. The release of power allows for one-on-one coaching rather than teaching. Even better, it allows for “forced fun” or giving kids perks when they need it or finding ways to appreciate and celebrate the team for who they are and what they have accomplished. n FALL 2017

QUESTION AND ANSWER Q: For new teachers, what would you suggest be the first thing they do to evaluate what their staff needs in terms of leadership?

Pollard: Be a scavenger of information. Talk to the former adviser if possible and maybe to other colleagues who know the program. Talk with the administrator overseeing the program, maybe other advisers at different schools who know the program.

But most importantly, invest time in talking with students who are still part of the program. Find out what went well last year and what did not go so well.

After hearing all sides, a new adviser will have history and data to make educated decisions about how to proceed. New advisers should allow students to have a say in appointing student leaders so they will gain respect from students they will work with.

Q: How can this method help with work/life balance?

Pollard: Part of this approach is to verbalize and make the staff aware the adviser is human. Advisers and students have lives outside of the media room. It is important the advisers draw boundaries with students to give themselves a life away from being advisers.

Theoretically, everything should be approached by working smarter, not harder. It also is important to train and to invest in leaders so they will be in charge of the staff. Once the leaders have been nurtured, trained and loved, they will in turn pay that forward to staff members. That frees up the adviser to oversee the operation and take care of the logistical items students cannot touch.

Q: What impact has leadership training had on your program and how has that developed over your time as an adviser?

Pollard: When I figured out how impactful leadership training has been on my program, I felt stupid for not doing it sooner. Leaders will recall what they learned during training all year long. And these are life skills that will last long after being in high school. I learned that when we set the cameras down for a minute and back away from computers, I have trained the students how to be leaders. As a consequence, I am not as frustrated with the leaders. The media program runs smoother, and the staff members are less frustrated.

Best of all, there is autonomy.

Q: You mentioned the curriculum initiative. What should readers look forward to in the leadership and team building module moving forward?

Pollard: I am thrilled to create content for the curriculum initiative. The lessons I contributed are about building culture within the media room. They are more about building the organization and the people within while creating structure and expectations for the staff to build and train on. That is usually the missing piece advisers need to address to save their sanity.

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CULTURE CREATION

and

ONWARD UPWARD

Establish and define the norms • Use previous experience as a place to start • Define what a good staffer, leader, adviser look like • Define what it doesn’t look like

INVEST IN YOUR LEADERSHIP Identify Personalities Train the Leaders Train the Staffers (beyond workshop)

LOVE INTENTIONALLY They must feel like the matter before they will work

Rebecca Pollard, MJE

Name ______________________________________

AN ACTIVITY FROM THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Brainstorming heart happiness In the space provided, write answers to these questions to stop, think and ready yourself for the upcoming academic year. Then, as a staff or in small groups, discuss the answers.

This activity can lead to finding or redefining your why: focusing yourself on what’s to come or guiding your staff to think about the program and what their whys may be.

1. What would be on your pet peeve list? How can this list lead to norms?

2. What makes your adviser’s heart happy?

3. What makes your editor’s heart happy.

4. What makes your heart happy?

5. What is the next focus to better your media next year?

6. What would be a norm to establish?

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FALL 2017

Linda Barrington, MJE, discusses how to improve ad sales at the 2017 Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Create advertising, business plan

By Candace Brandt

B

udgeting student publications can be the bane of many a teacher new to the advising role. Linda Barrington, MJE, who has advised at both the high school and college levels, offered her advice on creating an advertising business plan.

Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held in Las Vegas, July 10-13.

THE SESSION MAKE A NEW PLAN, STAN A business plan, that is.

This session will offer specific plans for selling ads to raise money for your publication.

Learn the skills you will need to teach your students for whatever career they choose: the ability to sell something and to provide customer service.

Linda Barrington, MJE, Mount Mary University, Milwaukee, Wis.

Q: Why is having a business plan important to a school publication?

Barrington: A school publication actually is a business.

We may not want to think about it that way. Think about a yearbook. That is tens of thousands of dollars on the line. And, if you’re going to operate, you need to have funding. That means you are a business, and you need to be responsible for your expenses. These days schools are not providing the budgets for it; budgets are being cut.

I understand that administrators’ hands are tied.

Though I would make different decisions, a lot of them tend to decide to cut the yearbook budget. You need to have a plan. You cannot leave something like that to chance and simply hope the funding will be there. It limits the yearbook too much with what you can do for your staff, not only in terms of what students can publish, what they can print, but what supplies the adviser can have and what opportunities the yearbook experience provides students.

Q: What are three pointers you would give a new adviser in creating a business plan?

Barrington: First: Prepare details when you approach the students with this idea. Be prepared.

Second: Model how to promote and sell advertising.

Third: Be supportive of your students. Be excited about the selling/promoting campaign, and motivate students to succeed.

Q: What do you see as the possible pitfalls or challenges for new advisers in creating their first business plan?

Barrington: Not having the details fully prepared and possibly not having done it themselves. That means the adviser may be giving students directions without having done the task himself or herself. My advice: After advisers prepare a plan, they should go out and test the process.

See if it works. Once they do it themselves, then they will see what is wrong with the plan.

Q: When you say having details fully prepared, can you give an example of one or two of the details you are talking about?

Barrington: Have a rate card that states all the essential details. When signing the ad agreement, advisers may realize there is missing information: such as the size or specifics about the format for submission of the ad. Or the card may be missing deadlines. Once advisers go through the process, they will be able to find those rate continued on page 32

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continued from page 31

card deficiencies. There also is another detail to practice. Write a script of what to say. When ad sales staffs get to the business, they may realize the script is awkward or incomplete. If the script does not work, the solution is obvious. Start over to create an approach that communicates a clear and friendly message.

Is this YOUR year?

Apply by Oct. 15

Q: What do you feel is the greatest skill that selling advertising teaches students?

Barrington: How to establish a relationship with customers.

That is what students are doing. When they are selling ads, they are establishing a relationship with customers, If they can be successful, they will have a customer. Then they have to provide the customer service. Students learn the two essentials: a relationship and service.

Q: With ad dollars tight, how do you convince companies to say, “Okay, a high school publication is going to work for us”?

