Best of
Both Worlds
A WEBSITE FOR BREAKING NEWS, A PRINT MAGAZINE FOR IN-DEPTH STORIES
By Jill Ocone, CJE
S
ince I took over the reins
of the journalism program
at Manchester Township
High School in 2007,
our student journalists have
historically produced both Déjà
vu, our 224-page yearbook, and
at least three printed issues of
our newspaper, The Talon, each
year. We lacked the capacity to go
online for a variety of reasons. My
students were already saddled
with an immense workload filled
with responsibilities for both
publications. Add to the equation
a gamut of technological barriers,
and going online was just not an
option.
However, last year, our school
switched to a semester block
schedule that upended our
program. Both district and school
administration worked with me
and my student journalists to iron
out the kinks. Together, we’ve
rebuilt the journalism program
to incorporate real-world, hands-
on skills into the curriculum and
the classroom on a year-long,
every-other-day schedule. The
arrival of a new digital platform
presented itself at the right time,
and the result has created growth
in the classroom as my students
are finally able to develop 21st
century journalistic skill sets.
As the possibility of going digital
became a reality, our student
editorial staff decided the time
had come to examine how the