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Eighty high school students have a better idea of what a life in media and journalism may be like after participating in the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism’s 2024 High School Journalism Workshop, held on the Athens campus from July 7-11.
“For high schoolers with some idea that a life in journalism and media is something they are interested in, the workshop is a place where they can explore what it might be like to take that path fully,” said Workshop Co-Director Mark Turner. “They are exposed to university professors and professionals who share their years of experience in doing ethical, informative and engaging journalism. It helps to set the foundation of tomorrow’s journalists and media professionals.”
The students, who stayed in campus residence halls during the workshop, could choose from eight different media tracks to explore during the workshop. The tracks were news reporting and writing; broadcast; magazine; public relations and media relations; visual storytelling; sports writing; publication design; and podcasting. Melanie Qin, a rising senior from Westerville, Ohio, chose the news track, but the workshop opened her eyes to many different facets of journalism and media.
“I didn't know there were so many sides to journalism,” said Qin. “It was really neat to learn about. Meeting new people and getting to experience college dorm life was also a great experience!”
In addition to the sessions related to their specific track, workshop participants also took part in a mock news conference with Athens Mayor Steve Patterson where they got to ask Patterson questions. Several sessions with professors and Ohio University alumni, who are now media professionals, were held throughout the week and covered topics like investigative journalism, diversity of voices in media, data journalism, and media law and ethics.
“Of the 12 track instructors, eight of them are alumni, all of whom are working or retired from careers in journalism and media,” said Turner. “All but one of those alumni have been coming back for a number of years.”
But it wasn’t all journalism all the time. The workshop participants also had fun outside the classroom by attending activities together on campus, including a Southern Ohio Copperheads baseball game and a movie at the Athena Cinema.
“The most valuable thing I learned was collaboration,” said Naomi Davis, a rising junior from Gahanna, Ohio. “Firstly, I learned to collaborate just with my track and making sure that all of our individual ideas fit together. But also having a roommate and suitemates, that helped me with collaborating outside of a work environment, which wasn’t hard since my roommates were the best!”
Turner says that the last day of the workshop is always his favorite because he knows the participants are leaving campus with a deeper understanding of a field and career they may want to pursue in the future.
“We get to see the culmination of a lot of work from the high school students,” said Turner. “And we also get to see a little sadness at the realization that the workshop is over. They seem to realize what an adventure it was to learn and hone their skills and discover a new environment and new people.”