SOCIAL MEDIA
& WEBSITE
I used to underestimate the impact social media and web design had, focusing more on my writing and editing. This semester, I've begun to realize that there's no point in good reporting if there's no audience, and have put a lot more attention into outreach. Over the past semester, I've completely revamped Anthro's social media and website, giving us a more sophisticated look. I've learned a lot about how little attention span an average reader has, which is why I'm focusing more on the short medium of social media posts, and adding block quotes and compelling graphics in the digital stories themselves.
Without diversity, journalism cannot accurately tell the story of "What's happening." Because of this, I'm constantly striving for more and more diversity in my work. Personally, I'm trying to work on including more racially diverse and socioeconomically diverse sources (see "Trouble with transit"), two demographics that I've noticed I've been underrepresenting in my stories. I'm also trying to include more medium and low-achieving students in my coverage, and more students with differing political opinions from mine (see: "Abortion debate re-sparks). I joined SCOOP, Paly's diversity in journalism club, in an attempt to learn more about how to be more diverse in my reporting. I also attend every equity-in-journalism meeting I can, and contribute to all conversations about diversity in my publication. I also have written several stories about Paly's LGBTQ+ community, a community that I feel that I've covered pretty adequately and that I belong to myself. It's often difficult to reach certain demographics, especially lower-achieving students, who I have few classes with, but I'm constantly challenging myself to do so in every story.
These four documents showcase my growth in reporting from my time in introductory journalism to now, December 2021. All four pieces are short, simple works, ranging from 200-600 words, but show drastic improvement. “Fire story,” an assignment from my Beginning Journalism class, is, frankly, painful to read. It’s choppy and transitionless, all semblance of AP-style (and style in general) is gone, and I chose quotes that could’ve so easily have been paraphrased. Not only that, but I didn’t even perform any real reporting — I simply collected previously conducted interviews. Cut to “Keeping sane with social media,” (never digitally published, which is why I linked to the Google Doc) was a bit better. It only covered one student source, which was pretty sloppy reporting for a story that was supposed to be about the student experience. I also quoted a lot of outside publications, and the story feels too short and aimless to have any real purpose or focus. However, I did clean up my style a bit, and got a fair amount of different sources — not bad for a first published article, written during the pandemic.
"ASB revises insensitive Spirit Week theme” is where I really start to see my reporting improving. I got multiple student opinions and an expert (ASB officer), the story had a clear aim, I chose quotes that couldn’t have been paraphrased, and generally built a cohesive message. The story could’ve been a bit less formulaic and choppy, but it was the first piece I’d written that I’d call “passable.”
Finally, “Teachers reflect on omicron's implications for the district,” my most recent work. It’s not my magnum opus — I spent perhaps two hours total writing it. Still, it flows. It’s short. It quotes studies and experts, but not other journalists. It has a clear structure. It follows AP style. It’s not incredible, and not the best piece I’ve ever written, but definitely showcases my improvement in short article writing.
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DESIGN (SOCIAL MEDIA & SPREAD)
I can't say design is my strongest suit, but it's indescribably enjoyable to the stories I've worked on for months begin to shine. Over my time in journalism, I've improved significantly at spread design, learning a lot more about color schemes, fonts, organization, and more. I've begun to rely less and less on templates, and more and more on my own creativity. I've also improved a lot at social media post design, going from a featured image with a border to a striking template with eye-catching colors, quotes, and multiple slides.
EDITING & LEADERSHIP
Throughout the past three years, I've been everywhere from staff writer to managing editor to EIC, back to staff writer. Though I wasn't always - and am not now - an official leader, I've tried to view myself an unofficial leader throughout all of journalism. I used to view leadership as something I did for me - something to soothe my brain and exert control. Reading the MLM honors summer reading assignment revolutionized how I thought about leadership. It's not something I do for me. It's a service to others. So I try my hardest to delegate and amplify others in my leadership, fading to the background as a guiding role rather than a diva. Below are some stories I'm proudest of editing.
I used to view journalism as words, words, and more words. My time on Anthro Magazine, and my work with my advisor, showed me that doesn't have to be what journalism is. Though I am not very trained with a camera, I have guided others on Anthro to put an emphasis on photo essays and four column photos. I've worked with some incredibly skilled photographers and put together works such as "A campus of activists," a photo essay highlighting the passionate advocates of Palo Alto High School.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
Major reflection + law, ethics, and literacy
Throughout my past two years in the Incubator, I have seen my growth in journalism reflected into my daily life, and my growth in my daily life reflected into my journalistic work. Sometimes, I look back to the end of ninth grade, registering for my sophomore year classes, torn between taking child development and beginning journalism. I made that decision because of a simple coin flip, yet I can't imagine my life if the wind had blown the penny the other way.
The biggest thing I've learned from journalism is to constantly, meticulously assess my own flaws. I entered the Incubator with the cocky attitude that I was going to be the best writer the Paly journalism program had ever seen. And, near-immediately, reality hit me. My overconfidence affected more people than just myself. I had carelessly blown through a story about a sensitive issue, and led a classmate to get harassed. I had never before had someone be furious at me as much as his parents were. After that semester was over, I vowed to think through every word of every story I wrote. I didn't magically transform into a flawless journalist then, and I'm still nowhere near that. But I made it my daily mission to hold myself accountable, question my assumptions, and examine how my actions in journalism affect others.
One of the biggest ways this has manifested is my constant grappling with the issue of reporting about transgender teenagers. I went in thinking of it as a non-issue, but as time goes on, I've realized it's one of the most complex debates in scholastic journalism. I continue to struggle with the question of how to respect and honor someone's identity and still protect their future. I hope to continue thinking about this at Medill and hear the opinions of those outside the Palo Alto bubble, and outside the USA bubble all together.
Another place I've worked to grow in is delegating tasks and focusing my efforts on leadership. A large part of me needs to have the most "air time" in the magazine in order to feel like an important contributor. However, because I took on so few stories last quarter, my Child Development story was one of my proudest works. Not only that, but not taking on as many text stories allows me to improve my weak areas, such as design and photography. I'm very proud of the physical appearance of my spreads this past issue. Most critically, it's allowed me to finish my stories early in the production cycle and focus my efforts on leadership. I've grown a lot in not just viewing being EIC as editing stories, but as guiding an entire publication. My mind naturally tends to individualism - participating in team sports was always so difficult for me because I only focused on improving myself, rather than improving my team's performance. Being EIC has forced me to be responsible for every story, and for the publication culture. I've stopped trying to bring out the best in my stories, specifically, and started trying to bring out the best in everybody.
My favorite part of journalism is, has always been, and always will be, expanding my worldview to those with completely different experiences from me. That's inherently difficult in scholastic journalism, but I've still worked tirelessly towards that goal. Talking to struggling farmers for my "Giving Fruits" story, and to Ingrid Campos, a staunchly conservative school board candidate for my "Addressing Bias Early" story, helped me expand my worldview in small ways. I've really enjoyed connecting with my interview subjects - interviewing is unequivocally my favorite component of journalism. If I could only take one experience from Paly to Medill, it would be my view of journalism as a series of human conversations.