Barrington: Have students choose businesses that cater to students: for example, restaurants teenagers prefer or specialty food shops such as ice cream places; florists where students will be buying flowers for graduation, prom, homecoming or Valentine’s Day; businesses frequented by students of high school age, such as car washes and car repair shops. Most students have a car even if it is simply permission to use the family car. Dad or Mom may say, “Bring it back washed or with a full tank of gas or something.” Would the gas station want to advertise?

Q: As a newer adviser, did you ever experience an advertising disaster or mistake that you would have been able to circumvent now with your many years of experience?

Barrington: Yes, with somebody who didn’t pay. At one time, we didn’t get payment in advance. We used to go around and collect after the issue appeared, and we learned our lesson. I billed those people all through the school year. When school let out, I grabbed my paperwork and marched into the business and asked to speak to the person in charge. The individual denied having stiffed us, claimed she had paid us. I said, “No, you didn’t.

If so, you would have a canceled check.” Her answer: “I do.”

She went in the other room to get a checkbook, wrote a check, backdated it, brought it out, and I flipped it over, and it wasn’t canceled. To us, it made a difference. It was like $60 to $75 — money we needed for our budget. We immediately changed our policy: Pay in advance. Businesses receive a copy of what the ad looks like in advance and then pay in advance too.

Q: Do you have one key piece of advice for a first-year adviser?

Barrington: Selling ads is not easy. Going out and approaching people is not easy. The trick is to sell students on the experience so they think they can do it without worrying about it being difficult. Students are approaching strangers and asking them for money so keep emphasizing they are not asking for their money.

The student publication is offering them an opportunity to improve their business. All students must adopt that mindset.

Also, I let the students pair up with partners. If I have a staff that is really good, that stays a second year, then I match the new staff members with an experienced salesperson. n 32 | COMMUNICATION: JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY | a publication of the Journalism Education Association

for

H.L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year The Yearbook Adviser of the Year will receive • $500 for his/her school’s yearbook program.

• A $1,000 personal prize.

• A plaque.

• Airfare and lodging to the JEA/NSPA spring national convention.

• Two free tickets to the awards luncheon.

Up to four Distinguished Advisers will receive • $500 for his/her school’s yearbook program.

• A plaque.

• Two free tickets to the awards luncheon.

Apply by Dec. 15 for these spring awards: • • • • •

Diversity Award First Amendment Press Freedom Award Future Administrator Scholarships Lifetime Achievement Award Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award

For more information and applications:

jea.org/blog/category/awards/

FALL 2017

Name ______________________________________

AN ACTIVITY FROM THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Top reasons to advertise On your own paper, write answers to the questions below in preparation for creating a flyer to give to prospective advertisers. Post the same content online at a unique link also for potential advertisers. Then, as a staff or in small groups, discuss the answers.

1. When was the school founded? What is unique in its history, possibly including famous graduates? What special and unique programs does the school offer? What programs have won state or national championships recently?

An ADVERTISING FLYER begins by telling the potential advertiser why advertising is a good use of the business’s money. Tell potential advertisers about the school, the publication and the community. Tell them how many hits the website gets. Tell them how many people follow the school publications on Twitter.

Do research. Where do students eat lunch? Where do they shop? Where do they work? How do they spend their money?

Include, at every opportunity, how potential advertisers can get in touch with someone, including phone numbers, email and social media. Post the content of the flyer online along with a PDF version of the flyer.

Arches (archesnews.com) Mount Mary University 2900 N. Menomonee River Pkwy.

Milwaukee, WI 53222 mmu-arches@mtmary.edu 414-930-3027

Arches M O U N T MARY UNI VE RSI TY

2015-2016 Academic Year Advertising Order Form To secure advertising in an upcoming issue of Arches, complete the following information:

2. How many students attend the school? Tell the business managers about them. How many are in each class: freshman, sophomore, junior and senior? How does the school break down by gender? What is the socioeconomic status of the school community?

3. Where do students attend college? What percentage graduate on time? What percentage work part-time jobs?

4. Tell advertisers about the community. What are the top industries? What is there to do for fun?

5. In what forms are the student media produced and when? If in print, how many are printed and distributed? Online, how many people view the website or social media during an average week or month?

ADVERTISER INFORMATION Name of business: __________________________________________________ Contact person/purchaser: _____________________________________________ Address:______________________________________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________ E-mail address of contact person: _____________________ Print Magazine Ad Selection (circle): 1/8 Page Horizontal Ad: 3.6667” w x 2.1667” h 1/4 Page Vertical Ad: 3.6667” w x 4.5834” h 1/3 Page Horizontal Ad: 7.5” w x 3.0019” h 1/3 Page Vertical Ad: 2.3889” w x 9.3334” h

1/2 Page Horizontal Ad: 7.5” w x 4.5834” h 1/2 Page Vertical Ad: 3.6667” w x 9.3334” h Full Page Ad (No Bleed): 7.5” w x 9.3334” h

ALL ADS WILL BE PRINTED IN FULL COLOR.

6. What different types of advertising are available in print and online? How much does each cost? Are there additional fees for inserts (available?), color, design? What are the deadlines? What is the best way for an advertiser to submit a properly sized ad in PDF format?

Issue(s) that ad or insert is to run in (circle all that apply): Issue Ad Copy Deadline Fall 2015 Sept. 30 (publishes Oct. 19) reMARK (focus on food) - Nov. 18 (publishes Dec. 9) Winter 2015

Issue Ad Copy Deadline Late Winter 2016 Feb. 10 (publishes March 7) Spring 2016 April 20 (publishes May 2)

BILLING Total price of advertisement: $____________ _____Payment submitted by check with order form (make checks payable to ARCHES c/o Mount Mary University). _____Payment by credit card (credit card payment form will be provided to you).

7. How could a prospective advertiser view student media in print, online and via social media? Encourage potential advertisers to like the student media on Facebook and to follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

_____Please send invoice.* *All payments due prior to publish date, unless other arrangements are made. Late payments may be assessed a 15% penalty fee.

______________________________________________

_______________________

Signature of purchaser

Date of purchase

8. Poll students in classes. What are their favorite places to eat out? What are their favorite places to shop? These choices become potential advertisers.

The RATE CARD gives potential advertisers everything they need to know about advertising online and/or in print. How much do ads cost? What sizes of ads does the publication offer? What are additional costs for color? How should they deliver ads to the publication? When? How should they pay? When? This is a contract between the advertiser and the student publication.

Require a dated signature from the advertiser’s official representative.

