Davis High journalism students shine
How good is the HUB?
Well, if national awards are the measure, then Davis High School’s newspaper is among the best.
In the 2010 “Best of the High School Press” awards, bestowed by the National Scholastic Press Association, the HUB was the only school paper in the country recognized more than once, and one of those awards was the Brasler Prize, what DHS journalism teacher Kelly Wilkerson referred to as “the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism.”
That went to Jane Seo, a former Davis Enterprise staff writer who graduated from DHS last year. Her feature on kirogi kajoks, or “wild goose families,” described Korean families who sacrifice – and separate – to ensure their children’s success. Generally the father stays behind in Korea to work while the mother and children live in the United States so the children can attend school here.
“It’s a phenomenon unheard of in the U.S.,” Seo wrote. “But in South Korea, it’s a way of life, a lingo as universal as The Beatles is to the music industry.
“Wild goose has a symbolic meaning in Korea: It’s recognized as a devoted bird sacrificing oneself for its spouse and offspring.”
Seo focused on one such family living in Davis and a father in Korea dealing with the loneliness of being away from his family.
Her article was named last year’s top story in the “diversity” category — one of six categories, including news, sports and features — as well as the story of the year.
Meanwhile, a sports story by HUB staffers Jordan Souza and Emily Lam was recognized with an honorable mention award. That story reported the tragic circumstances and aftermath surrounding a severe injury to Valley High School football player William Barker during a game at Davis High in the fall of 2009.
Souza also is a Davis Enterprise staff writer.
But having nabbed that national recognition, the HUB staff members were not resting on their laurels this year. In fact, the focus students put into their online edition, http://www.bluedevilhub.com, led to their winning the Online Pacemaker award for best high school news website.
That award, announced on Monday, is bestowed annually by the National Scholastic Press Association and DHS was one of 18 winners selected from high schools across the country.
HUB students have made a concerted effort this year to focus on their website. While most high school websites use primarily text and photos, Wilkerson said, HUB students have added video and audio content, and they are looking into paid advertising as well.
“I think what sets our site apart is the fact that it is a true multimedia site, with photography, radio reports, video packages and articles,” she said. ”We have two classes of journalism students contributing quality work.
“This is the highest award in online journalism,” she added, ”and the credit all goes to the students who are posting top-notch journalism on the site every day.”
Wilkerson also credits DHS senior Yang Lui, who actually set up the website.
“This year we really depended on Yang,” she noted.
Wilkerson added that the HUB’s advisory board was instrumental in pushing the student journalists toward a stronger multimedia presence.
“We’re trying to stay current with a field that’s changing every day,” she said.
Student Lauren Blackwell is the current website editor-in-chief. One recent school day she was focused on loading the “photo of the day” onto the site.
“I like it,” Blackwell said when the photo of a tree toppled in the Davis High parking lot appeared on the screen.
The photo was taken by junior Max Guida; he, Blackwell and two other students are responsible for shooting the photos of the day.
“We try to put new stuff up every day,” Blackwell said.
The website uses content derived primarily from Wilkerson’s Journalism 1 students, as well as students in the HUB class. Included in that content is audio from the program’s radio show, “The Dirt on Davis,” which airs three times a week on local radio station KDRT, 95.7 FM.
Both of the DHS journalism classes are Regional Occupational Programs, so there is greater focus on job skills like learning a website platform, marketing skills and working with film and video.
Not many students come in with the advanced computer skills needed for website production, Wilkerson said, so they learn as they go.
If their most recent recognition is any indication, they’ve been doing an excellent job of it.
— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at aternus@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8051.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=34624
Posted by Anne Ternus-Bellamy
on Apr 18 2011.
Last Login: Mon 21 May 2012 01:17:01 PM PDT
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