Upfront Texas Association of Journalism Educators

December 2008

JEA on the way with NSPA

TAJE
P.O. Box 5554
Austin, TX
78763-5554
taje.org National convention to be held in San Antonio in 2012
Lori Herbst Susan Duncan tional convention out
President Pine Tree High School of state, so bringing
972-539-1591, ext. 141
HerbstL@lisd.net
TAJE State Director Upcoming the national conven-
JEA/NSPA Conventions tion to us in 2012 made
Sheryl Floyd Everything is bigger sense.
President-Elect
512-594-0500 and better in Texas. At 2009 “All you have to
sherylflo@aol.com least that is what the Fall Washington, D.C. (Nov. 12-15) do is read the evalua-
Journalism Education Spring Phoenix (April 16-19) tions from any JEA/
Lisa Van Etta Association and the NSPA convention to
Secretary
281-856-1071 National Scholastic 2010 know the positive ef-
Lisa.VanEtta@cfisd.com Press Association hope Spring Portland (April 15-18) fect the experience has
since they have select- Fall Kansas City (Nov. 11-14) on student journal-
Cindy Berry ed San Antonio as the ists and their staffs,”
Treasurer
940-627-6495 location for the 2012 2011 JEA executive director
cindy.berry@ fall convention. Spring TBA Linda Puntney said.
decatur.esc11.net “We’re really ex- Fall Minneapolis (Nov. 18-21) “Testimonials from ad-
cited to come to San visers cite the student
Susan Duncan
State Director Antonio,” Logan Ai- 2012 networking, bonding
903-295-5031, mone, NSPA director Spring TBA within the staff and the
ext. 265 said. “We planned this Fall San Antonio (Nov. 15-18) amazing instructional
sduncan@ptisd.org far out because the city sessions as reasons to
Pat Gathright is such a popular desti- make the conventions
Convention Director nation, and we wanted a must-attend event
210-325-7793 to lock in good rates for our attendees.” with students. In St. Louis more than 1,000
pgathright@ Finding a city for the convention is not an students participated in Swap Shop which puts
yahoo.com
easy task because the attendance at national students of like staffs but from different schools
Brenda Slatton conventions has grown so large, from 1,830 together to exchange publications and talk about
Assistant convention goers in 1990 to 5,031 in St. Louis in issues facing their staffs. It was so rewarding to
Convention Director November 2008. Finding a city with enough hotel walk through the room and hear the constructive
210-442-0300, ext. 350
jefnbreslat@msn.com and conference space can be a problem. The last conversations that were taking place.”
convention held in Texas drew 5,278 people to San Antonio will be a great location, as Texas
Sue Jett Dallas in 2002. That puts Dallas in the top three advisers know from attending the TAJE conven-
Assistant in convention attendance. tions held there each fall. The Riverwalk makes
Convention Director
210-442-0800, ext. 262 Attending a national convention can have a San Antonio a unique city that we can share with
suecjett@yahoo.com great impact on student journalists. The TAJE those from other states.
board discussed that many Texas journalism “San Antonio is a great venue for the National
Peggy Miller students might not ever get to travel to a na- Continued on page 7
Past President
281-498-8110,
ext. 2460
Peggy.Miller@
aliefisd.net

Rhonda Moore
Executive Director
Inside
512-414-7539
moore.rhonda@att.net
Turn to page 3 for Fall Fiesta convention results
2 Texas Association of Journalism Educators December 2008

