Go behind the scenes on the Eagle Eye's latest field trip.
On October 30th, 2023, the Eagle Eye and Yearbook club took a joint field trip to Rutgers University’s Busch Campus to attend the annual Garden State Scholastic Press Association (GSSPA) conference. The conference included similar newspaper councils and their respective publications from across the state. Eagle Eye gained new experiences and insights on designing a newspaper that people will want to read—imagine that—while Yearbook club received tips on building a book that’s truly worth the money. From fixing creatively offensive headlines to using ChatGPT to ethically do your job for you, check out the highlights of our trip.
One of the most interesting sessions available during the conference was Keynote Panel #1: Where Journalism Can Take You, during the second workshop session. The panelists included Gary Grumbach, an NBC field reporter, and Katy Temple, aide to the governor and Columbia graduate. The discussion followed real-life applications of high school journalism and prompted genuine advice from experts in their fields. The conference also provided Headless Body In A Topless Bar, a workshop about creating effective headlines. A notable takeaway was an instance in which connotation was discussed as an awareness point in headline writing, when a creative but inappropriate headline—“Popular, Athletic, and Now He’s Dead”—was ascribed to an article about a teen who committed suicide. Eagle Eye writers came out of the experience with better understanding of good and ethical journalism.
Attendees from MCA’s Yearbook club also had a few valuable insights to share about the trip. Deepti Rao, class of 2024, commented on Where Does AI Fit In The Journalists’ Toolbox?, a workshop surrounding the newly developed ethics and uses of artificial intelligence in journalism. “I learned about how artificial intelligence is integrated in today’s journalism…and I knew a few of these things beforehand, but learning it from a professional in the field is very different,” she commented. Another co24 club member, Sara Baheti, said she received “a lot of ideas from other schools in regards to how to do sports pages and designing color schemes…and what not to do.”
Using these newfound insights, the Eagle Eye staff is working on significantly improving the quality of Eagle Eye. As seen in this edition, the format is designed to be more interactive from the front page, and articles are turning shorter and more compact. The new Eagle Eye website will also soon be live with blog-style articles, updated throughout the year. With time, we’ll hopefully become your favorite way to get school news.
The key takeaway? Join Eagle Eye! (And maybe Yearbook, while you’re at it.)
Deeya Mulchandani is a monthly writer for the Eagle Eye. She enjoys meeting cats, bashing Colleen Hoover and creating quality content for Eagle Eye.