Midland Journalism Day offers a hands-on opportunity

By Brett Ellis
Fremont Tribune

High school journalism students got the chance to cover some topics they don’t normally deal with Thursday at Midland Lutheran College.

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There was a murder scene, a student protest and a buried body, among other things.

All of the events were staged for the students as part of the college’s annual Journalism Day.

Students from Omaha, Bellevue and Council Bluffs, Iowa, attended the event. Area schools represented were Douglas County West and Yutan.

While past Journalism Days have featured lectures and presentations, MLC journalism professor Jonathan Ash said he wanted the high school students to have a hands-on experience.

“Instead of hearing someone explain how you cover a press conference, have a press conference,” Ash said.

Claire Burns, a student at Omaha Duchesne Academy, enjoyed Thursday’s format.

“I really like how it’s interactive and how we can do a lot of different things,” Burns said. “We’re actually designing something and not just listening to people talk.”

The students met as a group before being divided into teams and going out to cover the different stories, which also included a mock press conference and a sports story about rival table tennis players.

“From what I saw they were pretty realistic stories,” Yutan journalism advisor Rod Henkel said. “These could be things you see at a news desk.”

After doing interviews and taking photographs, the students met in their small groups to plan a front page.

“I didn’t know how everything was going to work out because I didn’t know if people were going to try to push their stories more than others,” said Burns. “It seemed like everyone was willing to collaborate.”

The students then had to design a front page and submit it for judging.

Ash said he wanted the students to have to mix with people from other schools and backgrounds.

“Not only does it let them make new friends, but it throws them into that situation of, I don’t really know this person and I’ve got to rely on him or her to take this photo or write this story or lay this out,” Ash said.

Published in the Fremont Tribune on Sept. 25, 2009:
http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2009/09/25/news/local/doc4abcd2f7a509a239225060.txt