Callahan and the future of journalism

Everyone needs a spark from time to time. I think I got that today with Chris Callahan's talk about the Cronkite School and its future.  I know it's a dean's job to be excited about what he does and the future of his school, but I got more than that.

I've fallen into a bit of a rut myself in that I feel like we do the website, the newsmagazine, and the yearbook.  Listening to Callahan talk about individual projects and not the means of delivery made me reconsider how what we will cover and how we will cover it. It will be a departure from thinking about where we will cover it. 

What I am envisioning is a seamless workroom. Rather than yearbook and journalism doing its thing, I'm picturing package meeting with editors and reporters from both sides. I mean, we are all covering boys basketball.  We always have been.  May as well get on the same page. Then we can start to talk about angles and interesting coverage. 

Illustration by Tiffany Goodin

I may be crazy, but I really think this will lead to better stories. I'm honestly tired of hearing the fight over pictures. Come on guys, if you stand in the same place, you are likely to get similar pictures. And, no, just because the magazine goes to print first does not mean that you always get dibs.

The logistics are a bit to picture, although we already use Trello, just at different projects. Instead, I suppose we will start to combine projects. It's a lot to get my head around right now. But it will work. It has to work.

After all, no one wants to read how the quarterback and his favorite pass catcher have a great relationship three times in a school year.

Larry Steinmetz
Bullitt East High School
Mount Washington, KY