Be One of the Links: Joining organizations provides so many benefits

Christina Geabhart, MJE, Oak Park High School, Kansas City, MO

October 1, 2018

Filed under Contests, Get Involved, Recent News, Students, Teachers, Training

I remember stepping into the journalism classroom that fall of 2003, trying to live up to the legacy of the award-winning program I was honored to inherit from one of the historically stellar journalism teachers in the country. Even with my journalism degree and five years of experience, I constantly...

Using Google Classroom and Team Drives to Organize Your Program

Leigh Rogers, Hermann, Mo., yearbook adviser

August 13, 2018

Filed under Recent News, Teachers, Tech, Training

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Google when I first started working with it as a new teacher five years ago. The overabundance of emails from shared assignments was not enjoyable. On a due date, my inbox would automatically increase to 30 new emails or more in a matter of minutes. By the end of the...

Creating an Online News Site

Christina Manolis, journalism teacher at Washington High School, Washington, Mo.

July 30, 2018

Filed under Recent News, Tech, Writing

When I first started advising newspaper, an online news site was already part of the class. There was just one issue: despite being a journalism major in college, I didn’t have a lot of experience with managing a website. The previous adviser left me some notes and passwords for the site, but even...

Q and A with the Pros: Shahla Farzan

Matthew Amlong, WHS Blue Jay Journal TV staff member Washington, Mo.

July 18, 2018

Filed under College, Recent News, Training

Shahla Farzan works currently as a general assignment reporter and weekend newscaster for St. Louis Public Radio. She didn't take the "direct route" to journalism; instead she spent six years studying bees and earned her Ph.D. in ecology. She is a self-proclaimed "friend and admirer of native bees." Her...

Q and A with the Pros: Jonathan Ketz

June 24, 2018

Filed under College, Recent News, Students, Teachers, Training

Television was in his blood from the very beginning, anchor Jonathan Ketz chose to follow the generations of broadcasters and story-tellers in his family -- even starting at the same station as his father and grandfather. SJ: When and how were you bit by the journalism bug? Ketz: "I was hit with the jou...

Q and A with the Pros: Derek Byrne

June 10, 2018

Filed under College, Recent News, Students, Teachers, Writing

As he builds his career in communications, Kansas City-native Derek Byrne found learning every skill he can and his strong writing skills have been essential tools for moving from high school yearbook to a Texas university to New York City and back home to the Midwest. Today, Byrne works in social media at ...

Minarets HS wins First Amendment PSA contest

May 8, 2018

Filed under Contests, Recent News

SchoolJournalism.org’s second annual First Amendment Matters PSA contest had many great entries. States represented in this contest included; South Carolina, Kentucky, California, New Jersey, Missouri, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Idaho, Utah, Michigan, and Texas. Choosing a winner was not an easy...

Service Points in Yearbook Generate Motivation

Leigh Rogers, Hermann, Mo., yearbook adviser

April 24, 2018

Filed under Lesson Plans, Recent News, Teachers

Last year came to a rough close with large chunks of the yearbook incomplete; a team exhausted and frustrated, struggling to work together; and a lack of knowing how to institute work in a class with such a complex grading criteria. When I asked staff members to complete a task, there was not much repercussion for doing a poor job other than a loss of points from their ...

SchoolJournalism.org First Amendment Video PSA Contest 2018

April 1, 2018

Filed under Contests, Current Supporters, Recent News, Students, Teachers, Videos

Multiple surveys and studies have shown that Americans remain unaware of the five freedoms the First Amendment guarantees. When more Americans can name characters from an animated television series than the freedoms outlined by the First Amendment, that is a clear indicator the time for education is...

Q and A with the Pros: Kelly Renkemeyer

Zach Batson, WHS Blue Jay Journal TV staff member, Washington, Mo.

April 1, 2018

Filed under College, Recent News, Students, Teachers, Training

As a child Kelly Renkemeyer watched her father create paintings at home. Through grade school and especially into high school her interest in art increased. Her experiences with her high school art teacher, Karen Dawson, inspired Kelly. She took as many art classes as possible and decided to major in...