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Brian Hayes, MJE, of Ball State University teaches a class on using alternative story forms at the 2017 Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Look for an alternative

By Glenn Krake, CJE

W

hile traditional storytelling has been the cornerstone of print journalism, journalists will always look for ways to engage their increasingly diverse readers and draw them into “the story.”

BIO BOX The presenter | Brian Hayes, MJE Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held in Las Vegas, July 10-13.

THE SESSION ALTERNATIVE STORYTELLING FORMS There is more than one way to tell the story. This session will show how fast-fact boxes, Q&A, maps, lists and more alternative techniques can add life and readability to print coverage.

Brian Hayes, MJE, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.

STD | Storytelling Device. While Brian Hayes prefers to use the term “alternative story forms,” session attendee Bradley Wilson uses “STD” — mostly so he can ambiguously include it on his syllabus and ensure no one misses the day he introduces that lesson.

Chatter | that sentence or two description under the headline explaining the STD, chart, graphic, table, etc. that is about to follow.

His day job | Oversees the journalism graphics major, journalism education major and journalism internships at Ball State University

SESSION TIMELINE 12:43 p.m. | Four “overachievers” arrive to the session early.

Why you should listen to what he says | He has won the Journalism Education Association Teacher Inspiration Award, has advised award-winning high school newspaper and magazine staffs, and has worked in “the field” holding titles such as graphics editor and designer in a number of newsrooms.

12:48 p.m. | Plugged in and ready to begin the postlunch session, Hayes begins making small talk with the already present “overachievers.”

The session | “Use alternative story forms, not alternative facts” Time slot | July 11, 2017 1 p.m. (yup; that one right after lunch).

THE JARGON Alts | abbreviated way to say “alternative story forms” Charticles | combination of charts and articles Marginalia | see “alts” Chartoons | combination of chart and cartoon

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12:58 p.m. | Hayes announces to the “overachievers” that we’ll wait two more minutes to begin for all the “slackers” to show up since they’re probably dragging their feet from lunch.

1 p.m. | Session begins on time and Brian does some general introduction of his background as a college instructor who has realized that teaching college is not so different from teaching high school; you still have your overachievers, middle-of-the-roads and slackers.

1:02 p.m. | Hayes lightens mood with the story of his first JEA presentation in 1999 (in the pre-PowerPoint era) where his plans to “just hold up some newspapers and talk” proved entirely inadequate when the room FALL 2017

Bar chart | Bio box | Bulleted list | Calendar | Checklist | Compare/contrast | Diagram | Fever chart | Glossary | Map | Ordered list | Pie chart | Public opinion poll | Question and answer | Quiz | Quote collection | Rating | Step-by-step guide | Table | Timeline FALL 2017

swelled to about 200 people. “It was horrible,” Hayes confesses. “I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

1:04 p.m. | Hayes defines “alternative stories” by asking a series of questions in an attempt to draw in the “middle of the roads” and “slackers” into the discussion: “What can you pull out of a story and make it visual?” “What information can you collect next to the traditional story to improve it, make it better, add layers?” “How can you help your reader better understand the scope, meaning, intent of the story?”

1:41 p.m. | After running through the myriad of common alternative story forms and some samples, Hayes closes the presentation, rolls up his proverbial sleeves (it is too hot for literal sleeves in Vegas) and delivers a jawdroppingly simple “anyone can do this” Adobe Illustrator demonstration on making a high resolution, editable pie chart that does not look like an Excel pie chart.

1:52 p.m. | Eyeing the clock, Hayes transitions to an equally-jaw-droppingly simple “anyone can do this” Adobe InDesign demonstration on using tabs, paragraph rules and shading to design visually appealing tables.

1:58 p.m. | As if to lift his hands as the time expires on a reality television cooking challenge, Hayes concedes the room to the next session presenter.

SCANNERS, SKIMMERS AND SPONGES There are three types of readers. The journalist designs alternative story forms in an attempt to engage them all.

• Scanners | The readers who look for what appeals to them. If something gets their attention, they will click on it and read it. Alternative story forms offer a variety of angles and layers to the story that can help grab the attention of the scanners.

• Skimmers | Maybe they will read a little here, a little there, then move on. Having multiple points of entry into the story gives more opportunities to engage the skimmers.

• Sponges | Journalists do not necessarily need to worry about these. They are going to soak everything in.

They will read every word of every page. Alternative story forms build depth and allow for sponges to soak up all the nooks and crannies of the story. n

MAKING A PIE CHART

The pie chart. Its a staple in the world of data visualization. But let’s get practical: what is the best way to create one?

Check out these three common pie-production techniques. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

EXCEL

PROS: You probably already have the program.

The kids are probably used to using it. It’s not incredibly complicated.

CONS: Charts look like Excel pie charts.

PIKTOCHART

PROS: It’s free. It’s web-based. It’s easy to use.

It’s a step up from Excel in that you can find some decent-looking, customizable varieties of pie-chart designs.

CONS: The resolution is limited.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

PROS: It’s what the pros use. Create fully customizable and editable vector image that you can place into Adobe InDesign. Pair the “Pie Graph Tool” with the “Color Theme” tool and kick your designs up a notch.

CONS: Cost. Adobe Illustrator is a robust, vectorbased creation tool and can be intimidating.

White (60.2%)

Asian (3.4%)

Native Hawaiian/Pac. Islander (0.3%)

Amer. Indian/Alaskan (0.8%)

Black / African American (15.6%)

Hispanic (19.7%)

NOTES FROM BRIAN

Make sure your pie chart percentages actually add up to 100. Once you have run the numbers again to make sure those decimals did not dupe you, Hayes recommends you use Illustrator. If you have access to the program, do not let your unfamiliarity with it keep you from giving it a go.

Then, after you do an online search for “Chartoon” and that, no, you did not mean “Cartoon,” then check out a YouTube tutorial on using the “Pie Graph Tool.” You will see how simple it can be.

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Jane Bannester, Ritenour High School, St. Louis, teaches a class on podcasting at the 2017 Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Using podcasts to reach students

By Amy Robb

J

Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION PODCASTING BASICS Teachers who attend this session will leave with easy ways to introduce audio production into their classroom. For those who are looking for ways to include a “real-world” audience appeal while giving students purpose and motivation, welcome to the world of podcasting.

Podcasts can be published and archived so students learn from one another by both creating and hearing original audio.

You will leave with the tools and resources needed for creating podcasts, lesson ideas for multiple subject areas and where to find examples.

