With the holiday season just around the corner, many student publications are preparing now for their holiday coverage.

Karl Grubaugh, who teaches AP economics and advanced journalism at Granite Bay High School, said finding holiday angles to stories is a lot like brainstorming for regular stories.

“We engage in a brainstorming process for each issue, and we add stuff along the way when it’s newsworthy and timely, but I constantly tell my students that they have to have their fingers on the pulse of the school,” he said.

Additionally, Grubaugh is the adviser for the Gazette newspaper and GraniteBayToday.org news website.  No matter the time of year, Grubaugh asks reporters to discover the buzz and pulse on campus. Just like there is a generic pulse, Grubaugh said there’s a holiday buzz.

“The challenge, of course, is that this year’s holiday pulse isn’t all that different, usually, from last year’s,” he said. “So, their job is to find the new angle and the new sources to tell a fresh and different story.”

Grubaugh also said it’s important to tell a broad range of stories that will appeal to a broad range of readers during the holiday season.

“We often tell stories about other holidays from other faith traditions than Christmas, because that’s one way to get a fresh angle,” he said.

How do you write about the holidays? Tweet us at @youthjournalism with your answers.