Stet

Michigan Interscholastic Press Association

Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
November 2009 exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
Vol. 37, No. 1 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
www.mipamsu.org government for a redress of grievances.

INSIDE
Teacher Intern Wrap-Up
3
Middle School Teacher:
Journalism is Key
4–5
Ken Winter Reviews
“Losing the News”
7

COVER PHOTO
Sparty Winner
Advanced Photojournalism
MIPA Summer
Journalism Workshop
Lindsay Boecki
Seaholm HS
Stet
The President’s Column
Stet going online
I
f you are reading this, you repre-
sent all that is wrong with the
journalism of today.
You are a tech-savvy, culturally
aware consumer of the media, and
you are beginning to rely more and
Jeremy Van Hof
DeWitt HS
more on the web for your
information.
At the same time, MIPA wants
to cut costs, so we’ve moved STET
into an on-line only format. We
couldn’t justify the printing and
mailing costs, we felt the web was a
faster distribution method, we pre-
sumed that enough media advisers
in the state had Internet access to
keep readership up.
Does all this sound familiar? It
should, because it’s what’s happen-
ing in news rooms around the globe.
Readers are changing rapidly,
becoming ever more connected
both with each other and with a
global media network that streams
stories to them 24/7 for free. In
response, newspapers and maga-
zines are struggling to survive.
Institutions like “Gourmet Maga-
zine” and the “Ann Arbor News”
are no more—in part because sub-
scription and advertising began to
dry up, and in part because they
could not figure out a way to make
their online outlets viable.
These are the realities of the
MIPA OFFICERS 2009–2010 and I was nervous
President, Jeremy Van Hof, DeWitt HS
1st Vice President, Lynn Strause, retired, East Lansing HS
2nd Vice President, C.E. Sikkenga, Grand Haven HS
Secretary, Kim Kozian, L’Anse Creuse HS North
Treasurer, Brian Wilson, Waterford Kettering HS
Trustee, Tim Morley, Inland Lakes HS
Trustee, Sue Spalding, Quincy HS
Trustee, Pam Bunka, Fenton HS
Newspaper Chair, Julie Price, Haslett HS
Yearbook Chair, Lynn Strause, East Lansing HS
Broadcast Chair, Diane Herder, Laingsburg HS
Legislative Chair, Gloria Olman, retired, Utica HS
Workshop Chair, Betsy Pollard Rau, retired, H.H. Dow HS
Middle School Chair, Jenny Birmelin, Orchard Lake MS
Hall of Fame Chair, Jeff Nardone, Grosse Pointe South HS
Immediate Past President, Rod Satterthwaite, Dexter HS
Executive Director, Cheryl Pell, Michigan State University
MIPA Office, Jayna Salk, Christina Miteff, MSU students
2 ■ November 2009
Stet
TEACHER S
ix journalism teachers got to experience a four-week
internship at a newsroom of their choice last summer,
thanks to a program sponsored by the Michigan Press
Association Foundation and the Michigan Interscholastic
INTERNS
Press Association.
media world for which we are train- grow the number of people that This was the second year of the program. Three teachers
ing our students. High school publi- read our students’ work and to add participated in 2008.
cation advisers—both for newspa- authenticity to their reporting. The skills teachers learned in the newsroom will be for-
per and yearbook alike—need to 2) Online media allows a plat-
realize that in order to properly form to teach important content in a warded to their students, said Janet Mendler from the MPA
train our students for successful new a relevant setting. Hard to Foundation and a key force behind the program.
careers in the media we must train
them to thrive in an on-line world.
teach subjects such as copyright
law, invasion of privacy law, media
The teacher internship program “They become learners by being in a new environment,
and it became a role reversal. And for some of them it was
We must understand multi-media
news gathering, we must embrace
ethics, news judgment, and First
Amendment theory are made imme-
doubled its numbers in 2009 eye-opening,” Mendler said. By Juliet Wang
the Internet and social media, and diately more relevant when present-
we must try to stay ahead of the ed in the context of the Internet.
curve regardless of the speed at Students are creatures of the online
which it seems to be advancing. world now. They think in online
Rather than focusing on all the terms and will be more able to
negative news surrounding the understand the ethics of publishing
news, then, it might be worthwhile a photo or the laws surrounding
to start to examine carefully all that censorship when those topics are
is good about these new and con- presented as central themes in the
verging media. Here is just a short online age. Additionally design
list that highlights some of the posi- theory, typography, use of color,
tive things about the new trends in and photography are all imminently
media. teachable in an online setting. LORENA MARILYN HESS HARRY KATOPODIS JENNIFER KATE SALVADORE LAURA WRIGHT
3) Online content is more satis- CRAIGHEAD RICHARDSON
n Journalism/English n Journalism/English n Teacher at South n Journalism teacher
1) Online content is everywhere fying to readers. Students no longer
n Journalism teacher, teacher, Plainwell HS teacher, Highland Park n Teacher at East Lyon East HS at West Senior HS in