Jane Bannester, Ritenour High School, St. Louis, Mo. WINTER 2017

ane Bannester is a bit of a trickster, but do not hold that against this teacher. Her intentions are pure. Like every educator, she wants her students engaged, working and producing content. Sometimes, though, she gets the student who cannot or will not engage, work or produce. Here is where Bannester gets innovative.

“I’m totally fooling them into doing hard reporting,” Bannester said. “They interview and bring all the stuff back. They write the material, record and they don’t think they are reporting. They think they’re cool. And they are.”

Bannester has her students creating short 90-second to two-minute podcasts on anything from sports and entertainment to school events and student life.

Sometimes, too, the podcasts are longer and meatier.

Ritenour High School, where Bannester teaches, is in St. Louis, where issues in diversity have exploded since the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, Missouri. To tackle difficult and delicate issues of race and justice, Bannester’s students took to the streets of their community, the halls of their school and the offices of activists to report through podcasting on an issue that was in the forefront of their lives.

Bannester teaches in a large media convergence department. She teaches broadcast, which includes radio, TV news and video production. She loves the

podcasting platform because once her students are familiar with the process of newsgathering, interviewing, editing and recording, they can produce quality content rapidly. More importantly to Bannester: “The single piece of creating audio has given [my students] more validity in their work.”

Bannester recommended keeping the podcasts short and engaging.

“Anything longer than two minutes and your listeners won’t hang. They check out,” she said. The material should be interesting to the school population but can take on many formats.

In one successful podcast called “Ritenour Way,” students explored holiday traditions and produced StoryCorps-style pieces. “[That was] where we really came together with our podcasting,” she said Additionally, her whole department took part in the NPR StoryCorps Great Thanksgiving Listen in 2015 and 2016.

Bannester said she believes podcasting gives her students opportunities to see how they can excel.

“Students seeing they can create audio pieces, though they never have felt capable in the classroom before, is an amazing feeling for them and for me.”

Bannister encouraged journalism educators to engage reluctant students with podcasting because podcasts reach a diverse body of students who might not be big consumers of traditional media. n

JANE’S FAVORITE FREE TOOLS Audio editing | www.audacityteam.org or GarageBand • Audio and video editing online | www.123apps.com • Free copyright-free music | www.bensound.com or www.splice.com • Hosting | www.podbean.com or www.podomatic.com • Create video from audio | audiogram. sparemin.com/audiogram/ COMMUNICATION: JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY | a publication of the Journalism Education Association | 9

Justin Raisner, Carlmont High School in Belmont, Calif., teaches a class on multimedia storytelling July 12 at the 2017 Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Start small with video production

By Jolie Lindley

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Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION VIDEO TIPS Get specific tips on how to shoot great video. If you are focusing on videography for the storytelling project, this is a perfect session to help you brush up on tips and learn tips you can share with your students.

Justin Raisner, Carlmont High School, Belmont, Calif.

ustin Raisner, student media adviser at Carlmont High School, Bemont, California, encouraged advisers who have trepidations about jumping into video production to start small by having students use cellphones and simple apps to produce short pieces viable for all kinds of multimedia packages or for posting on social media.

Raisner said to start by teaching students to choose a topic that lends itself to compelling video combined with a small amount of natural audio. Keeping teens’ attention spans in mind, it is important to keep the videos short. “It can be one to four minutes. It can be less than one minute. What it shouldn’t be is super, super long. People get bored watching video,” Raisner said.

Raisner shared tips to help any adviser take the plunge into video production with confidence their students will succeed: • Use clip-on lavalier microphones for interviews. If students cannot obtain a lapel mic or do not have one, teach them to be aware of ambient noise and to conduct interviews in the quietest spots possible on location.

• Include five seconds of silent noise at the beginning and at the end of each interview. Students will probably cut it later, but it gives them buffer room in editing.

• Use a tripod when filming, even when using a cellphone. Students can learn to make their bodies into

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•

• •

•

•

•

tripods by planting their feet wider, bending their knees, and keeping their elbows pulled into their chest while holding the phone.

Be aware of the lighting. Make sure the light is behind the camera and not behind the subject. Is the subject in shadow? Does he or she have light reflecting off one side of the face? One student can use the flashlight app on a phone to add light to a scene while another films.

Use the rule of thirds when shooting video, as is helpful for still photography.

Interview people in their natural surroundings.

Think about interviewing people while they are doing something related to the story — walking, describing the setting, serving the food.

Organize the video production like a solid print news story: An on-camera story introduction from the reporter becomes the lede; the interviews and b-roll become the body and an “outro” from the reporter (or a strong quotation from a source) wraps it up with a conclusion.

Edit the video to bring the video package together.

Adobe Premiere Clip is a simple editing app available for both Android and iOS. Teach students to watch each video package multiple times to notice errors and to achieve a better understanding before uploading and publishing.

The goal is to avoid mistakes that can ruin a video production: bad audio, shaky video, poorly lit video and too much panning and zooming. n WINTER 2017

TIPS AND TRICKS

Shooting B-roll From the AP Stylebook b-roll In a video story, the supporting shots and scenes used to provide context and continuity for the main story. B-roll can be file or stock tape containing background or historical information. It is sometimes provided by sources outside the news organization, as when newsmakers provide personal videos.

What is b-roll?

Footage that goes over audio is called b-roll. The audio works as a story like a traditional news story (lede, body, conclusion) with the corresponding footage running over it. Make sure the b-roll matches and fits the topic of the interviews.

How does audio fit in?

The audio file will be the backbone of the story. Think of it like doing a podcast and then putting the b-roll over it.

When should I use b-roll?

B-roll often works best to tell the story if a student is working alone or ambient noise doesn’t lend itself to conducting interviews.

What does good b-roll look like?

Shots should tell the story. They should flow and relate to the topic. Footage should be stable with good audio quality. Most importantly, anticipate (as all good photojournalists do) where action will be.

Good b-roll should contain a variety of shots. Remind students of WALLDO — wide, angled, low, linking, depth and opposite.

• WIDE: Shooting from a distance provides context and perspective. It shows the viewer the big picture. It establishes location.

• ANGLED: Shooting things like buildings, and especially signs from an angle, makes for a more interesting visual.

• LOW: Shooting from ground level, or even knee-level, gives viewers a different perspective.