Be selfish - run for TAJE office

Numerous benefits await those elected to executive board
It’s that time again—time for TAJE in any special way except my willing- • I have learned so much. More than I
to get together a fresh new slate of ness to serve. I still don’t know as much could have dreamt, in fact. Being a board
nominees for upcoming officer elections. as those great journalism teachers whom member has given me access to some of
If you have been a member of TAJE I still idolize. But I will say I know a lot the best minds in the field, those who
for even a few years, you have prob- more now than I would have without produce the best publications in the state
ably heard the spiel being a member of and in the nation. When I am holed up
about why you should From the President the board. And it has in my little neck of the woods, I don’t get
consider running for been tremendous that kind of access, and I don’t grow as
office, so I’m not going fun, without costing a teacher nearly as much as I do when I
Lori Herbst
to preach, beg or nag. Flower Mound Marcus High School
me an excess of time allow myself to pick the brains of those
What I am going to do TAJE President or stress. All this is to who know what they’re doing. As the
is to give you my list of say that if I can do it, saying goes, if I have seen further, it is
selfish reasons why being a member of trust me, you can too. And here are my because I have stood on the shoulders of
the TAJE board has been one of the best totally selfish, self-centered reasons why giants. I am so proud of the journalism
decisions I’ve made in my career. I am glad I did. teachers in Texas, and being on the TAJE
To start, let me give you some board has helped me meet more of them
background. I have been a publications • I am well fed. The scales prove it. and learn from every one I meet.
adviser for 21 years now. For the first Future officers may not be fed to quite • I have enjoyed the friendships tre-
five of those years, I was pretty clue- the level of quality once my predecessor mendously. My final selfish confession is
less. Nobody ever told me about TAJE Peggy Miller leaves the board (I don’t that the women and men I have worked
or ILPC or JEA or any of those other cook, but I buy good stuff), but they will with on the TAJE board have come to

“
alphabet soup concoctions. I was just still eat their fill at our board meetings mean so much to me. As a support group,
putting one foot in front of the other, and retreats. We do actually get a great they are unparalleled. The simple things
doing my best, pretty much on my own deal of work done, but we simply find like a silly stuffed dinosaur or a hand
in this job. When I discovered that there we do it better on a full on my shoulder
was help out there for people like me, a stomach. If you like to when I am facing
support group of like-minded zealots, eat, the TAJE board is Who could have predicted a difficult time
I jumped on board. Slowly, I began to the place for you. have more than
get a grip on this job and to feel like I • I feel as if I am giv- when I first ran for office made up for any
was starting to truly help my students ing back. That may
become better journalists. not sound selfish, but that I would be getting a
Then, my counterpart at McKinney it is. When we give
High School suggested I run for TAJE something, we feel lesson on how to….um… make me laugh.
office. Initially, I balked. I believed my- good about ourselves.
“ investment of time
I have put into the
office. And they

Who could have

self to be totally unqualified. I wasn’t As I said before, being predicted when I
some Super Adviser like her and the a TAJE member made first ran for office
others I heralded. I was just some joker me an exponentially better teacher, and that I would be getting a lesson on how
plugging away, and I really didn’t think that gave me self-confidence and self- to….um…urinate off the side of a car?
I had much to offer other journalism esteem in my job. It makes me feel good You just can’t beat that kind of fun.
teachers. But I shrugged off my doubts, to do some of the work that allows other
put my name on the slate for secretary teachers to find that same help. All that being said, if you are one of
and frighteningly found myself elected • It makes me look good to my students. the lucky, smart ones out there consider-
for the 2001-02 school year. I served as They think I’m pretty important when ing putting your name on the slate, I hope
secretary for four years and enjoyed the they see me handing out certificates at you get elected—if not this time, then
role so much that I ran for president elect the convention awards ceremony. I let next time you run. Keep trying. There is
in 2005. Little did I know the president them keep thinking that. Being a board a time for all of us to make our contribu-
would step down soon after, and I took member has given me some credibility tions. If yours starts with the 2009-2010
over the esteemed role, which I have in their eyes. I guess they believe you school year, then I will be lucky enough
been plugging away at like that same have to know what you’re doing to get to work with you as I serve my two years
old joker for going on four years. elected, and I say nothing to dispel that in the role of past president. I am truly
I am still not qualified for the office notion. looking forward to it.
December 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 3

