Go online, read other high school newspaper stories

Click on the high school journalism link at right and read one of the stories there. Be prepared to discuss it in class tomorrow.

Turn in Your Portfolios

Midterm grades are due this week, so please turn in your folders with your clippings and the portfolio form where you list any extra duties you've done.

Editors:I've added a link at right for a tutorial on cropping using InDesign.

Advertising

Thursday:Let's talk about a plan for selling ads and a plan for organizing the holiday greetings (including what we are going to call them).

Exchange editors: Please send out the latest issue of the Crimson Chronicle.

Keeper of the Future Book: We still need someone to do this. I would start by going through the school calendar and making notes for each date.

Story ideas for the next issue

Please come prepared on Monday with story ideas for news, opinion, entertainment and sports. That means checking on your beat assignments to see what is going on.

News: If your beat is an SLC, talk to the administrator or lead teacher for the SLC to see what is going on. If your beat is a grade level or a club, talk to the teacher-sponsor or student officers to find out what is schedule between now and December 14 (our next publication).

Also, check the school calendar on the website to see what activities are scheduled that we might want to cover.

Opinion/Editorial: will have two pages, so let's get some letters to the editor. We could do a staff editorial if we like. It could be something serious (global warming, war in Afghanistan) or not so serious (what we hope will happen in 2010, our New Year's resolutions.) The resolutions could be about the Crimson Chronicle (spell people's names correctly, double check our facts, cover SLCs equally, expand club coverage, etc.)

Entertainment: will also have two pages, so figure out what movies and music releases will be out around that time and see if we can review them.

Sports: If your beat is a sport, figure out if we need a season ender story (football, cross country) or a preview (basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming).

Advertising: We need to sell at least one page of advertising, in addition to the shout-out ads. Let's get back to Amoeba Music and sell them a half page at least. If we sell lots of shout-outs, they can go on their own page. We need to come up with some guidelines for this. How many words for $2? Will we have a form for them to fill out? Will we give them a receipt?

Unpublished stories:Don't forget we have Antonio's mentor program story. (add quotes from mentors/mentees in SAS advisories who have already started it.) Also, Taguhi Tavitian submitted a story about how budget cuts are affecting field trips that we didn't have room for in the last issue.

Deadlines for November Issue

OK, I'm a dork. I just replied to two stories sent to the crimson chronicle email account, not signing my name, or even noticing that they were mailed from the same account. So Kevin and Karla, those notes are to you from me.

We need to get pages 1, 2, 3, and 6 completed on Wednesday. We can't be working on all eight pages at the last minute, or we will be here all night and there will be lots of errors. As soon as you get your page laid out, print a hard copy and give it to Luisa to proofread.

Pages 4 and 5 should be done on Thursday, with space left for where the Halloween photos will go. Pages 7 and 8 should also be done on Thursday.

On Friday, we drop in the photos and make any last-minute corrections.

Week of Oct. 26: Countdown to Nov. 2 issue

Monday: Gregory Buur, director of printing operations at Gardena Valley News (which prints our paper) will instruct the editors on color correcting photos using Photoshop. I will give the rest of the class exercises on saying what you mean and meaning what you say.

Tuesday: The editorial page and entertainment page should be laid out.

Wednesday:The front page, page 3, and page 7 should be laid out.

Thursday: Pages 4-5 should be laid out with space set aside for Halloween photos. The sport page should be laid out.

Friday: Upload and choose photos and complete pgs. 4-5. Make any changes to sport page. Send to printer by 4 p.m.

Say it Loud!

I will meet my deadline.
I will meet my deadline.
I will meet my deadline.

Latest News from the Faculty Meeting

I spoke to Mr. Morales after the faculty meeting and told him of our plans to do a front page obituary/tribute to Spencer Juarez, focusing more on how he will be remembered than on his death. He said that was fine. Although it will be old news by Nov. 2, he said he thought it would be strange if we did not acknowledge his death. I asked him about using a photo and he said fine. When I told him we had heard the sister said she didn't want to see a photo, he said he will check with the family and get back to me, but he didn't think it would be a problem considering what they have planned for his funeral.

Here's what was reported at the meeting:

Crisis counselors met with 77 students today and will be available all week.
The family expressed it gratitude at how they have been treated by Hollywood High.
A casket company called and offered to donate a casket and Mr. Morales put them in touch with the family.
Leadership will be taking up a collection for the family's funeral expenses.
A funeral is being planned for Saturday, Spencer's birthday. The family has asked the the football team be there wearing their football jerseys. They have also asked that the drum line and cheerleaders attend. The school will have buses to take them there.
West Adams has taken up a collection and has asked to attend the funeral.
A display in the main hallway is in the works that may include a number 12 jersey.
His number may be retired (under discussion, to be determined).
There may be an assembly to remember him on Friday (also under discussion, TBD).

The Voice of the Everystudent

Some thoughts on our first issue:

On Thursday, Mr. Grijalva stopped me at lunch and said, "I haven't had the chance to read the whole paper. Which is the best story?" This is like asking a parent which is their favorite child. I hesitated a moment and pointed to Jafet's opinion piece on the ID badges, not really knowing why.