• LINKING: This requires movement of the camera. It is a shot that links two related objects or subjects by panning from one to the other. This shot is used when it is hard to get the two objects in the frame at the same time • DEPTH: Find foreground objects to put in the frame. They allow you to add depth to the visuals.

• OPPOSITE: This is the reverse angle in video, or the “reaction” shot.

JEA/NSPA SPRING NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM CONVENTION

2018

APRIL 12-15, 2018 • SAN FRANCISCO • MARRIOTT MARQUIS sf.journalismconvention.org

WINTER 2017

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Elizabeth Levin, MJE, Downers Grove (Ill.) North High School, teaches a class on improving students’ writing at the Journalism Education Association Advisers Institute this past summer. Photo by Kelly Glasscock

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Incorporate AP strategies into journalism classes

By Heather Treanor

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Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION AP ANALYSIS: IMPROVE YOUR STUDENTS’ WRITING Need to show student growth and justify your program? Attend this session where an adviser will share how a unit of instruction that used the Advanced Placement Language test improved students’ opinion and feature writing skills.

Elizabeth Levin, MJE, Downers Grove (Ill.) North High School

igh school journalism classes are not what readily come to mind when people list activities that help prepare high school students for the Advanced Placement Language exam.

But they could be.

Elizabeth Levin, MJE and Omega newspaper adviser at Downers Grove (Illinois) North High School, argues that students in journalism classes benefit from AP Language-style skill instruction. Because the AP Language learning goals directly relate to skills high school journalists learn and use, Levin argues that it makes sense to incorporate AP strategies of writing, analyzing and interpreting into her regular journalism lessons.

“We’re already doing this,” Levin said, noting that many of her journalism assignments already had students using the skills found on the AP test.

In fact, one of Levin’s and the yearbook adviser’s early struggles centered around the ease of incorporating AP strategies into their journalism classes.

“The hardest thing was wrapping our heads around the fact that it was easier than we thought it was. At first it felt like it couldn’t possibly work, that the production aspects of our courses would make it impossible,” Levin said. “But as we started working on it … those connections happened and those shifts happened over time.”

The process of adding AP strategies to journalism class began with Levin sitting down with the yearbook adviser to decide what they

wanted to cover — and what they could cover.

The two advisers started with making a list of modern-era journalists who were also on the AP journalist recommended reading list. In Levin’s classes, students research these journalists and make a presentation on their chosen person.

“We decided to focus on modern writers.

Definitely the AP test has many more historical examples,” Levin said. “We could have gone back and added some of the early great journalists, but we thought our goal was not really to teach language.”

Instead, as Levin points out, their primary goal is for students to improve their writing abilities, albeit with AP strategies.

Because so many of the AP Language goals focus on written analysis and interpretation of a passage, many of Levin’s assignments revolve around getting students to write, analyze and interpret various texts.

To teach and assess students’ ability to interpret and analyze a text, Levin has students complete a “Dueling Columnist” activity. With this activity, students read multiple columnists’ perspectives on a single event. Students then compare the columnists’ views and language.

The “Dueling Columnist” activity, in turn, leads to better understandings and better discussions, according to Levin. “[In this assignment], students responded with more in-depth answers when comparing writings. This assignment also led to good discussions about finding an article,” Levin said.

An assignment such as this comparative analysis uses skills students need to demonstrate on the AP language synthesis essay portion.

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WINTER 2017

On the other hand, one of the most complicated writing topics that Levin teaches to her students is satire.

“There’s something about this skill that’s challenging,” Levin said.

Levin explained that it would seem as though her students would understand satire.

She thought they would be able to identify the main ideas in the piece, what passages indicated that the piece was satirical and show that the piece was critical, but students struggle with understanding what or who the passage is criticizing.

To help hammer home this skill, Levin has her students analyze articles from the satirical website for The Onion. They evaluate and draw their own editorial cartoons. She hopes that these methods give students a better understanding of satire and how and when to use it.

Nicole Smith, a journalism adviser from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, who listened to Levin’s presentation, said the satire assignments presented by Levin at the workshop were the most helpful.

“Satire is a big thing,” Smith said. “I struggle with it. [But] this gives me ideas [for next year].”

After the satire unit, students spend time designing and producing a conceptual unit, which uses students’ innate curiosities to empower them to research, design and produce an in-depth piece. Because students must research and synthesize information, this assignment also helps prepare students for the AP test.

In the conceptual unit, students select a concept/theme and conduct research. The con-

cept/theme always requires data analysis and is something that naturally leads to a special section in a newspaper or an in-depth coverage piece.

Examples of conceptual unit topics include community traditions, teenage relationships, the state of education and school results on state testing. Levin’s students then publish their conceptual unit work in a spring newspaper edition.

So what are the results of all of this work?

While Levin cautions that she does not have the data to show a causal relationship, she points out that journalism students’ scores on the AP Language essay improved by two points, on average. Last year, almost all journalism students who took the AP language test scored a 5, the highest score students can receive on AP tests.

On the newspaper front, Levin said her students have earned four Best of Show awards for their newspaper and have earned two Pacemaker awards since Levin began including AP strategies in her classes.

And, perhaps most importantly, Levin pointed out that her work in adding AP strategies to her journalism classes has led to the administration approving an honors section of advanced journalism. “[Because of our work], no one has ever said journalism is not a rigorous or significant course,” Levin said. “If your program is suffering from a perception of a lack of rigor, then using Advanced Placement strategies in your classroom and drawing attention to them will change that perception.” n

6 strategies, activities for the classroom AUTHOR RESEARCH Students research a journalist from the list of AP journalists. Students then present their findings to the class.

WINTER 2017

FEATURE/ EDITORIAL ANALYSIS AND GUIDED READING As students read an assigned article, they answer questions about necessary background knowledge, identify the author’s purpose and main idea, evaluate the tone and mood of the article, discuss the article’s structure and look at the author’s use of language.

DUELING COLUMNISTS To teach tone and angle, students look at how different columnists reacted to and approached a specific event. This assignment helps students analyze the tone, syntax and style of multiple authors at the same time.

STORY-OFTHE-DAY PRESENTATIONS Each quarter, students are responsible for giving a speech on the development of one story as shown by multiple outlets.

Students evaluate their chosen stories and write short analyses before presenting their findings to the class.

FAKE SATIRE Students are given a fake “letter” from the school administration, which informs students of a drastic change in policy, such as rationing toilet paper or placing draconian rules on parking privileges. After reading the “letter,” students discuss their reactions and how/when they began to suspect that the “letter” was fake, before launching into a satire unit.