Marcus, Westlake high schools tie

for sweepstakes at Fall Fiesta convention
Marcus High School of Pflugerville High School
Flower Mound and Westlake Honorable Mention
High School of Austin both The Manestream
claimed the Sweepstakes Grapevine High School
plaque at the Fall Fiesta con- The Rider
vention Oct. 27 in San An- Legacy High School
tonio. Each school earned Arlington
enough points through Large Schools
contest wins to tie for first Best of Show
place. The Marquee
The sweepstakes and Best Marcus High School
of Show winners are as fol- Flower Mound
lows. 2nd Place
Sweepstakes Wingspan
Marcus High School Cypress Falls High School
Flower Mound 3rd Place
Westlake High School Farmers’ Harvest
Austin Lewisville High School
2nd Place Sweepstakes Honorable Mention
The Peregrine
High School Jersey Village High School
3rd Place Sweepstakes Yearbook Best of Show
Small Schools
High School Best of Show
Newspaper Best of Show Reflections
Small Schools McKinney North HS
Best of Show 2nd Place
The Shield The Raider
McCallum High School SH Rider High School
Austin Wichita Falls
2nd Place 3rd Place
The Chronicle The Knight
Rider High School McCallum High School
Wichita Falls Austin
3rd Place Honorable Mention
Best of all
The Corral Catamount
This photo, taken by Chelsea Ruffino of Cypress Falls High School,
Big Springs High School Crosby High School
won Best of Show in the on-site photography competition at the Fall
Honorable Mention Medium Schools Fiesta convention in San Antonio Oct. 27.
The Pride Best of Show
Claudia Taylor Johnson HS El Paisano San Antonio Honorable Mention
San Antonio Westlake High School Large Schools Golden Eagle
Medium Schools Austin Best of Show Cypress Falls High School
Best of Show 2nd Place The Lion Literary Magazines
The Featherduster Governor McKinney High School Best of Show
Westlake High School Connally High School 2nd Place Dystopic
Austin Pflugerville The Marauder Marcus High School
2nd Place 3rd Place Marcus High School Flower Mound
The Connection The Mustang Flower Mound A complete list of individ-
Connally High School Grapevine High School 3rd Place ual winners can be found on
Pflugerville Honorable Mention Regalia the TAJE Web site, taje.org.
3rd Place Hornet Ronald Reagan HS To see more photos, turn
Panther Prowler East Central High School San Antonio to page 8.
4 Texas Association of Journalism Educators December 2008

JEA High School Journalist of the Year

Competition Guidelines
Qualifications
1. Be a graduating senior.
2. Be planning to study journalism in
college and to pursue a journalism
career.
3. Have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
4. Have participated in high school
journalism for at least two years.
5. Submit examples of work showing
one or more of the following charac-
teristics:
a. Skilled and creative use of media
content - writing, production, photog-
raphy, etc.
b. Inquiring mind and investigative
persistence resulting in in-depth study
or studies of issues important to the
local high school audience, high school
students in general or society.
c. Courageous and responsible han-
dling of responsible issues - local or
societal - despite threat or imposure of
censorship.
d. Variety of journalistic experiences,
each handled in quality manner - news-
paper, yearbook, broadcast, etc.
e. Sustained and commendable work
with community media.
Procedure
for Nomination
Nominee
1. Complete the official entry form.
2. Write a self-analytical evaluation of
your “journalistic life” using your most
creative form.
3. Compile a portfolio of your work to
support the characteristic(s) listed un-
der number five of Qualifications (see
Preparing Your Portfolio).
4. Secure an official copy of your tran-
script.
5. Give these to your adviser.
6. Enclose a self-addressed, padded,
stamped envelope large enough to hold
your portfolio if you want it returned.
Adviser
1. Help the student secure three or four
letters of recommendation from your-
self, other teachers who know his or her
leadership and journalistic abilities and
practitioners with whom he/she has
worked. A letter from the principal is
desirable but not absolutely necessary.
2. Collect from the nominee the entry
form, self-evaluation and portfolio.
3 . M a i l t h e e n t i re p a c k a g e b y
Feb. 15, 2009 to:
Susan Duncan
Pine Tree High School
PO Box 5878 (U.S. Post Office)
704 Birch (UPS, Fed-Ex)
Longview, TX 75608

