Do you want to join the Messenger or MHSNews? Good call! Journalism provides a niche for you to excel, teaches you the power of the free press, forges great peer and self-editing skills, allows you to get close with all kinds of students, helps you grow more assertive, builds your problem-solving skills, and gives you a whole slew of cool opportunities. As a student journalist, you get to know the story before it’s even the story!

Journalism students regularly have opportunities to have their individual and group work recognized at the local, state and national levels. Last year’s newspaper publication, for example, is a finalist for the top national award in high school journalism: the National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award. Being a member of an award-winning staff is a great way to build one’s resume and digital portfolio.

Having been on a publication staff looks great on a college application! Students who have graduated from the program have gone on to attend local colleges and universities as well as out-of-state schools including Harvard, Loyola, Northwestern, Yale, Vanderbilt and many more. And, students don’t have to want to be a journalist to benefit from the program. Publication students have applied their journalism skills — problemsolving, organization, communication, writing, photography, videography, art, Adobe software, website design (WordPress) — to many career fields including medicine, engineering, law, education, communications and more.

If you would like to become a member of the Messenger staff, you must first take a prerequisite source, either Journalism Writing & Reporting or Visual Journalism. Starting the next semester, you may enroll in News Production (The Messenger.) If you would like to become a member of the MHSNews staff, first sign up for Intro to Digital Media Production. Please check out the flowchart below for more information on course options. Start reporting with us!

Please email Emily Jorgensen, [email protected], if you have any additional questions! We look forward to seeing you on staff!