CONCEPTUAL UNIT Students select a concept or a theme that includes data analysis and that will naturally lead to a special section of a publication or more in-depth coverage.

Possible topics could include the state of education, school performance on state tests, comparison of state requirements with other states and additional possibilities.

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Erin Coggins discusses how to bring emotion into student writing at the 2017 JEA Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

‘Love affair’ helps to teach how to add emotion in writing

By Christy Briggs, MJE

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Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION HELP STUDENTS BRING EMOTION TO WRITING We all want our students to incorporate more emotion when writing features.

World War II journalist Ernie Pyle knew how emotion worked in his features. Learn how to use his writing to help your students master this skill.

Erin Coggins, MJE, Sparkman High School, Harvest, Ala.

SPRING 2018

er love affair with Ernie Pyle is strictly academic, except for the shrine in her classroom, which contains at least one GI Joe doll of the World War II correspondent.

Veteran journalism teacher Erin Coggins, MJE, of Sparkman High School (Harvest, Alabama), presented a class focused on bringing more emotion into student writing and illustrated the method by using excerpts from Pyle’s work as examples.

Coggins said she first fell in love with Pyle when a college instructor tasked her with writing a research paper. She selected Ernie Pyle as the subject of her research.

“One thing that grabbed my interest was the hope that I might come across the name of one of my grandfathers in the accounts of the war. Both of them fought in World War II,” Coggins said.

Though she did not find the names of her family members in print, she found a passion for World War II and specifically for “Ernie” as she fondly refers to him.

“Ernie did a great job of creating scenes for his readers,” Coggins said. “It’s one of the things that ingratiated him to both his subjects and his audience.”

The session focused on 10 lessons that

could be learned through examining the way Pyle wrote about trenches and battlefields.

She illustrated lessons such as “Become one with your subject” and “Don’t ignore the little things” with selections of Pyle’s columns.

She included additional key-point reminders: Reporters must go to the scene of the story; reporters must make every effort to meet in person with people they wish to interview; and writers must be cognizant of the legacy they are leaving behind them.

On a trip to Europe last year, Coggins had the opportunity to read one of Pyle’s columns “The Death of Captain Waskow” to a tour group. It was then that she came up with the idea to create a lesson plan centered on that column.

Coggins said she uses the lesson in her World War II class as well as with her journalism students. After reading a news article written about the battle where Capt. Henry T. Waskow was killed, students read Pyle’s column. They compare both pieces and discuss the elements of journalism that appear in each piece. After the discussion, students write an article of their own, on any topic. The catch: It must mimic Pyle’s writing style.

The lesson has produced what Coggins considers some of the most inspiring writing her students have ever completed. n

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“All the rest of us — you and me and even the thousands of soldiers behind the lines in Africa — we wanted terribly yet only academically for the war to be over. The front-line soldier wanted it to be terminated by the physical process of his destroying enough Germans to end it. He was truly at war. The rest of us, no matter how hard we worked, were not. Say what you will, nothing can make a complete soldier except battle experience.” | ERNIE PYLE, ON HOW A FRONTLINE SOLDIER IS DIFFERENT

Lessons learned from Ernie Pyle

By Erin Coggins, MJE

ERNEST TAYLOR PYLE Aug. 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945 A Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist. As a roving correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, he earned wide acclaim for his accounts of ordinary people in rural America, and later, of ordinary American soldiers during World War II. His syndicated column ran in more than 300 newspapers nationwide.

BECOME ONE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE When budgeting the newspaper, staff members tend to be selfish. They want to write about what they know and like. They do not consider what their peers may want to read.

Pyle’s audience was a war-torn America. He had to tread carefully. Pyle’s ability to become one with his audience is evident in the column “Personal Column.” We read the column as a class and then highlight all the times that Pyle appeals to his audience.

http://www.erniepyle.org/

BECOME ONE WITH YOUR SUBJECT Pyle had a unique gift of blending in with any group of people. He could bunk with the infantry or drink coffee with the generals.

Student reporters need to understand that the more they know their subjects, the better their story will be. Pyle’s “Digging and Grousing” shows how he ate, slept, worked and suffered along with the infantry. I use this article to stress how this quality is a key to good feature writing but also to develop a staff bond.

Students read the article and then the staff makes a list of what characterizes the staff and what types of things they may endure together.

TALK TO PEOPLE AND ASK QUESTIONS We all know that the key to a good story is a good interview and a key to a good interview is good questions. Pyle knew how to ask questions, but, more importantly, he mastered the conversation. Students read the Sidelights Chapter in Pyle’s “Here is Your War” and makeup questions that Pyle might have asked Gray to get the information in the column.

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DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BE HUMOROUS In a time of tragedy and despair, Pyle knew how to balance a good column with humor.

Because the skill of writing satire and humor is difficult to teach, I encourage my students to read as much satire and humor as possible.

Pyle’s column “On the Lighter Side” shows how Pyle could find humor near the battlefield. After reading this column together as a class, I ask students to think of their worst day. We discuss these days as a class. Then I ask students to find the humor in that day and write about it.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SHOW EMOTION Fortunately, student reporters are not writing about a world war; however, they can tackle some emotional subjects. Pyle’s “Death of Captain Waskow” is my favorite column to use in the classroom. It is packed full of emotion. I play the reading of this column from the Indiana University Ernie Pyle website. I ask students to close their eyes and listen. After listening to the column, I give students a copy of the column and ask them to underline every emotional word or line Pyle writes. We discuss how emotion drives the story.

Students then write about an emotional time in their lives. Some wish to share their stories with the staff while others write about things too personal to want to share. I read all the articles and give an “Ernie Pyle” award to the best one. This is a coveted award, and we celebrate the winner again at our annual endof-the-year banquet.

SPRING 2018

“They seemed terribly pathetic to me. They weren’t warriors. They were American boys who by mere chance of fate had wound up with guns in their hands, sneaking up a death-laden street in a strange and shattered city in a faraway country in a driving rain. They were afraid, but it was beyond their power to quit. … And even though they weren’t warriors born to the kill, they won their battles. That’s the point.” | ERNIE PYLE, ON THE AMERICAN WARRIOR

GO TO THE STORY Pyle’s column “The Horrible Waste of War” details his struggle with returning to a war zone.

