The acclaimed 19th-century Chicago Tribune Publisher Joseph Medill lived by the moniker of “Write boldly and tell the truth fiercely.”
On Friday, October 10th, the Oak Lawn Community High School Journalism Program visited the Joseph Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, for High School Journalism Day. At the event, they were taught the importance of courage in journalism while emphasizing the need to get the story right.
The event started with Keynote Speaker Jim DeRogatis, Northwestern Professor, Music Critic, and Investigative Reporter, who encouraged students to find interesting stories all around them. He discussed how he once turned a story idea about a group of Italian grandmothers chosen to cook dinner for President Reagan and Frank Sinatra into an article that brought him a lot of attention as a young journalist. He mentioned how you have to pursue interesting stories in the neighborhood and the importance of the accuracy of investigative reports. After the keynote, the students attended breakout sessions to learn more about journalism.
The students attended a series of workshops that covered various aspects of journalism, from writing and photography to broadcasting and legal issues. These workshops served as guides on how to produce high-quality journalistic work.
Head Coach of the Oak Lawn Journalism team, Patrick DiFilippo, commented on this opportunity. “I received the invitation during the summer. I immediately started filling out the paperwork because I wanted to bring our student journalism to one of the elite Journalism schools in higher education. Additionally, Medill now houses the Illinois Journalism Education Association (IJEA), making it the center of high school journalism as well.
Northwestern’s Director of Sports Journalism and ESPN panelist on Around the Horn, J.A. Adande, led a session titled “How to Win at Sports.”
Senior Eli Kulpinski, who attended the Sports Writing workshop, said, “I think that the journalism trip was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the topic. I don’t plan to major in journalism; however, it piqued my interest in maybe pursuing it as a hobby.”
Another household name in Journalism was Northwestern’s Assistant Professor and ESPN's writer Melissa Isaacson, who ran a session titled “Everyone Has a Story.”
Andrea Guzman attended the session and commented, “Melissa Isaacson is very down to earth. Getting to hear about her personal experience was very moving and interesting.”
The other workshops included “Becoming Your Favorite News Anchor” with Ava Greenwell, “Let’s call it Audio Reporting” with Natalie Moore, “Excel-lent Stories Start Here” with Jill Blackman, “Narrative Structure: How to Build a Better Story” with Patti Wolter, “Solutions Journalism” with Jessica Villagomez, “Interview Techniques” with Karen Springen, and “What You Need to Know About Media Law” with Ben Holden.
The event at the Medill School of Journalism was the beginning of the season for the Oak Lawn Journalism Team. The team is now equipped with new knowledge and skills, ready to apply them in the upcoming Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Journalism Competition. This competition, which spans 18 journalistic endeavors, will be a testament to the team's growth and the event's lasting impact.
DiFilippo said, “We have talented students in our team. Attending these events today will help prepare our students for the IHSA Sectional and State tournament in April. Students will be working on these skills throughout the year to master our craft. We will be putting our work on https://olchsjournalismteam.blogspot.com/ if you want to follow our progress.”