Happy Scholastic Journalism Week! Five Reasons to Celebrate Mass. HS Journalists

Five Things took the month of January off, but we’re back with an extravaganza of lists in celebration of National Scholastic Journalism Week.

Five Reasons to Celebrate Massachusetts High School Journalists: 

Day One: You have fun!

Five, non-exhaustive examples:

1. Norwood High’s NHS-TV with Joey’s Non-Denominational Winter Holiday Questionnaire, Part 2

2) Newton South’s Denebola with Fit Check Friday

3) Springfield Central’s Studio 86/A’s version of Wake Me Up by Alexis Torres

4) Weather report from Martha’s Vineyard’s Grapevine

5) Jammin’ with Johann from Code Blue News at Holbrook Middle/High School 

The rest of the week’s reasons to celebrate Massachusetts High School Journalists:

Day two: You do love your sports.

Five programs that excel at sports coverage:

Millbury’s 

Franklin’s Pantherbook

Westford Academy’s Ghostwriter

Plymouth North’s PNN News

Triton Regional’s VTV

Day Three: You don’t just stand by and watch. When student voices need to be heard: You lead.

Check out the weekly editorials in Phillips Andover’s The Phillipian. 

Or this editorial in favor of a town tax override in Newton South’s The Lion’s Roar.

How about the months (years?)-long process The Cypress at Brookline High has gone through to responsibly and carefully change its name?

And don’t miss this staff editorial in support of a Nebraska paper that was censored, or the variety of climate change piece on The Gator at Brimmer and May.

Take a look at how the Deerfield Scroll has dealt with mental health issues on campus in this editorial.

Day Four: You find the people around you who have something to say and give them voice: You tell stories.

Take a look at these great examples of human storytelling:

Unified Basketball from Newton North’s NNTV

Plymouth South’s Panther TV on an injured athlete’s new passion. 

MASCO‘s Morning Update on Digital Literacy

Hopkinton High’s HHS Press on an athlete trying to step out of his brother’s shadow. 

Algonquin’s The Harbinger on the impact of 50 years of Title IX on the school

Day Five: You don’t just accept things as they are — you forge new paths, try new ways to connect with your readers: You innovate.

A lot of publications are experimenting with podcasts. Check out these three from the Holyoke Herald, West Springfield’s Terrier Times, and Franklin High’s Pantherbook.  

Lit mags are trying new things, too. Look at how Acton-Boxborough’s Window Seat and Deerfield Academy’s Albany Road are using social to publicize events and grow their followings.

Yearbooks like those at Boston Latin Academy, Walpole, and Woburn are using social media, too.  

In Boston,  Teens in Print is breaking new ground in finding ways to get students writing and to grow community

And we can’t talk about innovation without shouting out WSPN, the progam that showed newspapers across the state how to go online and who continue to set the standard.

Happy Scholastic Journalism Week 2023, everyone!