and it is easier than ever to get pub- go to a single source to get informa- Renaissance HS in Community HS Jordan HS for 13 years Traverse City for more
lished. We are experts at getting our tion. A music buff follows dozens Detroit. n Interned at The
but journalism only
n Interned at the South
Lyon Herald and the than five years
students to do the hard work of of online music magazines, down- Grand Rapids Press n Interned at Oakland for the last two
reporting and writing stories, but loads tracks from a variety of sites, n Interned at Metro Press Northville Record n Interned at Traverse
n Fifth year teaching
the audience that sees their work buys concert tickets from whatever Times n Interned at the City Record-Eagle
and second year as n First day experience: n This is her third year
has historically been very small. Web site offers the lowest transac- Petoskey
n Any favorite stories? . . . adviser of The Trojan My feelings could best of teaching and all n First day experience:
Finding online outlets that publish tion fee, watches music videos on News-Review
a review I pitched of Torch, student be described as nervous three years she has On my first day, I felt
citizen journalists’ work or moving YouTube, and does it all on her cell Jamie Register & The newspaper. excitement. I was excit- n Journalism advice: taught journalism. a little overwhelmed. I
the school newspaper online are Glendales performance/ ed because I would Double check walked in, was shown
n First day experience: I n During your internship,
two easy ways to exponentially Please see PRESIDENT, page 6 new album at Cliff experience the life of a everything! to a desk. Then, I was
Bells. My editor hacked was excited. I wasn’t what was your favorite
reporter at a daily n Best part of internship: “introduced”to a former
it up terribly and the as nervous because I story to work on and why?
newspaper for a month I am continuing to I had to write a feature student, who was
final version was sani- had been to the news-
going to be my “men-
ABOUT STET MIPA CALENDAR tized and shortened for room for an interview
about whether I would
freelance for the about a group of Home
tor.” Talk about role-
and had been required News-Review, and Depot employees fix-
the web. From that I do a good job. There reversal. Once I
Stet is the official newsletter of Dec. 15, 2009 to do a ‘trial story’ I’m really glad to have ing up a school’s land-
learned what my stu- wasn’t much time for logged into the com-
the Michigan Interscholastic Press Late yearbook deadline before the internship connections there to scaping. During an
dents go through with me to think about being puter, and was shown
Association, an agency of the School of actually began. link my students to. interview, the subject
Jan 25, 2010 me and I appreciate nervous because within the software, my editor
Journalism at Michigan State University. Plus, my students started interviewing
Advisers courses begin them so much more for n Best advice to students: moments of arriving at walked over and hand-
Stet is published four times a year by think it’s really cool me! We ended up talk-
it. My news staffers I would tell students to the paper a story about ed me a press-release.
the MIPA executive director and MSU Feb. 19, 2010 when they see my ing about a half hour
have really become my take advantage of any a drowning was I was thrown into the
students. Individual newspaper, yearbook and video work in print. about passion and
contest entries due greatest teachers. opportunities like this assigned to me and water and had to swim
people. He had to have
Send letters to the editor and n Best advice to students: that come their way. within an hour I had my been at least 65 years from the first minute
Feb. 26, 2010
advertising inquiries to mipa@msu. One-day workshop Work at as many differ- Journalism gives you first story online. old, and he  told me of day one.
great life skills. I would
edu. The MIPA Web site is maintained ent publications as you n Important thing learned: two of the greatest n Best advice to students:
March 6, 2010
can. There is something also tell them that Jour- qualities in life are to
by Cheryl Pell. Observing how the I’ve given my students
Judging Day
monumental to be nalism may be changing be able to really listen
paper operated and tons of tid-bits since
learned from each one. but it’s not dying. I think to someone and to find
Web site: April 30, 2010 asking questions was returning—always
Be honest about things knowing that I had this passion in life. I had
www.mipamsu.org Spring Conference at Lansing Center very educational for me. make sure you have
you do not know, but be experience makes my never really taken time
My editor was very photo information, has
kind and offer the students a little more to think about that
MIPA easy to work with and been the biggest one.
things that you know receptive to whatever much and it is some
305 Communication Arts Building my writing and espe-
well. writing or reporting advice that will stick
Michigan State University cially my lead writing
advice I’m giving them. with me in my report-
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212 improved as I picked
up tips from several ing and beyond.
editors and reporters.
November 2009 ■ 3
Stet Stet

