The world of storytelling is changing, and student journalism must change with it. I realized almost as soon as I stepped into the tjTODAY newsroom that to say relevant, we can't rely solely on rows of words and photos in print. With that in mind, I've jumped into the world of online breaking news, live updates, in-depth features, and more.
WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
LIVE-TWEETING
My first-ever work as a student journalist came in early September of 2018, when I volunteered to live-tweet the Back to School Bash football game. From the bleachers, I delivered analyses and updates from the tip of my fingers, eyes somehow simultaneously locked on both my keyboard and the field. It's from those bleachers that I found a thrill in journalism that motivates me even till today.
VARSITY FOOTBALL SENIOR NIGHT
Of the four times I've live-tweeted TJ football games, I can confidently say that my best effort was at the Senior Night football game in late October, 2018. I reported on a power outage a minute in, then continued my in-game analyses once the match resumed in pouring rain. Though I was drenched and freezing (until the announcers invited me into their box), I still managed to keep Colonials' fans updated on the game's developments. All tweets are in the gallery to the left (most recent tweets are at the top of the photo).
VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL VS. WAKEFIELD
Though I started my live-tweeting career in football, I branched out to basketball in January of 2019. I was less-knowledgeable on basketball than I was on football, meaning that I had to do a significant amount of pre-game research in order to provide adequate analysis. Additionally, I drew knowledge from fans' angry comments in order to write certain tweets, such as the topmost update on Photo 1.
FRESHMAN LOCK-IN
My live-tweeting career took another step forward in May of 2019 when I worked with a fellow staff writer to provide updates on the Freshman Lock-in. Because of a recently-implemented ban on overnight events, we knew that the 2019 Lock-in would be last one in Jefferson's history. As a result, we found it especially important to document the events throughout the night. In order to keep our tweets engaging, we told the stories of Lock-in through the people who were there with a series of pictures and quotes.
VARSITY LACROSSE WINS DISTRICT SEMIFINAL
My most personally exciting live-tweeting session came in May of 2019 when I provided updates on varsity lacrosse's up-and-down district semifinal win in overtime over Edison. I had initially not planned on tweeting the event because of a prior commitment, but after getting out early, I rushed to provide updates. Though my lack of knowledge of lacrosse meant that my live-tweeting was less in-depth than usual, I still kept readers engaged with descriptions of the goals, injuries, and other important events throughout the game.
TIMELY ADMISSIONS/PTSA COVERAGE
With developments to the TJ admissions process and the TJ PTSA coming at a blistering pace, it was important that I produced timely coverage to ensure that community members were consistently informed on the most recent events.
*ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL LEWIS
Thomas Jefferson PTSA Placed on Probation
Shortly after the TJ PTSA voted to remove their president, the Virginia PTA placed them on probation and demanded that they reinstate the president. Immediately after the development, I got to work on an article about it. Within 24 hours, I interviewed Harry Jackson, a high-ranking PTSA member, and sent the article to my editor for my publication.
FCPS School Board Passes Holistic Review System for Jefferson Admissions
As soon as the School Board voted to overhaul Jefferson admissions, a co-staffer and I knew that we had to write an article about it -- and soon. After getting interviews from parents and students, and ensuring that they were no errors in our research, we published the piece within 12 hours of the change.
*PHOTO COURTESY OF TJ SGA
Breaking News on Twitter
Beyond online articles, I also use Twitter to break admissions and PTSA news. Across 6 tweets, my timely updates have accumulated nearly 10,000 impressions.
THE PANDEMIC: ONE YEAR GONE BY
With the one-year anniversary of the pandemic approaching, I and my co-online editors-in-chief decided to feature Jefferson students and the lessons learned in the 365 days since March 12. In order to create an engaging piece, we incorporated multimedia tools such as a Thinglink and Longform chapters.
THINGLINK
One way we capped the one-year anniversary is by creating a Thinglink recapping the moment that Jefferson students realized everything would change. The Thinglink gave us a way to feature the thoughts of 24 Jefferson students in a concise and engaging manner.
LONGFORM CHAPTERS
We also included four Longform chapters, each of which highlighted a student and their unique story during the year of the pandemic. Of the Longform chapters, I personally authored and designed "Innovation amidst adversity" and "Rife with Regret"
MULTIMEDIA IN ARLNOW WORK
While working as an intern for ARLNow, I produced several pieces of multimedia content to include in articles. Throughout my time, I learned of valuable new ways to tell stories. Going forward, I plan to apply many of these methods in my work for tjTODAY.org.
Who Got Reported to the County COVID-19 Tip Line?
Using data from a spreadsheet that showed reports to a county COVID-19 Tip Line, I created a WordCloud highlighting the Arlington businesses that had been reported to the tip line the most. This method of conveying information proved to be more engaging and effective than merely listing the number of violations per business.
New Digital Archives Provide Glimpse Into Local History
Early on in my ARLNow tenure, I wrote a piece on the most interesting local history findings from newly available state history archives. Along with the article itself, I included a photo gallery with images of some of the newspapers from the state history archives.