Photo by and courtesy of Jeff Beale, East Lyme (Conn.) High School

Journalism students at East Lyme (Conn.) High School prepare the next edition of their student newspaper, the Viking Saga.

N.E. high school newspaper
picture appears less clouded
than elsewhere and industry’s

By Kristen Bahler
Bulletin Staff

Were it not for the school principal’s thick Boston accent thundering through the loudspeaker, Mr. Gallagher’s Thursday afternoon journalism class would make a pretty convincing newsroom.

The school day is winding down, and students in Room 103 of Malden (Mass.) High School are hurriedly preparing their newspaper, The Blue and Gold, for the first issue of the year. Some are editing copy, some are discussing advertising, and all are ignoring the principal’s announcements about after-school SAT prep.

“I like to constantly remind them that this is real news,” Ryan Gallagher, who is in his third year as adviser to The Blue and Gold, said.

Gallagher, an English teacher, slowly saunters through clusters of busy students, speaking only to offer the occasional suggestion. Gallagher has almost completely removed himself from the creative process, and it seems to be working.

“For the paper to be authentic, there needs to be an authentic student voice,” he said. “I’m here to advise ... but in the end, I think it’s important to have the control, the whole control, be with the students.”

As demonstrated in the Malden High class, the case for high school journalism seems to be a good one.

A study by the Newspaper Association of America, mentioned in an April edition of The Boston Globe, suggests that students who worked on newspapers and yearbooks during high school scored better on college admission tests, and had better grades their first year of college.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post and New York Daily News, among others, have reported on the decline of high school newspapers in recent years.

The New England region perhaps is faring better than other parts of the country. Every student, teacher and adviser interviewed by the Bulletin seemed to think that their high school newspapers were not only surviving, but thriving.

That’s not to say high school newspapers aren’t struggling, however.

“Budget cuts are a real-world issue, and an issue we have as well,” Jeff Beale, an English teacher in East Lyme, Conn., said. “The kids take it very seriously, and are really invested. (While) that makes my job easier, with that investment comes a lot of pressure.”

Beale, adviser to East Lyme High School’s Viking Saga, combines three separate courses to help create each twice-monthly edition of the Viking Saga. First-year journalism students learn the fundamentals of newspaper writing and production in Journalism 1, and Beale’s Journalism 2 and Journalism 3 classes – complete with two editors in chief, 10 editorial staff members, and a three-man advertising team -- are responsible for running the newspaper.

Beale’s approach to the Viking Saga is similar to Gallagher’s approach at Malden High, in that Beale considers his work with the paper very “hands off.”

“More than anything, I’m providing (the students) with different opportunities, whether they realize it or not,” he said. “I don’t expect all these kids to study journalism ... but there are a lot of real-world experiences they wouldn’t normally get in high school – (like) how to be inquisitive, communicate effectively, draw conclusions and be critical learners.”

Although motivating students to pursue careers in journalism might not be Beale’s ultimate goal, many East Lyme alums are studying journalism at the college level. Some of Beale’s former students have even interned and worked for major U.S. publications.

Taylor Trudon, a former editor of the Viking Saga, is one of those students.

Trudon, a senior at the University of Connecticut, is the career editor for Her Campus, an online magazine for college women. She has interned for both Seventeen and Hartford magazines, and in an April episode of NBC’s “The Today Show,” Trudon and 19 college females received prestigious New York Women in Communications scholarships.

“I can’t think of one light bulb moment when I thought, ‘I’m meant to do this’,” Trudon said. “I’ve always loved magazines ... I just never really thought I could make (them) my career.”

Trudon recently landed another internship -- this time with Oprah magazine -- and plans to pursue a career in magazine journalism after graduation.

Trudon called the Viking Saga a “perfect opportunity,” and credits the paper for igniting her desire to work in print.

“Having that journalism class really fostered my passion,” she said.

Trudon is far from the only college student whose interest in journalism is a product of a high school newspaper. A recent study by Kenneth Dautrich and David Yalof of the University of Connecticut found that high school journalism students are two and a half times more likely to major in communications than those who had no high school journalism experience.