The developmental gap between one student and another is huge. Some
boys are six feet tall and shaving; others look like they still need their
afternoon nap. Braces abound. Tears are a daily occurrence—and
not just among girls. But in journalism class, all students—the dude
guys and the misfits, the future homecoming court and the socially
awkward—share a common goal. By Kathryn Messina

WHY JOURNALISM IN THE

MIDDLE SCHOOL ROCKS
T
hree students huddle
over a layout, arguing
over which story
deserves the front page.
Another revises her arti-
cle on state testing. Two
others goof off in the corner. It’s a
typical student newsroom, but this
is middle school. The oldest stu-
dent in the room is 13; the young-
est is 11.
There were only 14 middle
schools in MIPA compared with
178 high schools last year. In my
students—the dude guys and the
misfits, the future homecoming
court and the socially awkward—
share a common goal. Athletic
ability, skateboarding skills, and
fashion sense don’t matter.
Though they may not sit together
at lunch, in the newsroom the
football quarterback and Napo-
leon Dynamite talk, laugh and
consult each other on story angles.
They’re friends—at least for those
55 minutes. This happens in high
school programs too, but the suc-
guage arts classroom. These
young reporters listen to editor
and teacher input with little, if any,
argument. They take instruction in
grammar, spelling and sentence
structure seriously and are willing
to write and rewrite as many times
as necessary. For perhaps the first
time in their lives, seventh and
eighth graders see themselves not
as students, but as writers. When
they develop that identity so early,
it just might stick.
Journalism develops middle
these young journalists learn they
can develop a good line of ques-
tioning, approach interview sub-
jects and take charge of the inter-
view—without peer support—
inspires me.
Listening skills are improved.
Every day, I tell my seventh grade
language arts students to open
their books to page 67 while I
point to that same information
written in large letters on the
board. And every day at least one
student raises his/her hand and
world ceases to exist outside the
walls of his or her school and
home. They might follow a sports
team or be aware of a pop star’s
latest faux pas, but ask them the
name of the vice president of the
United States, and you’ll get a
blank look. But when they begin
to pay attention to national and
international events, they become
involved and aware citizens. That
awareness, once raised, is hard to
shut down. And that’s a beautiful
thing.
interview subjects and listen to
those around them. They know
how to meet a deadline. Teenagers
aside, there are many adults with-
out those skills.
Good middle school journal-
ism programs crank out well-pre-
pared high school reporters. After
a year or two of journalism class,
students have a ready arsenal of
interviewing techniques. They
have a news sense and are able to
localize stories. They have basic
writing skills, understand the for-
and living with the results of the
published issue. And there is noth-
ing more relevant than writing
about events that directly impact
students. Instead of analyzing lit-
erature written by “dead white
guys” or solving simulated story
problems in math—not that those
activities are without value—jour-
nalism students write about life’s
issues.
My students, whose ages range
from 11 to 13, are working on
stories about the effect of divorce,

