Weir Student Media staff members visited Kent State University for Ohio Scholastic Media Association fall journalism workshop on October 6. They got to choose from more then 50 sessions covering all aspects of media, learned from Kent professors and professional journalists and networked with other high school students.

It’s the second year of Weir Student Media’s Print Journalism encompasses a monthly newspaper, the yearbook, and the news website. Video Journalism includes daily announcements, senior video, contests, and projects.

            Students get to write an article each month for the newspaper. For the yearbook, students come up with a theme as a class and get assigned certain yearbook pages to create. For creating content, students interview people and film videos that are associated with WSM. Students can be on our video announcements and create the senior video by filming, interviewing, and creating skits.

Video announcements are filmed the day before students watch them. Students update the announcements script before they go to the studio. Once in the studio, an iPad is used as a teleprompter and then read from it.

After they’re filmed, they come back to the classroom. The footage is uploaded to a computer and edited in Premier. The final step is to upload the video to YouTube. This process is completed every day.

The yearbook is done throughout the whole school year. The first step is to decide on a theme. The  theme this year is Our Adventure Book. Each student comes up with a few ideas of their own, and then they are compiled into one list. The class then eliminates ideas until there are about 5 left. Lastly, they vote to decide on the final theme. The theme is incorporated into the yearbook through colors, shapes, phrases, and graphics.

After each event or sports season is over, the page is assigned to a student to be designed. This way, the yearbook is slowly being made throughout the year. After all the pages are created, the design is sent to Walsworth for them to print the copies. The yearbooks are distributed at the beginning of the next school year.

            The senior video begins like the yearbook. They vote on a theme and decide how they’re going to incorporate it in the whole video. Clips for the video are compiled throughout the year while skits are being filmed. The clips are compiled and edited as soon as they’re finished, and the video is released at the end of the school year.

            Weir Student Media gives students many different journalism opportunities. Jordyn Ferguson, WSM member, said, ““I think Weir Student Media is a great program to help learn about your community. I’m having a lot of fun meeting new people and taking photos and videos of things around the community. I would highly recommend this class for any underclassmen to join.” Underclassman can join when they sign up for their classes in the spring. Rising seniors should enroll in either Print Video, or both. Students must have at least a ‘B’ average in their English classes.

            Nick Parker also stated, “I was scared that it was going to be difficult and stressful but it turns out to be a lot of fun to work with this awesome staff.”