Preparing your portfolio for competition

1. Entry material should
be inserted in no more
than 18 plastic sleeves
with entries on each side
so that the total comes to
no more than 36 pages.
2. The pages should be
inserted into a ring note-
book.
3. Enclose a self-analytical
evaluation of your journal-
istic life using your most
creative form. Some ideas
to get you started on the
self-evaluation: How do
you feel about journalism?
How did you get started
in journalism? What have
you had to go through to
achieve? What have you
contributed to journalism?
What are your journalism
plans for the future? The eval-
uation should be long enough
for the judges to reach a deci-
sion as to your creative quali-
fications and short enough not
to be redundant.
4. Three or four letters of
recommendation (adviser,
teacher, professional journal-
ist, employer or principal)
are typically sufficient.
5. An official copy of the
student’s transcript must be
enclosed. The student should
be a graduating senior plan-
ning to major in journalism
in college and have at least a
3.0 grade point average on a
4.0 scale.
6. Samples of work should
be carefully selected to show
the entrant’s quality and di-
versity of reporting, writing,
photography, design, etc.
(Do not submit everything
ever produced.) Date, name
of publication and relevance
should be on the page with
each sample.
7. Include samples showing
one or more of the character-
istics listed in number five of
Qualifications. Group them
according to what they rep-
resent, and these groupings
should be labeled.
8. At least one issue of your
newspaper or magazine
or photocopies of relevant
spreads from your yearbook
(not the entire book) should
be enclosed so that the judges
can see the context of the en-
trant’s work. Audio and/or
video tapes should accom-
pany an entry that focuses
on broadcast work.
9. Photocopies of letters,
clippings and art are ac-
ceptable. Original prints
or photographs should
accompany entries based
on published pictures.
10. A self-addressed, pad-
ded envelope large enough
to hold the entry and bear-
ing enough postage to
cover the cost of mailing
should be included if the
entrant wants it returned.
TAJE and JEA are not re-
sponsible for portfolios not
accompanied by return en-
velopes nor for portfolios
lost in transit whether by
person or by mail.
December 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 5

CHECKLIST
Official Entry Form
n Entry form JEA High School Journalist of the Year
n Official tran-
script PLEASE TYPE
n Self-analytical
explanation of
Name
your “journalistic Home address
life”
n An action photo City State ZIP
of you doing
something “jour- Phone
nalistic”
n 3 or 4 letters of E-mail
recommenda-
tion Parent(s)/Guardian(s) name
n Portfolio in
an 8-1/2 x School
11” three-ring
binder show-
School Address
ing examples
City State ZIP
of your best
published or Adviser Phone
broadcast work
n One issue of Principal Phone
your newspaper
or magazine or Hometown media
photo copies of
relevant year- Address
book spreads
(not the entire City State ZIP
book)
n Deadline: How long have you been involved in journalism?
Feb. 15, 2009
n 1 year n 2 years n 3 years n 4 years n More than 4 years
postmark.
Mail to: Publication Name/Type Position
Susan Duncan
Pine Tree HS From to
PO Box 5878
(US Post Office) From to
704 Birch (UPS,
Fed-Ex) From to
Longview, TX
75608 From to

Applicants will From to

have their port-
folios forwarded
Has any of your work been cited by the media? n Yes n No
to the scholar- If yes, please use separate sheet to explain.
ship competition.
They should in- Do you plan to enroll this year in a university journalism degree program? n Yes n No What
clude two large,
padded enve- aspect of journalism and mass communication is your career goal?
lopes, one self-
addressed and
one addressed to
the scholarship List colleges you are considering in order of preferenceIf you have definitely decided which school
chairman:
Cindy Berry you will attend, list only that college.
Decatur HS
750 E. Eagle
1. n Accepted
Summit Drive
2. n Accepted
Decatur, TX
76234 3. n Accepted
DEADLINE: Postmarked by Feb. 15, 2009.
6 Texas Association of Journalism Educators December 2008

Administrator of the Year Nomination Form

Each year TAJE NOMINEE:
honors a school ad-
ministrator for his/ Name:
her support
of journalism in the Position:
junior/high school
curriculum. The School:
winner of this year’s
award will receive a Address:
plaque in April
during the awards Phone:
ceremony at the ILPC
convention in Austin. Number of years in current position:

Entries must be Professional organization memberships/offices

postmarked nominee has held:
no later than
Feb. 14.