Kathryn Messina graduated from
town, there are two public middle
schools, two charter middle
schools and two private middle
schools. Of these, mine is the only
one that publishes a paper. But
there are some big practical, social
cessful navigation of the middle
school social scene builds confi-
dence at a critical developmental
stage.
Young writers have an authen-
tic audience. Middle school stu-
schoolers’ life skills. Reporters of
any age must be resourceful and
assertive. They must find sources,
look them in the eye, introduce
themselves, shake hands and ask
intelligent questions.
M
asks what page to turn to. A min-
ute later, another student requests
the page number.
Listening is not a highly devel-
oped skill in the typical middle
schooler. But a successful inter-
mat of a news story and a feature
iddle school story and know the difference
journalists have between the two. If those skills
a head start in are learned in middle school, the
high school. high school teacher has a trained
College is com- staff from day one. Because they
the increase in homeless students
and the pros and cons of achiev-
ing high school credit in eighth
grade. These topics are relevant
to them in a way that estimating
when two trains will cross paths

MSU with a degree in journalism
in 1982 and worked in public
relations in Dallas for 10 years.
After that, she was a
freelance writer, specializing in
ghost writing for engineers. In
2003, she began pursuing her
teaching certification, and for
the past three years, she has
been teaching language arts at
East Middle School in Traverse
City. She is in her second year
of newspaper advising and
pursuing a master’s degree in
journalism at MSU.
and academic advantages to devel-
oping a middle school journalism
program.
Social divides are bridged.
High school is rough for some
kids. Middle school’s even worse.
The developmental gap between
one student and another is huge.
Some boys are six feet tall and
shaving; others look like they still
need their afternoon nap. Braces
abound. Tears are a daily occur-
rence—and not just among girls.
But in journalism class, all
dents often fail to see value in
taking writing beyond the first
draft. With good reason. The only
audience for most in-school writ-
ing is the English teacher who
reads it, grades it and hands it
back with a few comments in the
margins.
But when students write for the
newspaper, they know their peers,
teachers and parents will read
their stories. That puts their writ-
ing out there in a way that is
impossible to simulate in a lan-
F
or the average 12-
and 13-year-old, any
one of those tasks is
far outside his com-
fort zone. In Decem-
ber, I’m still telling
kids they can’t take a friend with
them to conduct an interview. The
idea of approaching a relative
stranger without a wingman is
intimidating even after four
months of training. But the matu-
rity that develops over the year as
viewer asks thoughtful follow-up
questions, probes for more infor-
mation and looks for the right
quote—all of which require active,
conscious listening. That single
ability makes them better journal-
ists. Even more importantly, it
makes them better students, better
friends and better people.
Middle schoolers become
aware citizens. Any good journal-
ism program requires students to
be aware of current events. For
the average middle schooler, the
petitive and
those who wait until their junior
or even sophomore year in high
school to take it seriously are
already behind. But the middle
schooler who graduates from
eighth grade informed about the
world around him/her and able to
write a compelling, coherent sen-
tence is far ahead of most of his or
her peers.
Middle school journalists can
find good story ideas and follow
them through, meet and engage
already possess basic journalism
skills, who knows how much fur-
ther students can go under the
guidance of an enthusiastic high
school journalism teacher who
doesn’t have to spend September
and October teaching
fundamentals?
No other class matches jour-
nalism in terms of rigor and rel-
evance, the two watchwords in
education. Rigor is inherent in
planning a publication, developing
and writing stories on deadline
while traveling at speeds of X
and Y is not. Most importantly, a
middle school journalism pro-
gram molds identities and futures
in a way that can’t be measured
by MEAP scores or district
achievement tests. Middle school
journalism teachers have the
chance to influence and shape
young people before they acquire
the protective veneer necessary
for high school. And isn’t that
why we became teachers in the
first place?

