Hope Johnson

entrepreneurship
editing
law and ethics
leadership
news gathering
news literacy
photojournalism
web

Entrepreneurship

Our multiple-publication journalism program was completely self-funded. Our district did not provide us with any funding, therefore, entrepreneurship was a huge part of our program. In order to produce the newspaper and yearbook, each staff member is given ads to sell to local businesses. Each year, we take two days (parent-teacher conference days) when school is not in session and go ad selling. My freshman year, our instructor carefully taught us how to approach the business owner, ask him to buy an ad, and how to fill out the contract. We dressed in business-casual attire, drove all over town in groups, and sold $10,000 worth of ads each year. The first year of ad selling, I was terrified. I couldn't believe I had to approach people and ask for money. Now, however, I love ad selling. Most of the business owners in my small town recognize me and love supporting our award-winning journalism program. This year, I got to help teach little freshman how to shake hands and ad sell.

Editing

Editing is a HUGE deal to our program. We make multiple drafts of stories during the week. Then, on Sundays from 8:30a.m. - 4:30p.m., we sit in the school reading and rereading the pages of our newspaper before sending it to print. We run spell check more times than I can count and double check grammar multiple times. Editing in the yearbook is just as important.For me, a mistake in the yearbook would have been disastrous. I printed out copies and copies of the spreads and sat at home with a list of every student's name, flipping through every spread and rechecking names. I highlighted correct names in a certain color and wrong names in another. The yearbook was distributed four months ago, and we haven't heard of a name misspelling yet!

Example of one of my stories before and after editing

Tweet: by @spaz66 “@justinbeiber: If you are serious about changing, then do it! Stop pretending. Your behavior in Mexico was very inappropriate.”

After Justin Bieber made headlines once again for an act of misconducts, his loyal fans feel yet another stab of disappointment. On January 8, Bieber and his friends visited the Mayan archeological site of Tulum. Officials asked Bieber to leave after he climbed atop one of the ancient structures, and now our parents have one other reason to complain about Bieber and his influence. I, a Justin Bieber fan myself, was shocked to hear of the recent misbehavior.

We all witnessed his terribly disrespectful of the last few years. Every week, Justin Bieber made the headlines for something, whether it was accepting an award from the prime minister of Canada in a flat bill, t-shirt and striped overalls, cursing at and even attacking press, or writing controversial messages in the visitor book at the historical Anne Frank House. He ran into trouble with authorities on multiple occasions and received a DUI. New outlets made timelines of his “downward spiral.” He lost respect and even some fans.

However, a few months ago, his fans watched a touching interview where he talked about how God had changed his life. On Ellen, he acknowledged his mistakes and apologized profusely to his fan and those who looked up to him.

“The things that I've done really don't really define who I am,” he said last March. “I am a kind-hearted person who loves people, and through it all I lost some of my best qualities. For that, I'm sorry.”

I felt I had witnessed a recent “rebirth” of Justin, so to speak. I felt hopeful when he apologized for the mistakes of his teen years. His latest album showed proof of maturity and propelled his stardom sky-high. I honestly thought the Biebs had grown up, but his actions on Saturday have proved me wrong.

I am lost when trying to determine what motivates Bieber to engage in these childish activities. Oftentimes, it seems he seeks attention, which confuses me greatly. His music dominates the charts worldwide, his tours attract millions of fans, and his every move seems to be reported on TMZ. More attention is something Bieber doesn’t need.

While his examples influence many and his reach is still widespread, I can only hope Bieber devotes the rest of his time in the spotlight to keeping out of trouble, setting an example and making his fans proud.

After

When Justin Bieber once again made headlines recently for an act of misconduct, his loyal fans felt yet another stab of disappointment. On Jan. 8, Bieber and his friends visited the Mayan archeological site of Tulum in Mexico. Officials asked Bieber to leave after he climbed atop one of the ancient structures, and now our parents have one other reason to complain about Bieber and his influence. I, a Justin Bieber fan myself, was shocked to hear of the recent misbehavior.