Complete nomination
should include
a nomination form
and a letter of What awards/honors has the nominee won?
recommendation
from the adviser.

Entries must be
postmarked by
FEB. 14.
Send entries to: What is the nominee’s position on prior review
Sheryl Floyd and/or censorship?
18913 Hilltop
Canyon Cove
Pflugerville, TX
78660

Nominated by:

Name/Mailing address of local newspaper:

December 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators
JEA/NSPA to bring
national convention
to San Antonio in 2012
Continued from page 1
High School Journalism Convention,”
Puntney said. “The Riverwalk and
the Alamo are outside our front door
and are ideal for educational and rec-
reational activities. I love San Antonio
because of the strong Southwest and
European flavor. It’s almost like being
in another country.”
The conference will be held at a pair
of Marriott hotels -- the Rivercenter and
Riverwalk -- as well as at the convention
center, which is located across the street.
According to Aimone, plenty of other
hotels are nearby for overflow needs.
“Everything is located on the won-
derful San Antonio River Walk,” Ai-
mone said, “and that will be a great
opportunity for students and advisers to
enjoy meals, shopping and tourism.”
With the economic downturn, the
number of students attending conven-
tions could drop although Aimone said
that Texas has always had “really strong
attendance.”
“It’s hard to know what our conven-
Association of Texas
Photography Instructors
Winter Conference
For more information, contact
Mark Murray at mmurray@aisd.net
or go to www.atpi.org.
tions will look like in four years, but we
are ready for a variety of situations,”
Aimone said. “We know this will be a
success -- due in large part to the enthu-
siasm of the Texas advisers, especially
our friends in the San Antonio area who
we hope will serve on our local commit-
tee. We also appreciate the sacrifice the
Texas state association makes in hosting
the convention, and we know this will
be worth it.”
As the hosting organization, TAJE
will need help from its membership to
make the event a success.
“Texas advisers can spread the word
about the convention coming to San
Antonio and what a great convention
location the city is,” Puntney said.
“They can also join the local commit-
tee when Texas state leaders are ready
to form it. JEA and NSPA will visit the
site and meet with the local committee
about a year out from the convention,
but letting people know now that you
are interested in helping would be a
good idea.”
Feb. 13-15
University of Texas
at Arlington
7
Convention
financial report
Registration
# of students
# of advisers
786
66
# of speakers 35
Due for registration $23,975
Paid 23,521
Owed 454
Membership
TAJE membership $960
Paid 900
Owed 60
JEA membership $1400
Paid 1400
Owed 0
ATPI membership $270
Paid 270
Owed 0
Contests
Write-offs $1810
Paid 1770
Owed 40
Photo/video contests $2050
Paid 2040
Owed 10
Carry-in contests $1060
Paid 1055
Owed 5
Breakfast with a Pro
Due
Paid
$1168
1168
Owed 0
Best of Show
Due $790
Paid 790
Owed 0
On-Site Critiques
Due $915
Paid 915
Owed 0
Final Summary
Total due $35,328
Total paid 34,759
Still owed 569
8 Texas Association of Journalism Educators December 2008

