High school journalists refine their skills at convention

Sidney Gonzalez

Chronicle Reporter

The National High School Journalism Convention was recently held to further the skills of young journalists and yearbook contributors.

It was held April 25-29 at the Hilton of Anaheim, California. It consisted of workshops along with speakers where students and their advisers alike could attend and take notes. Some topics included the representation of the LGBTQ+ community, photojournalism, jump-starting creativity, leadership, and how to write good first drafts. Schools came from around the country, some from here in California and even Hawaii. There was around 3,500 attendants for the event.

Overall, for me the experience was overall a good one because of all the interesting options. One particular workshop that stood out was one centered around getting better interviews. As a reporter, interviews are so important because they further occurrences. They had us all practice different handshakes and also gave tips to improve questions. The 30-10-3 process is very useful in this. In this, prepare 30 questions, plan on asking only 10, and shoot for three solid questions.

There was also a lot of emphasis on the telling the stories of individuals. Focusing in on the community and the lives of community members allows newspapers and readers to connect on a more personal level and readers to be interested.

To anyone who is interested in writing and passionate in getting the truth out, I recommend joining Journalism next year.  It can help you improve your writing while giving a voice to your passions in our school community.

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