Five people adding hours of songs to the playlist.
Four winning photos from the on-site contest.
Three stops at three different Buc-cee’s
Two Best of Show awards for the yearbook and newspaper.
One great weekend at TAJE learning about scholastic journalism.
Four members of Wildkat Media joined journalism adviser Emily Meachen at the Texas Association of Journalism Educators Fall Fiesta on Oct. 12-14. The conference attended by the top journalism programs in the state was held at the Henry B. González Convention Center on the River Walk in San Antonio.
Attendees learned a lot about how to be better at all aspects of journalism. Classes were held on leadership, design, writing and photography.
“I learned as a leader I need to work with people more,” senior Ella McDonald said. “They need to learn the right way, and me doing it for them won’t help them improve.”
Sometimes the lessons learned seem simple, but can have a big impact on the quality of the product.
“With photography, I learned that I should get I on the action more,” junior Ashley Briones said. “I need to get up close when taking pics.”
Each year David Knight, a college professor at University of South Carolina at Lancaster, is a popular speaker known for his humor, his high energy and for the lessons he teaches about writing.
“I learned to improve my writing I need to make my leads long and more interesting,” junior Brooke Owsley said. “David Knight was a little bit scary when he grabbed me by the arm and sat me like a wedding, but I learned a lot from him.”
Photography is more than just taking pictures. It is about telling the story too. Several of the workshops attended gave insight and tips and tricks to make photography better for publications.
“I learned more about the different types of photography,” junior Victoria Medina said. “I also learned how to make a photo actually have an impact and story.”
On Monday, the last day of the conference, the student journalists attended a awards ceremony with guest speaker Cathy Kuhlmeier. Kuhlmeier was in the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court landmark case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. She spoke about her high school newspaper experience and how censorship by her principal made her a common name in the journalism community.
“I have always taught and studied the Hazelwood case, but I did not even recognize Cathy Kuhlmeier when she rode in the elevator with us on Sunday morning,” Meachen said. “I enjoyed hearing how just one girl who stood up for what she believed in literally made history.”
After Kuhlmeier’s speech, it was time for awards. McDonald won one and and Medina won three awards for their on-site photography. The 2024 Wildkat yearbook and The Voice of the Wildkats online newspaper both won best of show awards.
“It personality felt amazing to hear our name called,” Briones said. “It was good to know all our hard work that we did last year was worth it.”