picture
perfect
These photos won Superior ratings
at the Fall Fiesta Convention

Kendall Popelsky, Cy-Falls HS

Isabelle Erickson, Cy-Fair HS Ashley Reynal, Cinco Ranch HS

Alexa Perez, Claudia Taylor Johnson HS

Alex Camargo, Highlands HS

Ailina Mayer, Westlake HS

Left: Rachel Saker, Akins HS
Right: Ginny Ryan, Sherman HS
December 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators
In Brief
New officers
to be elected
in February
New officers for 2009-011 will be
elected in February.
The offices include president-
elect, secretary, treasurer and state
director. Each term is two years,
but the president-elect serves two
years as president and two more
years as past president after two
years as president-elect.
Anyone interested in running
for regional representative should
contact TAJE President-Elect Sheryl
Floyd at Sheryl.Floyd@pflugervil-
leisd.net by Dec. 12.
Vonderheid
receives
JEA award
Randy Vonderheid, former
Interscholastic League Press Con-
ference director, was honored with
the Lifetime Achievement Award
at the JEA/NSPA national conven-
tion in St. Louis in November.
The award recognizes retired
advisers who have made sig-
nificant contributions to scholastic
journalism.
“Randy is not a self-promoter,
unless you consider being a nice
guy and one heck of a journal-
ism teacher self-promotion,” said
Bobby Hawthorne, former UIL
Academic Director. “But those of
us who have closely worked with
him over the years know how
important he’s been to scholastic
journalism—in Texas and across
the nation.”
TAJE honors Trailblazers,
Friends of Journalism
at Fall Fiesta convention
TAJE honored four individuals at
the advisers’ luncheon during the Fall
Fiesta convention.
Chet Hunt and Judy Babb both re-
ceived Trailblazer Awards.
Babb is a former high school and
yearbook adviser.
“Judy Babb is the epitome of a trail-
blazer,” ILPC Director Jeanne Acton
said. “Judy set the standard for year-
books more than 20 years ago. She was
one of the first Texas advisers to chal-
lenge her administration and fought
diligently for students’ First Amend-
ment rights. She continued her work
into the college arena where again
she pushed the students to their best
work.”
Burges High School adviser Pat
Monroe said she met Babb at a summer
workshop several years ago.
“It was my first year, and I was so
amazed at her energy and positive at-
titude with advisers and students,”
Monroe said. “Nineteen years later, I
still find her to be an amazing person.
Her wealth of talent and knowledge
about the wacky world of high school
journalism is immeasurable. She de-
serves all of the accolades that come
her way.
Hunt retired as the chair of the jour-
nalism department at San Antonio Col-
lege, where he was the adviser to The
Ranger newspaper and The Fourth
Write magazine. He formerly taught at
Lee High School in San Antonio where
he advised the newspaper and year-
book. He also started a daily newspa-
per there.
“At SAC not only did he advise
one of the finest community college
newspaper in the country but he also
inspired many young journalist to
continue with careers in all aspect
of journalism,” TAJE convention Pat
Gathright said. “All of the high school
9
journalism teachers in San Antonio did
not hesitate to encourage their students
to go to SAC because they knew their
students would be in good hands in a
department lead by Chet Hunt.”
Craig Coyle and Macarena Her-
nandez received Friend of Journalism
Awards.
Coyle currently teaches at Martin
High School. He has taught photogra-
phy for over 20 years in the Arlington
school district.
“Over the years, Craig has been
an integral part of the summer work-
shop circuit around the state, having
taught for [several] workshop direc-
tors,” ATPI Director Mark Murray said.
“Each of them has recognized not only
the knowledge that he is able to bring
to photojournalism students and teach-
ers, but also his good-natured, easy go-
ing attitude that makes it a pleasure to
work with him.”
Jake Palenske, owner of Ncompass
Media, said Coyle represents Texas
well.
“I can’t think of another fellow Kan-
san that represents all that is Texas bet-
ter than Craig,” Palenske said. “He’s
got a big personality supported by an
even bigger heart, and he’s never met
a stranger. Craig would give you the
shirt off his back if you needed it, and
he’d ask everyone around him to give
you their shirts, too. He’s as generous
with his time as he is with his humor,
and scholastic journalism in Texas
wouldn’t be the same without him.”
Hernandez is a former reporter for
the Dallas Morning News. When she
was in Dallas, she was an invaluable
source for the Thomas Jefferson High
School journalism staff, according to
adviser Angela Macias. At the awards
ceremony, Macias said Hernandez vol-
unteered her time and talent to help the
journalism program at Jefferson.