Taking part in yearbooks or scholastic journalism doesn’t always translate to a career in journalism. For Jennifer Ward, it did… at first. She had an impressive news career, with positions at the Dallas Morning News Online and the Fresno Bee. Eventually, she decided to follow her heart and opened a store dedicated to tabletop games, the Crazy Squirrel Game Store …
We’re excited to introduce Behind the Byline, a new show from the Walsworth Yearbooks Podcast Network (WYPN). Hosted by Evan Blackwell, CJE, Jenica Hallman and Sarah Scott, Behind the Byline explores the possibilities opened up by scholastic journalism. All three hosts have a background in high school and/or college publications. In each episode, they interview a guest with a scholastic …
We’ve been having a blast celebrating during National Yearbook Week and watching social media to see how various yearbook staffs have been celebrating. National Yearbook Week is another good occasion to stop and realize how important scholastic journalism is. Leland Mallett, the award-winning adviser at Walsworth Yearbooks school Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas, recently wrote an outstanding article on …
What’s the big deal about libel and school yearbooks anyway? In the history of the United States, there is no reported court decision anywhere that a high school has been held libel for content printed in its student media, according to the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va.
I was about to give up when I remembered meeting Samuel Beckett at the NSPA convention last year in Seattle. I heard Beckett say that he had actually been a journalism teacher for several years and was presenting a session at the convention on how teaching yearbook had sparked his imagination for the tragicomedy, “Waiting for Godot.” In his session, he asked us to read selected scenes from the play to see the close connection. In fact, he said, although most people think he is writing about the angst of the 20th century, many of the scenes in the play are really about his frustration as a yearbook teacher trying to improve the academics section.
High school yearbooks and newspapers provide students with real-world training and an opportunity to create and showcase their work. Despite these similarities, viewpoints on the roles for the yearbook and the newspaper are usually vastly different. However, with each passing year, the line of distinction seems to be getting blurry.
Sandy Jacoby not only found her passion in yearbooks, her commitment and exuberance has helped countless students uncover the same passion and realize their potential as leaders and communicators.
Many stories about former JEA Yearbook Advisers of the Year tell a familiar tale of non-journalism majors who stumbled into yearbook advising by accident, with no experience or preparation, and discovered a lifelong passion.
