This content copyright © Indiana University School of Journalism 2013
Photo by Ben Wiggins
From left, Claire DeFrancisci of Floyd Central High School in New Albany, Ind.,, instructor Bob Scheer and Allison Drake of Bullitt High School in Shepherdsville, Ky., talk over some strategies for multimedia projects.
Greenfield Central High School yearbook editor-in-chief Lauren Hughes was busy Wednesday designing pages that she may use in the school’s next yearbook.
Next to her in the Ernie Pyle Hall classroom, Bunni Brooks had a headline and a story laid out in InDesign, her first attempt at page design.
Both are high school students attending sessions of the 67th annual High School Journalism Institute, two weeks of intensive training in media skills from newspaper reporting to broadcast production to yearbook layout and design.
"I invite those who say journalism is dying to come spend a day with HSJI students," said HSJI director Teresa White. "We're fortunate to attract some of the brightest students across the country to our institute. This week alone we had 290 student journalists practicing 21st century journalism. They are dedicated to serving their readers."
Students sign up for one of nine workshops: yearbook, TV news, online journalism, multimedia, graphic design, digital photography, newspaper, sports journalism, or arts and entertainment reporting. They live on campus during the five days of their sessions, which are taught by experienced high school journalism teachers and publications advisers.
Among the 369 attendees this year are students from all over the U.S. — and one from France — who want to expand or develop their skills. Some, like Hughes, are school media leaders who are jump-starting their schools’ fall publications. Others are simply curious to learn something new.
Brooks, of Johnson College Prep in Chicago, is one of those exploring media for the first time.
“At first, the software was confusing, but I’m getting the hang of it,” she said of the yearbook workshop. “I have edited photos before, but not with these tools.”
The students were using InDesign, which is where Hughes’ experience came in handy. She has been on staff the yearbook staff two years.
“I’m working on design ideas to be ready for our planning at school,” she said.
Instructor Lisa Morris is the yearbook adviser at Lincoln High School in Cambridge City, Ind., and is leading this week’s workshop. She said students arrive with a variety of skill levels, but they all have hands-on experience when they leave.
Photo by Ben Wiggins
Mollie Loftus of Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis delivers the news on camera. Students covered a mock press conference, then produced news packages.
That’s true of all the classes, White said. For example, students in the multimedia workshop attended a mock press conference, then prepared content for a website. Mollie Loftus of Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis and Gabriella McKim of Assumption High School in Louisville were in the Ernie Pyle Hall lobby Wednesday setting up their video camera for a standup.
“We wrote scripts and conducted mock interviews, and now we’re ready to film,” said McKim, who hopes to implement more video in her school’s website to draw more interest.
Students in digital photography started the week by learning about Canon DSLR cameras, then took mug shots of one another as practice. By Wednesday, they were learning the intricacies of editing with Photoshop and Bridge, hunkered over computers in the multimedia lab.
Josh Morales of Noble Street College Prep in Chicago was editing his photo of a tree, which featured light on one side accentuating the bark’s texture and an out-of-focus background.
“I always liked taking pictures, but I’m learning there’s so much more to it than I thought,” he said.
Upstairs, instructor Alan Bates of Princeton High School in Cincinnati had just sent his TV news students out on assignment. In his 16th summer with HSJI, Bates said technology has changed dramatically in broadcast, enabling high school students to learn skills previously the domain of the pros.
To the teen attendees, though, all that they are learning is new. But not all students are new to HSJI. Annie Dixon of Signature High School in Evansville, Ind., is one of many HSJI students who are repeat attendees. This is the rising senior’s third year attending workshops.
“I took graphic design and photojournalism, and now yearbook,” said Signature’s next yearbook editor-in-chief. “I’m making templates with the fonts and colors already on them to make it easy for the staff to jump in.”
And all of her yearbook staff are attending HSJI, she said, spread out in several workshops, a common practice among high schools whose advisers consider HSJI a way to prepare students to hit the ground running when school starts.
Photo by Ben Wiggins
Pulitzer winner Tim Nickens, BA'82, was one of several guests who participated in Lunch with the Pros, casual conversations with students during their lunch break at Wright Quad. Now an editorial writer at the Tampa Bay Times, Nickens attended HSJI when he was a high school student.
In addition to learning and practicing skills, students talk with journalists during daily Lunch with a Pro sessions, casual conversations at the Wright Quad dining hall. Tuesday’s lunch featured Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Nickens, BA’82 and an HSJI alumnus, who also conducted a press conference and talk Tuesday night.
Other speakers included School of Journalism professor of practice Joe Coleman, former AP bureau chief in Tokyo; Kyle Stokes of WFIU and Indiana Public Media; and IU Athletics’ communication director J.D. Campbell, who gave a class a tour of IU’s baseball facility. The newspaper class met Internet sensation Lil Bub, the cat who has risen to fame thanks to the popularity of her owner’s blog.
Friday, students will present their work and wrap up their sessions at HSJI. Monday, new attendees arrive for the next set of workshops, guest speakers and special assignments.
Some are reluctant to leave. Bunni Brooks wants to stay another week to fully enjoy the campus atmosphere. Beyond learning the ins and outs of design and layout, she said she is intrigued by this taste of college life.
“I’ve gotten lost a few times, but it has been a lot of fun,” she said. “I’ve found a lot of new things here.”