He states that it is not what he necessarily wants, but what he needs to do to tell the story of the war. I use this article for motivation on days when students complain about having to go to an event or a game on a busy night. If Ernie can go to war, students can go to a football game.

DESCRIBE YOUR SUBJECT WELL Good feature writing not only embraces the emotion or the personality of the subject, but it also sets the stage. Pyle was the best at this. In his column “Fighter Pilot,” Pyle describes every detail of Lt. Jack Ilfrey. This quality was what endured Pyle to so many on the home front. We read this column as a class and then staffers pair up with another staffer and write a short bio of their partner, using the techniques Pyle does in this column.

DO NOT IGNORE THE LITTLE THINGS Student reporters need to understand that some details in a story are obtained through basic observation. Pyle was a master of including the little things in his column, and it shows in “A Long Thin Line of Personal Anguish.” After reading this column, students go in and around the school finding the little details in everyday situations. They return to the classroom where we discuss what they found.

CAPTURE THE SCENE As stated before, good feature writing sets the stage and embraces the emotion or the personality of the subject. Pyle was the best at this. From Omaha Beach to the liberation of Paris, Pyle put his readers in that place at that time. Students read Pyle’s “Farewell to Europe.” I ask them to underline all the details that make the scene come to life. Afterward, students draw a scenario from a jar and write a 150-word paragraph, describing that particular scenario. n SPRING 2018

EXCERPT FROM

A Dreadful Masterpiece LONDON, December 30, 1940 – Someday when peace has returned to this odd world I want to come to London again and stand on a certain balcony on a moonlit night and look down upon the peaceful silver curve of the Thames with its dark bridges.

And standing there, I want to tell somebody who has never seen it how London looked on a certain night in the holiday season of the year 1940.

For on that night this old, old city – even though I must bite my tongue in shame for saying it – was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

It was a night when London was ringed and stabbed with fire.

They came just after dark, and somehow I could sense from the quick, bitter firing of the guns that there was to be no monkey business this night.

Shortly after the sirens wailed I could hear the Germans grinding overhead. In my room, with its black curtains drawn across the windows, you could feel the shake from the guns. You could hear the boom, crump, crump, crump, of heavy bombs at their work of tearing buildings apart. They were not too far away.

Half an hour after the firing started I gathered a couple of friends and went to a high, darkened balcony that gave us a view of one-third of the entire circle of London.

As we stepped out onto the balcony a vast inner excitement came over all of us – an excitement that had neither fear nor horror in it, because it was too full of awe.

You have all seen big fires, but I doubt if you have ever seen the whole horizon of a city lined with great fires – scores of them, perhaps hundreds.

The closest fires were near enough for us to hear the crackling flames and the yells of firemen. Little fires grew into big ones even as we watched. Big ones died down under the firemen’s valor only to break out again later.

About every two minutes a new wave of planes would be over. The motors seemed to grind rather than roar, and to have an angry pulsation like a bee buzzing in blind fury.

The bombs did not make a constant overwhelming din as in those terrible days of last September. They were intermittent – sometimes a few seconds apart, sometimes a minute or more.

Their sound was sharp, when nearby, and soft and muffled, far away.

Into the dark, shadowed spaces below us, as we watched, whole batches of incendiary bombs fell. We saw two dozen go off in two seconds. They flashed terrifically, then quickly simmered down to pinpoints of dazzling white, burning ferociously. …

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Nancy Hastings teaches a class on grading at the 2017 JEA Advisers Institute at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo by Bradley Wilson, MJE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE JEA ADVISERS INSTITUTE

Grading a matter of balance; save yourself From notes by Kathy Jackson

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Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION MAKING THE GRADE With hundreds of things on the adviser’s to-do list and little time to master it all, grading students on publication staffs can become overwhelming.

Learn tips to tame the grading monster and make assessments more meaningful.

Nancy Hastings, MJE, Highland, Ind.

ancy Hastings, MJE, a retired adviser from Indiana, starts her discussion of grading by stating the obvious — time is the biggest issue. All advisers have different jobs and different expectations. The challenge is to create a balance.

Hastings acknowledges the obvious for grading in a journalism class – grading can be more subjective and difficult to explain to students and parents. To that end, she offered several suggestions: • Ensure that grades are not a surprise.

• Provide meaningful assessment.

• Encourage skill growth and accountability. “Editors and managers have input for accountability, but only the teacher can assign the grade,” Hastings clarifies.

• Keep grading system easy to explain.

“Clearly explaining your grading system sets concrete expectations. Provide this information to parents from the start,” Hastings said.

• Make students earn their grades. Do not give easy A’s.

To help keep at least some grades concrete, include several standard requirements for each grading period.

• Ad sales based on contact sheets.

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• Weekly assignment sheets summarizing work produced (photos, stories, beats, attendance).

• AP style quizzes.

• Beat system improves coverage for all media. Students earn points for turning in information from officers (not friends) of various student organizations.

More subjective grading items, such as a portfolio self-assessment, string books and deadline grades, also are included.

Hastings also acknowledged that publication classes have their own challenges. In response, she said self-assessments work well at the end of the grading period to get students to identify strengths, weaknesses and methods for growth: “What goals have you accomplished? What are your goals for the next grading period?”

“Students tend to be honest,” Hastings added. “Emphasize the ‘we’ in publishing a quality publication. What worked? What didn’t? How can we improve?”

She said accountability and organization are two of the most important components of being able to assess students successfully and effectively.

“It’s a lot of stuff. The harsh reality is that it puts a lot on the editing staff. Save yourself,” she said. n SPRING 2018

TEACHER INSPIRATION

‘Pampered princess’ finds passion in education As the recipient of the Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award, Nancy Hastings talked to advisers at the JEA Advisers Institute luncheon July 11 in Las Vegas.

S

ome of you have just finished your first year of advising while others are looking forward to year 20 or beyond!

I look around and see that you have that rested, relaxed look that emerges quickly after you finish that last day of school. Excited and energized to tackle new projects and adventures, including the storytelling teams set up at this workshop, you are ready to go. …

Soon it’s back to • Late night dinners from nearby fast-food restaurants.

• Missed dinners with your spouse and family.

• Dining with an extended family of 15-18 year olds, while expanding your music appreciation for the latest rap lyrics or heavy metal booming beat.

The joys and rewards of being a high school journalism teacher and adviser are endless.

Education critics who recite the cliché “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” certainly have not been in a journalism classroom. While most teachers experience joy in helping students succeed, few can match that feeling of accomplishment that comes through involvement with student journalists and their hands-on approach to learning.