Daniel “DJ” Sixsmith, Web sports editor for Inklings, the student newspaper of Staples High School in Westport, Conn., is a professional journalism hopeful.

Inklings is created in a largely student-led journalism class, as is the case at Malden and East Lyme high schools,

“All the things that are done in the professional world are brought into the class,” Sixsmith said. “It’s a group of, like, 50 kids – during the class we work on the production for creating the newspaper as well as working on the website.”

Sixsmith, who has both writing and editing responsibilities, said his typical day includes checking in with student writers, assigning stories, conducting interviews, and working on the online edition of the newspaper.

“I like to look for stories that will interest people,” Sixsmith replied when asked about how he chooses topics of interest to an audience of high school students.

“I’m really passionate about sports,” he said. “I wrote a story last year about the economic disparity between our town and neighboring towns, and the impact it had on sports in each school ... at times, people will write articles for the sake of writing articles. I try to write articles that I would really love to read.”

Sixsmith, a senior at Staples, plans to study journalism at the college level after graduation.

“I feel like I’m ahead of the game ... the experience has put me ahead of other kids,” he said. “I have such an interest, and I’ve enjoyed it so much, I’m excited to see what the next level has to offer.”

Students given opportunities to study pre-college journalism are certainly better off than those entering studies toward undergraduate degrees with no practical experience, which raises an interesting conundrum. Are students who attend high schools without those opportunities -- school newspapers or a yearbook -- disadvantaged?

A journalism workshop is one option for students looking for training in reporting outside high school.

For instance, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University will host in July its third consecutive journalism workshop for high school students.

Joe Bergantino, the center’s director, said feedback from past workshops has been positive, with students saying that it “changed their life,” and that the program was “one of the most valuable experiences” they ever had.

“There are large numbers of high school students ... passionate about journalism, and passionate about investigative reporting,” Bergantino, a former investigative reporter for WBZ-TV, Channel 4, Boston, and former ABC News correspondent, said.

The workshops also serve a more practical purpose: In today’s uncertain news-media environment, students discover the difficulty and competiveness of modern journalism – inspiring the committed and weeding out the rest.

Annie Melden, a student at the Pingree School in South Hamilton, Mass., said that although she enjoys reporting, the BU workshop helped her choose a different career path.

“I had an excellent time,” she said. “I learned a lot of what it means to be an investigative reporter. Interestingly, through this experience, I discovered I like photojournalism (better).”

Sixsmith also participated in a journalism workshop -- Northwestern University’s Cherubs Program, also known as the National High School Institute. It is a summer camp for high school students that excel in debate, speech, film and video production, theater and journalism.

Sixsmith said he went with two other students from Staples High School.

“Not only did we learn a lot, it really put us ahead of everyone else, in terms of the knowledge we (gained),” he said.

Still, most workshops charge participation fees, and some are quite pricey. Boston University’s investigative reporting workshop is $2,000 a person, not including room and board. Students also have to apply to the program, which might be daunting for those with no writing or reporting experience.

Bergantino said it is not uncommon for students with no newspaper experience to attend the investigative reporting workshop, however, and that some students receive financial aid.

Whatever journalism-based learning opportunities students might have during high school, the drive to succeed must come from within, one of them said.

Trudon, formerly of East Lyme High. said: “I think what it comes down to, (the Viking Saga) definitely sparked my interest ... but coming from a little town in Connecticut, opportunity didn’t just fall into my lap. It’s all about making opportunity. You come to realize what you really love, and you make the sacrifices to make that happen.”

Photo by and courtesy of Ryan Gallagher, Malden (Mass.) High School

Dan Holmqvist and Lauren Benoit discuss with a fellow student the production of The Blue and Gold, the student newspaper of Malden (Mass.) High School.

POSTED 12/2/10

'I don’t expect all these kids to study journalism ... but there are a lot of real-world experiences they wouldn’t normally get in high school – (like) how to be inquisitive, communicate effectively, draw conclusions and be critical learners.'

-- Jeff Beale,
Student newspaper adviser,
East Lyme (Conn.) High School