Five Olympian staffers and 12 The Oracle staffers attended the JEA/NSPA fall annual National High School Journalism Convention from Nov. 12 to Nov. 15, chaperoned by adviser Kristy Blackburn along with English teacher Danielle Whichard and guidance counselor Jorge Chavez.
An early flight demanded that we arrive at San Francisco International Airport by 7:30 a.m. — a rough deadline, even for journalists! After landing in Nashville, Tenn. in the afternoon, we clambered into vans and headed to the Fairfield Marriott Inn, our den for the next few days. Just a short drive to the convention center, the Marriott became our home base, where hotel rooms doubled as makeshift newsrooms for late-night editing, brainstorming layouts, and staff bonding.
For our first meal, we all walked over to the nearby Logan’s Roadhouse, trying not to freeze in the sub-60 degree weather. Don’t play with the South’s cooking: the steaks were spectacular! A good night’s rest allowed us to head out to the Gaylord Opryland resort the next morning, the convention space that hosted our journalism activities. The first day of events separated our crews into four-hour and eight hour crash courses on leadership, newswriting, social media and more. Some staffers went off-site to visit local legislation hubs and a museum of Nashville’s biggest claim to fame: country music.
Heads were spinning after Friday’s fast-paced convention sessions, teaching everything from broadcast writing and interviewing to InDesign skills and source protection. After each 45-minute session, thousands of teens swarmed out of classrooms, backpacks and pencils in hand. Tracking down all the classes we’d chosen for the day was chaotic — the Opryland is bigger than anyone could imagine — but it was packed with learning. That afternoon, we headed to compete in the National Student Media Contests: two-hour sessions tested our skills on layouts, commentary writing, captions and many more journalistic subjects. The Oracle reigned successful: we took away a multitude of awards within NSPA’s categories, including a Superior, multiple Excellents and Honorable Mentions — and The Oracle itself received sixth place in Best of Show.
After a long couple of days, we enjoyed a final dinner at Solario Cantina, an upscale Mexican restaurant in the resort, sharing memories and tacos. The next morning, a sunrise greeted us as we climbed into vans for the last time of the week and boarded our flight back to the Bay.