We all witnessed his terribly disrespectful demeanor of the last few years. Every week, Bieber made the headlines for something, whether it was accepting an award from the prime minister of Canada in a flat bill, T-shirt and striped overalls, cursing at and even attacking members of the press, or writing controversial messages in the visitor book at the historical Anne Frank House. He ran into trouble with authorities on multiple occasions and received a DUI. News outlets made timelines of his “downward spiral.” He lost respect and even some fans.

However, a few months ago, his fans watched a touching interview where he talked about how God had changed his life. On “Ellen,” he acknowledged his mistakes and apologized profusely to his fans and those who look up to him.

“The things that I've done don't really define who I am,” he said last March. “I am a kindhearted person who loves people, and through it all I lost some of my best qualities. For that, I'm sorry.”

Law & Ethics

Over the years of writing articles, I've had to deal with a few articles involving touchy subjects. One recently involved a student who, after his dad was arrested for drug charges, started a group for high-school students with incarcerated parents. When I was assigned the story, my instructor/advisor cautioned me and told me to get permission from both the student's mother and younger sister before writing the story since the article would be distributed to the whole town. I stressed over what to say to the mother and how to word my email. I was scared for her response. Finally, I found the courage to message her. Her response brought me to tears. I was so relieved, and the article turned out to be a wonderful story.

Article Published in the Zephyr Newspaper (Jan. 2016)

The majority of people tend to lose patience, faith, and strength during a rough time; the task of remaining positive and finding the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel oftentimes seems impossible. The Domonousky family, however, differs from the norm. Senior Lucas Domonousky and sophomore Chayce Domonousky are living examples of how to make the best of a challenging situation by using their own challenging experience, their father’s incarceration, to benefit others.

“Jason and I have taught the kids that with every tragedy there can be a positive outcome,” said Erin Domonousky, Lucas and Chayce’s mother, “and this situation is no different. Jason got lost in a world that almost destroyed him, but he will overcome it and be a better man for it. ”

After Jason, Lucas and Chayce’s father, was arrested, the siblings decided to start a weekly group for students with incarcerated parents.

“My mom and Mrs. Wagoner had the idea,” said Lucas, recalling how the idea was set into motion. “They asked me if I wanted to help start it, so I said yes because I love helping people.”

At the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, Lucas launched his plan. On average, about six to eight students attend the meetings, held in the main office conference room on Thursdays during advisory.

“At first, I was nervous because I wasn’t sure how people would react to knowing that my dad was the reason for Lucas starting the group,” said Chayce. “After the first meeting, I realized just how lucky we were. There are a lot of kids that will benefit from this group because they now know they aren’t alone.”

Students gather to converse, tell stories, and draw comfort from one another. Lucas and Chayce share a common goal - to let the other members of the group know they are not alone.

“The group is so much help with talking about your feelings and knowing that you’re not the only one with a parent suffering from an addiction,” Chayce said. “My mom, Lucas and I talked about a way to find something positive from what was happening with our family and thought this would help us just as much as others, and it has!”

According to Erin, she’s delighted to see her children exemplifying the lessons she has attempted to teach them.

“I'm so proud of both of them,” Erin said. “You can only play victim for so long before you have to get back up and decide you're going to make the best of what you've been handed. That lesson is one that Jason and I both believe in, and it’s how we wanted to raise our kids. So, even though Jason hit a very rough road, he still helped create a positive influence that is being passed on through Lucas and Chayce. And that's how I know he will be okay, too.”

Jason recently finished his second week of rehab, and will be returning home around Feb. 8.

“I wish I could go back in time and spare the kids the pain of having a parent with addiction,” said Jason. “With the help and support of my wonderful family, my treatment and recovery will be successful. I'm so proud of Lucas and Chayce, but I'm not surprised. We may bend, but we don't break. it's just what we do.”