4 ■ November 2009 November 2009 ■ 5

Stet
Middle school students enjoy seeing what they captured on the Flip camera,
thanks to speakers Jeremy Whiting and Jesse McLean. The Middle School
Conference was held Nov. 5 at the MSU Union.
2009
FALL CONFERENCES
PRESIDENT, continued from page 2
phone. The same is true of all
other types of information. Good
high school news sites could
serve as aggregators and clearing
houses for all these various
points of information, providing
the student body with more of
everything they want. This will
drive students to the site, where
in addition to what they want to
see, they will have easy access
to all the school related news
that they need to see.
4) Online content is current. A
constant problem with high
school media is that publication
dates are infrequent. The most
prolific high school journalists
still only see their work in print
once or twice a month at best.
The online environment allows
students to be published immedi-
ately, and allows students to
6 ■ November 2009
print stories that are always
timely. No longer do student
journalists need to feature-ize
breaking news. With a strong
high school news site, students
can break news just as the pros
do.
5) Online news is cheaper to
produce. What school district
does not face daunting revenue
cuts today? With a few comput-
ers, a small start-up cost, and a
few cell phones students have
the resources they need to create
and maintain a high quality news
Web site. Districts may be more
willing to support a program that
does not need to turn to the com-
munity for advertising revenue
and that offers modern and
diverse content at a manageable
cost.
6) Online content is agile. In
Students at the Oct. 19 Fall Conference get a chance to
have their publications critiqued by advisers. Sue
Spalding, MIPA board member from Quincy HS,
coordinated the critiques.
Taking notes is a common scene at the MIPA Fall
Conference. The program even contains a worksheet
that some teachers have their students fill out. Nearly
80 sessions were offered, and students could attend
four. More than 1,500 students and teachers attended
the event.
an online world, we no longer drop off in the number of
need to limit our students to schools willing to subsidize
black and white only design, media education. We need to
photographers can publish whole stay educated on technical
galleries rather than just a single advances and we need to con-
still, videos can accompany and tinue to shape our instruction to
supplement written coverage, fully reflect the technical and
interviews can be made available connected world in which we
in their entirety as audio files, live.
and content is no longer limited But you already know this.
by space considerations. You try hard every day to stay in
touch with your students, and
All of this points to the fact you care about the future of the
that rather than being fearful of media. You are a tech-savvy,
the rapid changes in journalism, culturally aware consumer of the
high school media advisers can media, and you are beginning to
and should embrace them and rely more and more on the web
teach them to their students. for your information.
High school journalism pro- I know this because you are
grams face an uphill battle in this reading this article. And because
difficult economic climate, and you are reading this, you repre-
without being willing to look to sent all that is right with the
the future, we are bound to see a journalism of tomorrow.
BOOK CORNER
By Ken Winter
NOTES &NEWS Stet
I
f you haven’t read Alex Jones’s “Losing the News:
The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy”
(Oxford University Press, 2009), you should as it
offers a good look at the future of journalism and our
country.
The former New York Times Pulitzer Prize journalist
makes a convincing argument that without solid and
accurate news, investigative reporting and watchdog
journalism over government and other organizations that
A review of “Losing Erin Hill, high school journalism coordinator at the Detroit Free
affect our citizenry, we could very well lose our
the News: The Future Press, was named the John Field winner at the MIPA Fall
Democracy.
of the News That Conference for her outstanding efforts in helping Detroit high
For the past eight years, Jones has been the Director
Feeds Democracy,” school students to publish their newspapers. Surrounding Hill
available at Amazon of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, are teachers from the Detroit program: Ricardo Martin, Tiffany
Politics and Policy and lecturer at the Kennedy School of Cross, Corey Stokes, Lorena Craighead, Robbyn Williams,
and Barnes & Nobel
Government. Monique Guest-Schuh and Sara Hennes.
for under $18.
His frankness and passion for preserving the “iron
core” of journalism is very much appreciated. Smith
started at his small family owned 15,000-daily circula-
tion Greeneville Sun, in Greeneville, Tenn., which his
family still owns and operates. It was there Smith learned
about the basic values of journalism and took those with
him when he became a reporter for one of the top news-
papers in the country—The New York Times.
Jesse McLean, an
MSU teacher
He later became host of National Public Radio’s “On
intern at
the Media” and “Media Matters.”
Waterford
“Losing the News” should be required reading in
Kettering HS,
every journalism program across the country. It should
received a JEA
be required reading for everyone in the journalism pro-
Betsy Pollard Rau, retired adviser from H.H. Future Teacher
fession or who cares about our Democracy. He distills
Dow HS in Midland, was inducted into the Scholarship
centuries of journalism into just over 200 pages. Well
CMU Journalism Hall of Fame on Nov. 7. Rau Award in
researched, well written and well presented.
has been the director of the MIPA Summer Washington, D.C.,
His last chapter, “Saving the News Media,” is the
Journalism Workshop since 1994 and teaches on Nov. 13. The
most valuable contribution to the conversation of journal-
adviser courses through the MSU School of scholarship
ism’s future I have yet to read. For those who have not
Journalism as well as courses through the comes with
watched closely or need background on the industry, the
CMU Department of Journalism. $1,000.
early parts of the work are invaluable.
The final chapter should be ripped out of the book
and used as the basis for further and new discussions on LOW-TECH TWEETS
the future of journalism and Democracy in the United We ask the teachers at the luncheon for
States.
comments on their door prize tickets. Here
Jones writes that the Web newspaper should not be
viewed as a complementary or ancillary product, but are some of them:
something much different: a separate business and a sep-
Ken Winter is an MSU arate news organization. We love MIPA. Go journalism!
J-School graduate
“The daunting question then becomes whether tradi- My kids are having a great time—thanks!
and the former editor
tional news organizations should move so far outside Great!!!
and publisher of
the Petoskey News- their traditional culture that they have a real chance of We love the Fall Conference.
Review. He now capturing the attention of this new Web-centric audience.
I love all of the sessions with online advising.
teaches journalism And if they do, will they have to leave behind the stan-
and political science dards of journalism that have been at the heart of their MIPA rocks
for North Central value system?” Great help for new YB advisers
Michigan College In Jones’s mind, there is no way of getting away from I hate widows, orphans and trapped white space!
and Michigan State’s what he identifies as the iron core of journalism—bearing I love MIPA!
Red Cedar National witness, following-up, explanatory journalism and inves- Great day!
Writing Project tigative journalism.
Great session topics
satellite, “Top of “One thing is certain: the revolution in news now tak-
the Mitt,” both in ing place will be critical to defining what kind of a nation Learning lots of great info today!
Petoskey. we become in the years ahead.” Enjoyed attending sessions and wish I could have
attended more. Great well-rounded offerings.
Tom Campbell has the best ideas—my kids loved it.
November 2009 ■ 7
 Stet