After thinking about it, I picked that piece not because it was the best written, or the most interesting, but because it took the most risk. (It was also the only criticism that the principal offered when I asked him about the paper, saying he wished we had included a pro and a con.)

Publishing a student newspaper involves walking a fine line. The school provides us with a classroom and computers, pays the $534.80 for each issue (unless we sell an ad) and generally makes the paper possible. We want to be proud of our school and show it in a positive light. However, that does not mean we need to be a public relations department or a propaganda machine for the school. (See the July entry "Are you a guard dog?") Remember: we are the voice of the student. Before (and after) you write a story, ask yourself, "What would I want to know if I were the reader?"

In literature we refer to the common man as the Everyman. For our purposes, I would call it the Everystudent. It could be anyone; it could be everyone. We give voice to their thoughts.

Assignment for Friday

I will be out fifth and sixth period tomorrow for a doctor's appointment. I will leave you an assignment on How to Be Your Own Editor. If you need to leave to take a photo or doublecheck a fact, make sure you inform the substitute. (I'll leave a note that you have permission.) I'll leave the camera with Jafet.

Mr Lange is following us on Twitter

Hey, I just checked our email and saw that Mr. Lange is following us on Twitter. Then I looked at his tweets which are really fun. Has anyone interviewed him for the social networking story? If not, let's do so on Tuesday.

All Stories due Tuesday

Your story should be in Times New Roman font size 10. It can be emailed to crimsonchron@aol.com or handed to an editor on a flash drive when you walk in the door on Tuesday. Editors will then begin reading your stories and may ask you for clarification. You may have to doublecheck a fact or a quote. While they do that, I will lead the rest of the class in a lesson on how to sell advertising.

I'm really impressed with how hard you are all working (except Sree). I look forward to reading your stories. As we put the newspaper together in the next week, you may be asked to do a variety of tasks, such as writing a newsbrief, or taking a photo, or chasing down a fact. I feel confident this will be a great first issue.

Sree: You need to interview students in an advisory other than SAS. Mr. Carlos Garcia (Room 211) has a 9th grade Teaching Academy advisory. He says you can talk to them.

Let's Review

We are publishing an 8-page paper on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Page 1: Stories on the huge increase in Hollywood High's test scores, the Homecoming game/dance/pep rally, and how budget cuts are affecting school. Also an inside box with photos. (COLOR)
Page 2: Opinion/Editorial includes Man on the Street, letters to the editor and staffbox
Page 3: News includes new policy on wearing IDs around our neck, Health-Nutrition SLC plans for a student-run cafe, interviews with Boys State participants, screenplay student who won a $1,000 scholarship, college application season begins
Pages 4-5: Features include how students use social networking, 80s fashion is back. (COLOR)
Page 6: Entertainment includes the five worst video games of all time, student-created comic strips, this date in history (from the HHS newspaper archives)
Page 7: Sports include football, volleyball and the $3,800 raised for school sports by this summer's golf tournament.
Page 8: Full page color ad from Robek's Juice

Kanye West Journalism Debate

Paste this into your browser to read the Twitter-Obama controversy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32859148/ns/politics-white_house/

Unfortunate but True

Check out this story on digg. http://www.10000words.net/2009/09/10-ugly-truths-about-modern-journalism.html
Thanks Mr. Manriquez for sending it to me.

Newspaper Exchange Critique due Monday

Be prepared to briefly explain something you liked in the paper you critiqued and how we might try something similar in our paper.

Please turn in the staff position sheets on Monday, so I can announce the positions on Tuesday. That sheet does not list an Opinion/Editorial page editor which is something I would like to have (although it could be handled by the Editor-in-Chief). Neither does it list an Entertainment page editor. This could be part of the features page if the features editor feels confident about assigning music/movie/video game stories and reviews, or it could be handled by a separate editor if there is someone who is interested. Oh yeah, we also need a copy editor, whose job it is to proofread everything after it has been edited by the editor who assigned the story.

Remember to check the AOL account at crimsonchron@aol.com. When I get newspaper-related email from people I forward it there. There's some sort of call-in interview for one of the stars of the movie FAME at 4:30 p.m. on Monday if someone wants to do it. Read the email for details.

Check out this website

Click on the link at right and you can read the front pages of nearly 800 newspapers from around the world. They are arranged alphabetically, but you can sort them by region. You can also print the front page and visit the newspaper's website for more information. How do news stories in Los Angeles compare to Tuscaloosa, Austin, or Anchorage? Which layouts do you find pleasing? Which do you find cluttered or busy?

The Newseum is a museum in Washington, D.C. devoted to the news media. There's also lots of interesting content on its main page.

Are you a guard dog?

Hope you are all enjoying your vacation. I'm at the University of Texas, Austin learning about high school journalism. This morning the editor of the Houston Chronicle told us high school journalists need to be watchdogs of the students interests. Student journalists shouldn't be lapdogs that want to sit in important people's laps and lick their faces, said editor Jeff Cohen. Nor should they be attack dogs, unnecessarily biting people. "You want them to be guard dogs growling, or guide dogs," Cohen said.