Leadership & Team Building

Our journalism staff is very close. There are only 17 of us, so becoming like family was easy and natural. We are a wonderful team and also great friends, which makes the stressful environment of journalism less serious and a bit more lighthearted. We go to dinners together and have "jlism" pool parties. As editor-in-chief of the yearbook my junior year, I was not as organized as I had hoped. My senior year, however, things ran smoothly and efficiently. I learned to manage the staff by simply showing them respect. I knew if they respected me and enjoyed their time in journalism, they would be more likely to produce professional-looking yearbook spreads. Once they turned their spreads in, I often pointed out things that could be better and showed them how to fix them. When teaching people things, I would project my computer screen onto a nearby wall and teach them step-by-step. I tried my hardest to exercise patience and understanding while also being a good motivator and practicing discipline. Without any co-editors or section editors, I was in charge of making any final changes to spreads and proofing OVER and OVER again, which was the hardest part. I went my whole junior year without even an assistant editor. Extra sets of eyes definitely would have helped, but I managed and overcame any difficulties.

Over the years, the number of parents to attend parent-teacher conferences has been steadily dropping. The decline has been occurring not only at THS; administrators at surrounding schools have noticed the same statistics.

This year, out of 825 students, only 19 percent of THS parents or guardians attended conferences for their childen. When asked about why the number had decreased, administrators from area schools shared the same response.

“I think the reason that number is so low is because grades are online now,” said Taylorville High School principal Bob Richardson. “Some parents have already checked their kids’ grades plenty of times this semester.”

Similarly, at Sacred Heart Griffin [Springfield, IL], administrators reported that of the 840 students, 27 percent of freshman parents, 37 percent of sophomore parents, 30 percent of junior parents and 17 percent of senior parents came to meet with their students’ teachers, showing a significant difference in other grades’ attendance compared to seniors.

“The seniors are the oldest level and are much more aware of their approaching graduation,” said THS English teacher Janet Kensil on why senior parent attendance falls below all other grades. “Most of them [seniors] realize what must be done and are already on it.”

At St. Theresa [Decatur], math instructor Vickie Marshall teaches 76 students, and only six sets of parents came to meet with her. Marshall explained that she believes parents fail to attend for several reasons - the access to grades online, their busy schedules, and possible pressure from the students not to attend if they are already doing well in school.

Additionally, Marshall agrees that oftentimes, parents who attend the meetings have the children who are excelling and do not necessarily need to attend.

“I’ve studied how, if kids see their parents are involved in their school and show how important school is, the kids do well,” said Marshall, who has frequently worked with statistics and taught at Mt. Zion high school for 30 years before her move to St. Theresa. “If the kids see the parents care, they want to meet expectations and do well.”

According to Marshall, these parents usually are the ones to attend conferences, making such meetings a time for parents simply to get acquainted with teachers rather than to discuss issues.

Regardless, administrators agree that the number of parents to attend parent-teacher conferences will continue to drop as long as their students’ grades are made available at the click of the button.

News Literacy

I feel I am very aware of current events and the world around me because of several different things. 1) I enjoy the news. I enjoy reading articles from a journalistic standpoint, critiquing and finding ideas for my own work.

2) Our journalism instructor gives very frequent surprise current events tests. If you want to pass the test, you not only have to keep up-to-date on national and world news, but you also have to read the local newspaper. This proves fairly difficult for me because I live in the country and do not receive the town newspaper, so I have to pick them up from my aunt's house every day to read them. The lowest score I've gotten this year is a 22 out of 24. I usually score very well.