Whether it be seeing the excitement in a young staff member’s eyes when his or her first story or first photograph finds its way to print or seeing the relief in the senior editors’ faces when they proudly upload that first 57-page yearbook deadline, few adults experience the constant maturing that takes place in media staff rooms.

From growth in communication skills to leadership and team decision making, student journalists gain real-life skills that are not found anywhere else, let alone in a textbook.

These student journalists were mastering the 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity, long before the 21st century started.

To find your passion, the key is to know that you can – and do – make a difference.

For some, this passion comes through athletics.

Maybe it’s swimming that drives teenagers to crawl out of bed early each morning so they can drag themselves to the pool to swim lap after lap.

Or maybe it’s running that pushes them through 10+ miles each day in 90+ degree heat. continued on page 8 SPRING 2018

Nancy’s Top 10 1. Be realistic …

• Set realistic, attainable goals with strategies and ways to measure each goal’s success.

• Three goals are feasible; however, 10 seem impossible.

2. Make a difference …

• Know that involvement with your publication staff members changes their lives forever.

• Along the way, they will make you a different and, hopefully, a better person.

3. Make friends ...

• with your staff; and • with peers at school, with administrators and with fellow advisers.

• Invite administrators to observe your staff in action. They will be surprised.

• Join your state and national scholastic journalism organizations.

4. Make time ...

• Don’t get so caught up in the deadline moments that you don’t have time for the little things: • a kind word • a random act of kindness • you • your friends and family!

5. Make lists ...

• Keep yourself and your staff organized by making to-do lists.

• Reward yourself at the end of the day as you checkoff items accomplished.

6. Make educated choices ...

• Think through the consequences and weigh who will be affected by them.

• Train your staff to face these choices.

• Heated words during a deadline crisis are hard to get back.

• Compelling stories need to be told, but will someone be hurt in the process?

7. Make do ...

• Use what you have or do something constructive to solve the problem.

• Complaining rarely resolves any people, time, equipment or supply problems.

8. Make sense ...

• Say what you say and do what you do for all the right reasons.

• Don’t let anyone ask, “Why’d you do that?” “What were you thinking?” without having an answer already thought out.

• Build rationality into your reasonable approach to leadership and advising.

9. Make waves ...

• When it best suits your publications and your staff members, move to the cutting edge.

• Be willing to take risks.

• Read everything you can on the subject.

• Attend conventions to raise the quality bar of your publications.

10. Make fun ...

• Create and maintain an environment in which you and your staff enjoy working together to create your best student media, whether yearbook, newspaper, broadcast, online or digital … celebrate together.

• For this, I am forever grateful!

• But I am not alone; I see these kinds of programs all across the country.

• You too can feel equally blessed.

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At the JEA Advisers Institute luncheon, Nancy Hastings delivers her address as the Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award recipient. Photos by Bradley Wilson

continued from page 7

Journalism Education Association

JEA Advisers Institute 2017 — 1

The 2017 JEA Advisers Institute was held July 10-13 in Las Vegas.

THE SESSION LUNCHEON This luncheon features Nancy Hastings, MJE, JEA’s 2017 Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award winner. It’s a time of celebration and inspiration.

For others, maybe it’s volunteering or community service as helping someone in need touches them deep into their souls.

For me, my passion was storytelling, the ability to go out and find the stories that will have an impact on others. I’m still driven by a curiosity in people and events going on both inside school walls and beyond.

I fell in love with journalism and reporting while still in high school.

I learned to report verbally by retelling the sights and sounds of the day’s news through compelling characters and specific, descriptive details.

I also learned to report visually by capturing the actions and emotions of people and events in mesmerizing photographs. My vacation photos are proof. Information graphics and convincing design entice readers to those stories.

I fell in love with that feeling of seeing my byline/my name in print above a feature or news story. I eagerly waited for each Friday when the newspaper came out. I couldn’t wait until that magical day came each August, when yearbook editors popped open that first carton of justprinted yearbooks, to savor the aroma and vision of each page of their newly printed creation. I was lucky to have a strong journalism teacher, Pat Clark, pushing me along the way. She took me to state workshops and to JEA/NSPA conventions. I remember those pre-Thanksgiving days at the Palmer House in Chicago.

I had found my passion. But I soon discovered in college that I gained more enjoyment encouraging others to experience that magic so I turned to teaching with Louis Inglehart pushing along the way. Countless former students have developed successful journalism careers in print, broadcast and digital media. Several others have gone on to become strong, effective journalism teachers on their own, such as Carrie Wadycki and Sarah Verpooten at Lake Central High School in northwest Indiana, and SarahAnne Lanman, now at Munster High School, not to mention all the student teachers now successfully leading their own publications programs.

Many others have used those journalism skills

8 | COMMUNICATION: JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY | a publication of the Journalism Education Association

in a variety of occupations beyond journalism.

Not too long ago I heard from a former student who works as a lead story artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He wrote: “I can trace my understanding of effective storytelling back to journalism class. I learned the idea that storytelling imparts information, factual or fictional, through words or images, chosen judiciously and presented clearly. You taught me to present key information up front to make the clearest understanding of any given story. This has translated to my decision making when composing pictures. Character size, location, tone and attitude are all on the table and considered before the first line is ever drawn.

This is invaluable to me. I can’t thank you enough.”

I was blessed to work in a school district that valued responsible, professional student media.

I worked there for 38 years. I remember when I first started at Munster High School straight out of Ball State, I thought I’d stick around teaching for two or three years. Then I’d go off and find a “real” job in journalism as a writer or designer.

By the end of that second year, I was hooked for life. Munster gave me the opportunity to grow as a professional. As I grew, so did the publications program, earning state and national recognition along the way.

I was supported by so many people along the way, including Chuck Savedge, Marilyn Weaver, H.L. Hall, Kathy Craghead and Linda Puntney.

• I always told people that I was the pampered princess.

• I taught kids who cared, those who chose journalism and photography as electives. I encouraged them to reach new boundaries.

• I worked in a community that supported the schools and our journalistic efforts.

• I interacted with administrators who believed in students’ rights to responsibly tackle stories that made a difference. The students, community and administration provided the backbone for a successful program.

For this, I am forever grateful!

But I am not alone … I see these kinds of programs throughout the country.

You too can feel equally blessed. n SPRING 2018