Final Issue June 9

We are slowing down a bit this week and next so you can study for your AP exams. The following week is the California Standards Test, so we will be on a special schedule. All stories will be due on or before May 22.
Think about what stories you want to write for this final issue. Check with your sources on your beat and make sure you are aware of all upcoming events. We will firm up our budget (story assignments) on Tuesday.

Photo, Sports Editor Positions Open

Please submit an application if you are interested in either the photo editor or sports editor position.
The photo editor's duties include: making photo assignments, choosing photos for publication, making sure everyone in a photo is identified, writing captions and proofreading captions/photo credits.
The sports editor's duties include: making sports story assignments, making sure writers turn in their copy on time, editing sports stories and laying out sports pages using InDesign (you will be trained in how to use the program).

April Issue Deadline

Everyone should have their stories in today for the next issue.

Now that we have three more people, we need to talk about the division of duties.
It seems Sagar has taken on the duties of the advertising or business manager. He should be added to the staffbox as such.
Sree is listed as the photo editor. As such, he should make sure the cameras are always charged and that the photos are uploaded to Lucy's computer each day.

Do we need a news editor? A features editor? A sports editor? As it is, it seems as if I am making a lot of the assignments, which I would rather not do. The editor would decide which stories get assigned for their respective page or pages and whether a photo is needed and who will take the photo. They would also be responsible for seeing that those stories get turned in on time.

Wednesday through Friday should be devoted to laying out the next issue. The club list and the sports calendar need to be updated.

We also need to discuss Friday's food sale. Lucy, Sagar, Elizabeth, Boston, Sree and I will be at USC for High School Journalism Day. We will be back by sixth period. Eduardo will place the order. Dora will pick up the Subway sandwiches. A couple people need to get out of fourth period early to help set up. Everyone else should be willing to man the table during lunch. Adriel and Eduardo can clean up, since they are in my fifth period and I can tell the substitute that they have permission.

Story Ideas, Advertising Possibilities

Yesterday we came up with some good story ideas. Let's finalize them today. Stories are due on Monday, March 23, or Friday, March 20 if you want extra credit.

We also need to brainstorm advertising possiblities. I like the idea of approaching clubs. They can design their own ad, or we could take the information and design it for them.

Is anyone interested in covering the alumni beat? We could interview recent graduates about what college is like or we could do features on the old stars who went to HHS, along with their high school photo (the old yearbooks are locked in the library).

Let's Put This Issue to Bed

That means we need to get it to the printer today if we want to see it before next week. (Gardena Valley News does not print on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and needs 24-hour turnaround.)

Sports: pages 6-7 are half done. Boston: you can write a boys volleyball story saying they lost their first practice game but won their next game and we'll use the photo from the game against Banning.
Sagar and/or Eduardo make a simple box that says in small caps TELL US WHAT YOU THINK and then in a regular-size headline something like "Is Manny Ramirez worth $45 million?" Have a box to check yes, no, or I don't care; it's not my money. At the bottom, put "Return to Ms. Cusolito's mailbox or email us your thoughts at crimsonchron@aol.com" It should fill the two-column space at the bottom of page 6.

Elizabeth: Continue laying out pages 6-7 as the copy becomes available. Help proofread pages 1-5 as soon as they are done.

Poetry/Horoscopes: page 8 Leslie, Kiara, Yenory design this page using the two or three poems in the folder labeled Poetry on one of the desktops in the far right three computers.

Antonio, Sree: Go back to Ms. Ramos and explain we are talking about "an insert to the paper" not "an advertisement printed in the paper."

Today's Assignments

Microsoft Office has been installed on all the computers. I think there are still some bugs to be worked out. I noticed one computer you could only save Word to a shared folder, not to the desktop. On another computer, it looked like Yearbook staff had been using it. In any event, let's try to keep things organized. Save your work in a folder with your name on it, instead of cluttering up the desktop. Copy your work on a flash drive each day as backup. Most important: REMEMBER TO LOG OFF AND THE END OF THE DAY. Not that what we do is top secret, but I don't like the idea of anyone being able to read our work before it is published.

Mr. DeBonis is coming today to give a tutorial on using InDesign. Lucy, Kiara and Leslie (who have experience using Quark) should plan on taking part. Anyone else who is interested may look on and take notes. If you are not watching the tutorial, plan on doing the following:

Sagar and Eduardo: finish sports calendar
Elizabeth: newsbriefs
Yenory: reading and/or typing poetry submissions
Sree and Antonio: test your skills on hsj.org or come up with a tip sheet.

Creating a Newspaper

I look at our recent setback as a chance to start fresh with the computers. The G5 recovery is almost complete and the G4s will be reformatted soon, so that we are the only ones who have access to them. We will also be installing a layout program called Adobe InDesign, which has replaced Quark as the industry standard. Mr. Paul DeBonis will give us all a tutorial on using it.

In the meantime, go to www.hsj.org (see link at right) and explore the site. Take the Test Your Skills quiz. Read student newspapers from across the country. Look up summer journalism opportunities.