Eager to learn the basics of journalism, 111 high school students from California participated in Newspapers2 Journalism Camp held at the California State University Long Beach from Aug. 6-9, 2012. The camp, directed by Konnie Krislock, former president of the Southern California Journalism Education Association, offered seven sessions including one for journalism advisers.
“The first year we started, eleven years ago, we had eight students,” Krislock said. “Now we have 111. That itself is a big improvement.”
Most students in the Editors I session were beginning journalists who had little to no experience in the field of journalism. The students learned to write news stories by pairing up with advanced writers and interviewing students on campus.
“I really learned a lot from this session too,” said Ava Smith, an Editors II student and senior at San Joaquin Memorial High School said. “I taught my mentee the basics of journalism by drawing out an inverted pyramid for him. It really helped me as much as it helped him.”
More advanced students took the Editors II session to learn more about the rights of high school journalists. The classroom was often filled with laughter as Krislock detailed her experiences with Education Code 48907 and clashes with administrative staff.
“Konnie was amazing,” said Hana Brannigan, an Editors II student and senior at Woodbridge High School said. “I learned a lot about not just how to write a good story but journalism overall, especially the rights of student journalists.”
The camp started offering two additional sessions this year in Sacramento, Calif. and Woodland Hills, Calif. Students can go to www.newspapers2.com to find out more information about the camp.