CLASSES
FOR
JOURNALISM
TEACHERS
ONLINE@MSU!
Writing and Editing Student Media Law Power Advising
for Student Media It’s been said that no publication adviser should walk Created for advisers who have had at least one year
inside a publication classroom unless armed with a of advising, this course will help teachers feel more
Bobby Hawthorne, author of The Radical Write,
class in media law. That’s why we offer this course. empowered. This is what’s cool: Power Advising will
will teach you most of what you’ll need to know
The course’s primary goal will be to help scholastic be tailored to those taking the course. Instructor
about the fundamentals of news and feature
journalism teachers understand, identify and avoid legal Betsy Rau, former adviser of the H.H. Dow Update,
writing, opinion writing, headlines, editing and
“hotspots.” Important class for ALL advisers! Adam contacts you before the semester starts to assess
proofing. Each week will focus on a specific area.
Goldstein, attorney advocate at the student Press your needs. You’ll work on an independent project,
You’ll love this class.
Law Center, will teach the course. participate in lots of discussion and find time and
motivation to concentrate on issues of concern.

Each class begins Jan. 25 and ends May 7 and is three graduate credits. Register soon!
To register for a class, e-mail Cheryl Pell at pell@msu.edu, or go to the MIPA Web site at www.mipamsu.org/advisers for more information about each class.

PARTING SHOT
Mark your calendars for the MIPA One-Day Workshop
on Friday, Feb. 26. More information will come to you
through your mail and will be online as well.
www.mipamsu.org/workshops