3) My column, reading between the tweets, often focuses on a current controversial topic in national or world news, and then I bring the stories close to home. I first find a controversial topic I want to right about - feminism, gun control, assisted suicide for the terminally ill, flying of Confederate flags. Next, I searches for tweets from students at my high school concerning the topic. If I can't find any, I'll use one from anyone. I love taking national issues and connecting them to the school and community. Last year, Our student body was extremely upset over the administrations decision to no longer burn a football effigy of an opposing team's player before the homecoming football game. The tradition had taken place at the high school for over 70 years at the huge homecoming bonfire, but this year, administration deemed it inappropriate. I wrote about the sudden worldwide consciousness about being politically correct - everything Christmas Break being referred to as WINTER break and taking down Christmas trees in airports to pre-schoolers no longer sitting "Indian-style," but criss-cross style. I talked about how I understood the need to be sensitive of other's thoughts and feelings, but the politically correct movement was spirally out of control. Now, it was affecting a tradition at my school; one that the students loved, and the opposing teams never protested.

Here is the article: (Published in the Zephyr Newspaper 9/26/15)

Tweet from @mallorywestrick: "Burning the dummy is a tradition and has been happening for years. The fact that they aren't doing it this year is ridiculous."

This tweet by a THS student expresses the disappointment that some students are experiencing as an effect of the inability to burn a football player in effigy at this year's homecoming bonfire.

In people’s attempts to be politically correct and not offend or anger others, they are destroying important traditions and greatly altering American pastimes that have been enjoyed for many years. Simple activities that would offend very few, if any, people are being eliminated and negatively affecting millions.

Though the politically correct movement started with good intentions, people have simply taken it too far. We should be empathetic and careful not to offend others, but some things, like the removal of Christmas trees in airports, seem unnecessary.

The movement has spiraled out of control in schools, which now label Easter break as spring break and Christmas break as winter break. Children in preschools can no longer sit Indian style; it instead is referred to as "crisscross style." When many preschools throw holiday parties, no special reference can be made to a certain holiday, and the children cannot make Christmas tree crafts or drink red juice.

Instead of letting the preschoolers simply have fun with their friends, we are already brainwashing them to be politically correct. It is understandable that culture and religion should never be forced onto any student, but this does not mean schools should eliminate all aspects relating to one or the other. For high school and college students, the movement is demolishing fun activities that were never intended to be offensive or harmful.

A college in Minnesota stopped an annual event that provided comic relief for students during the stressful end of the school year. The students brought a camel to campus on Wednesday of finals week to signify "hump day" and the half-way mark of the week. The school said the camel disparaged Middle Eastern people and required the students to stop the entertaining event.

Closer to home, Chief Illiniwek, the official mascot and symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was banned after being the center of controversy for many years. Several American Indian groups believed the mascot did not represent the Indian culture and rituals accurately, but instead perpetuated stereotypes about American Indians. After being determined a hostile, abusive mascot by the National Collegiate Athletic Associate (NCAA), the chief performed for the last time on Feb. 21, 2007, ending an 80-year tradition.

Now, Taylorville High School is being affected by the politically correct movement. For the first time in over 60 years, at the homecoming bonfire, the did not burn an effigy of a football player bearing the other team’s helmet. Some people now view the tradition as disrespectful and morbid, though our parents and grandparents practiced this ritual long before we did when they attended THS. The burning of the football player was never intended to be a morbid event, just a way to pump up players and excite fans. Other schools should not take the tradition so personally. The school has fallen victim to the politically correct movement that is wiping out tradition all across America.

The three pictures below are very blurry because they have a lot of action and movement going on. However, these photos meant a lot to me, and the final product shows off a bit of photoshopping skills as well. Nick, the young man in the white shirt, died unexpectedly this January. We found these few pictures of him, and knew we had to use them in the yearbook. We panicked because in each photo, only one person is clear. The first, Nick is clear. The second, Carrlie (the girl in the black with her hands on her head) is clear. And in the last, Alexis is clear but the other two are blurry. After almost three hours of photoshopping, I managed to make a cutout of Carrlie and Alexis and insert them into the photo with Nick. I also did a TON of clone stamping to create the background that Carrlie and Alexis had covered in the first picture. The photo turned out great in the yearbook proofs and didn't look photoshopped at all. It was truly a photoshop accomplishment!