LCHS journalism class 
publishes in cyberspace

[MAY 10, 2000]  When the Lincoln Daily News published its first edition at the end of January, some people thought it was the first online newspaper in the area.  But that honor goes to the Railer Review, the online newspaper of Lincoln Community High School’s journalism class, which beat LDN into cyberspace by 14 months.

It all started before the 1998-99 school year began, when English teacher Rita Vaught saw an ad in a professional publication for a service that would allow high school students to publish an online paper.  The service, called Highwired.net, is offered free.  Vaught has always been interested in computers, so she decided to try it.

Lincoln High offers a year-long journalism class as an English elective whenever there is enough student interest, and the interest was there in the fall of 1998.

“The first part of the year we spent learning how to do it.  Our first edition went up in November.  That year was a little rocky, but this year is much easier,” Vaught said.  “This year, after a few weeks, I could say, ‘Here is your deadline,’ and they would go to the computers and get to work.”

Lincoln High is part of a fast-growing movement.  In 1998 there were only a couple of hundred schools that had online newspapers.  “Last year it was something unique.  Now there are thousands,” Vaught said.

 


[Students in the journalism class at Lincoln Community
High School post copies of articles and editorials from
the Railer Review on their classroom bulletin board. Shown here are Trenaty Gonzales, Molly Donnelly,
Becky Mammen and Amanda Snyder.]

 

She sees a lot of positives about the Highwired.net program, which she describes as student-friendly.  It provides a format for students to use when submitting articles and the layout is done automatically.  “We decide what will go on the front page and what our section lead stories will be.  We have unlimited space for articles, but there are parameters for the size of pictures and clip art,” she explained.

 

 

The students not only learn news writing, they learn a lot of technology.  “They have a high comfort level with technology and absorb it quickly,” Vaught says.  “They can work at home or on any computer in the school.” 

The Railer Review, like LDN, is read by people all over the country.  Relatives of students read the Review to see what their Lincoln grandsons or granddaughters have written.  Alumni members have found the Review and sent e-mail, and students not in the journalism classes have occasionally submitted articles.

Journalism students themselves often read other school newspapers to find out what is going on far from home.  For example, Vaught says, they learned that students in Alaska were raising funds to continue the search for another student who had been lost in a whiteout, a blinding snowstorm.

A well-written story of universal interest can be submitted for use in the Highwired.net’s national edition.  Last year an article by student Chelsie Slack, about a model whose father died of lung cancer, appeared in the national online paper.

Eleven students are in the 1999-2000 journalism class, all seniors except one.  They use a basic journalism text and have story assignments and deadlines.  They spend half their time in class, the other half in the computer room.  Articles are assigned about classes, about the school as a whole and about the community. 

The students write their stories and file a draft.  Then they proofread it and add graphics.  Vaught reads each article and decides if it is ready to run or needs revision.  “In two years I’ve only had two articles that I considered unacceptable because of content or inappropriate language,” she said.

 

(To top of second column)

This year’s students are a diverse group, but they work well together, Vaught says.  Mike Williams knows he wants to be a writer, probably a sportswriter, and is going to Illinois State University to major in mass communication.  Trenaty Gonzales, on the other hand, would like to skip the writing assignments, but is so good with graphics and layout she helps other teachers and staff members put out flyers and newsletters.

 

 

Joseph Rosenthal likes sports writing but isn’t sure he would want it as a career.  Becky Mammen is interested in advertising and mass communication.  Ashley Brinner likes photography.

Molly Donnelly has come up against the dilemma facing every reporter.  “I want to be the person out there asking the questions, but I don’t like deadlines.”

The students’ many interests have resulted in a variety of articles, including sports, makeup and prom dresses, school security, depression, a boy who had a heart transplant, the state testing, the baby-think-it-over program, and even the controversy over tearing down Lincoln’s Central School.

One memorable lesson in journalism came through a computer program on the ethics of the profession, “Decisions, Decisions.”  The class played the role of an ad director who had to decide how to deal with a television program high in violent content but geared for 12- to 13-year-olds.  They had to consider the legal aspects, the possibility that their advertisers wouldn’t stay with them and the question of rewriting the show.

They finally made the decision to keep the show as it was but change it from a 7 p.m. to a 9 p.m. time slot.  When they entered the decision into the program, the computer told them they had lost their target audience and gave them the consequences.

 

 

“We got fired,” Amanda Snyder said.

Although the Railer Review is running smoothly this year, getting between 150 and 200 hits a day, Vaught has plans to widen its coverage.  “We can never know everything that goes on in this school.   What we need to do now is encourage departments and clubs to submit articles to us or just give us information and let us write it up.”

The Railer Review can be reached at www.highwired.net/LincolnComm/railer or from the Lincoln High home page, www2.ccaonline.com/LCHS/.     

 

 

Back to top

 


 

Top Stories | Sports Talk | Weather

A Day in the Life | Milestones | Obituaries | Diaspora

Business & Ag | Organizations & Events | Good Neighbors | Honors & Awards | Ombudsman | Law & Courts

Crosswords | Hearsay & Hairspray |

The Arts | Family Life | Spiritual Life | Health & Fitness | Teaching & Learning | Book Look | Movies & Videos

the em space | Where They Stand | How We Stack Up | By the Numbers

Letters to Editor | About LDN | Corrections | Happy Ads | Classified Ads