Most people don’t realize that, behind the high-life of being an editor, is a necessary tolerance to be apart of a dysfunctional family that doesn’t always meet your deadlines, teaches you to deal with others and teaches you to deal with yourself.
With a staff of only 10 people this year, being an editor has definitely meant tolerance and improvisation.
“I felt that we, even as a small staff, were able to do really well,” said Photography Editor Brayan Cecenas. “We had to expand on our abilities and our patience.”
Along with us, the newspaper has evolved and will continue to do so.
This year, we have succeeded in being taken more seriously as a publication. We matured our layout, polished our writing-style and went out with confidence. As a result, a recent newspaper critique assured us mostly positive reviews and an example-setting newspaper.
In April, our staff participated in a regional write-off hosted by the Southern California Journalism Education Association at California State University Long Beach. That evening, we returned with four awards; Editor-in-Chief Ellie Batchiyska won 10th place in news-writing, Features Editor Rosie Somoundjian won 13th place in Features Writing, Yearbook Editors won seventh place in Yearbook Copy and Yearbook Design.
In addition, we have met our goals of creating a more visually appealing look. We have used more photos and graphics, changed our masthead and begun focusing more on our students here at the school- incorporating them in our pictures and centering our stories on their successes. Also, our content coverage has been commended more than ever, as we focused on making every section appealing to the variety of students who attend the school and stressed the importance of well-developed writing and grammar to our staff writers.
But, most importantly, we are working together so that we can flow from one issue to the next. The brainstorming process has become more efficient, with everyone participating and offering to close in on the news.
Nonetheless, we have to admit, this year has been a remarkable miracle. From the “Addiction Incorporated” screening to the panel of journalists who spoke in honor of Daniel Pearl, the events at school have been in our favor, offering us superb front-page ideas.
Hopefully, the recognition we are receiving from these stories brings only more events that we can exclusively access and one day share with the world.
We have modernized our look, our content outflow, everything. Not only that, but we have progressed into becoming more active on all of our social media outlets. Now, we are just hoping that our recruitment attempts will gather a strong, dedicated staff that will be willing to explore all fields of the class for the future of the paper.
By gradually becoming more media-oriented, we’re on our way to being increasingly recognized nationally. We are ready to impress at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco next year and sweep in a number of awards.
Beginning in the fall semester, we are planning launch a new website where amusing, exclusive content will be featured. It will be an interactive experience and a way for teachers, students, families and alumni to reconnect with the school and the community.
In addition to this, we plan on using the $15,000 donation to kickstart a broadcasting program so we can fully immerse ourselves into the meaning of a true “Journalism magnet.” It will encourage all members of the staff to become more involved and also, it will broaden our digital media horizons.
Perhaps it hasn’t always been smooth sailing this year, but we have struggled long and hard during late days to get our newspaper to the printer on time. Sometimes, this meant anger or frustration, but other times it meant bonding over pizza and having unforgettable, hilarious moments.
“I feel that it’s a close knit family where anyone can feel at home in the world,” said Entertainment Editor Patrick Avognon. “I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know my staff and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store.”
So, as the year comes to a close and we say goodbye to Senior editors and welcome brand new ones, we admit that any stress has been worthwhile and that we are probably the only ones in the school who dramatically fret over bad grammar. We acknowledge that our adviser Adriana Chavira has had a lot of mentoring to do and that we will abide by our mission next year, to express the ideas and thoughts of the student body and listen to all their comments and complaints.
“I’m proud of all our accomplishments this year as a staff and as a newspaper,” said Features Editor Rosie Somoundjian. “I look forward to seeing where the paper will go next year.”