by Charlie Chamness – charliec7664@yahoo.com
Daniel Kubus – DanKubus@comcast.net
Amanda Rossetti – AmandaMRossetti@gmail.com
Seth Skiles – comedyman@cisinternet.net
Ohio University held its annual High School Journalism Workshop this past weekend, drawing in students from six different states. Students who attended the workshop gained valuable experience by working in a college journalism environment. They gained constructive knowledge for their media productions at their home schools.
In its sixty-seventh year, the workshop focused on teaching vital journalism skills that pertain to new trends in the industry.
New assistant director, Ed Simpson, said, “This year the workshop is entirely different than previous years.” The intense focus on the converged newsroom experience and stress of Internet outlets gave students a glimpse of what to expect in news coverage once they graduate from high school.
Courses were designed with student interests in mind. Student surveys and feedback were extremely important in deciding which topics to focus on according to Simpson.
Throughout recent years, journalism has changed quickly. This has provided college programs with new technology to utilize.
Modern journalists must be “platform agnostic,” meaning they must have the ability to use all available tools and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each, according to Professor Mary Rogus, Associate Professor of Broadcast Journalism at Ohio University.
Student adviser Aadam Sooram helped students realize the possibilities available at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Students enjoyed the one-on-one attention with the faculty. “I got the most out of the critique session,” said Marisa Dockum of Talawanda High School, who learned valuable information on newspaper page design.
Students learned beneficial content from highly qualified instructors in this three-day experience, which they can develop in their promising in their futures.
