ASNEreader 2011

I shot the sheriff’s... deputy

two ASNE READER28 July 2011

“The best thing about the Institute was the commitment to their students and to the principles of journalism by our teacher guests.”

“The best part was seeing each teacher enthusiastically try new ways of storytelling. I have no doubt that the hundreds of students who will be influenced by these 33 educators will find those interesting and compelling stories in their schools and communities.”-Adam Maksl

“Watching 33 strangers become great friends and eager to start a new school year.”-Jeffrey Beeson

by jeremy beauchampTHE ASNE READER

Peter’s family had the biggest house of the three of us. This fact coupled with Nintendo 64, AOL dial-up and a trampoline made his place the obvious choice for a summer’s crashing. The night was taking the usual path: meet at Del Taco on the boulevard for cheap eats, fiddle around with stringed instruments for an hour, kill each other in a violent video game and stave off creeping boredom by talk-ing about chicks at school.

But this summer’s blueprint had a new addition: driver’s licenses.

We packed into Brian’s red 1991 Corolla nursing an evening’s worth of evil intent and my Super-Soaker 50.

It was a sweltering Inland Empire twilight and, being the fools we still are, we took it upon ourselves to see that our fellow citizens didn’t get too hot as they hoofed it around our fair city.

Being the most evil of our tri-umvirate, I was tasked with hang-ing out the passenger’s side win-dow and firing a steady stream of cold, filtered water at the legs and torsos of passersby.

While the victims barely reg-istered our mayhem, we laughed ourselves to bursting. For a solid hour and a half, the only remorse we felt was that we hadn’t started doing this months ago.

After leaving a trail of splattered bodies in our wake, we decided it was time to return to our cave and turn our attentions to a serious round of pitch-black trampoline jumping. Also, as the night wore on our victims were getting fewer and farther between.

For a nightcap we drove through the Vons parking lot, looking for our final victim.

Brian steered the Corolla to about 10 feet shy of a stretching bicyclist and slowed to about 15 mph while I shoved the gun out of the window and fired the remaining milliliters of water at the chest of the oblivious bicyclist.

You would have thought we’d shared an unkind a word or two about his mother the way he tore after us on his Schwinn.

Brian and his confound-ed Corolla obeyed the driv-ing laws to a T, even with the Demon Bicyclist of Yucaipa nipping at our bumper as if he’d been freshly loosed from the deep-est, dankest pits of Satan’s Hell.

Brian’s pedal finally found metal and we sped away just as the bicyclist pulled swiftly into the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.

We spent a nearly sleepless night wondering if the SWAT team was about to come bursting through Peter’s windows.

Then the sun was up, and, as teenage boys are wont to do, we forgot the moral of the story and

reveled in our triumph. We headed to our homes to actually sleep and decided we were in the clear.

Brian didn’t even hear the knock on the door later that after-noon. His mom answered the door and there stood a sheriff’s deputy.

“Ma’am is this your car?”“It’s my son’s,” she said.“I’d like to speak to him,

please.”Let all understand that

my friend Brian is God’s own cure for this world of sin and oppression. The boy had never so much as looked at anyone wrong. Even if he’d never taken a shower in his life, he would be the kind of clean that squeaks.

So when this future valedicto-rian heard from his mommy that a sheriff’s deputy was outside waiting to talk to him, one could just imagine the fear that began to course his veins.

“You the driver of this car?”“Yes sir.”“What were you up to last

night.”At this point Brian would

have sold out his mother and his mother’s mother and anyone else you’d care to name.

“We were shooting people with a squirt gun.”

“I thought so. You know that guy you shot in the Vons lot?”

“Yes sir.”“That was me.”And that’s how I came to shoot

a cop.

For some reason, when you tell a group of strangers that you once shot a cop, they laugh. What is it that makes such a confession an invitation to laughter? Perhaps it depends on the physical makeup of the tale’s teller. If I were tatted up with the identifying block lettering of a member of MS-13, or if I were bedecked with a leather vest advertising my allegiance to a particularly violent motorcycle club, then perhaps my tidbit would have elicited gasps and shaky knees rather than a series of guffaws. Fact is, killers don’t do Dockers. Violent men have bloodstains where the average man has tomato stains from trying to eat his bruschetta in one hungry mouthful. I don’t look the killer. I don’t look the shooter, and I definitely don’t look the cop shooter.

But looks can be deceiving. And nights that begin with three teenage boys looking for something to do rarely end with s’mores and lights-out at 10:30.

“Meeting so many nice people. It made me realize just how interesting most teachers really are. I’m glad I’m in this profession.”-Hal Adkins

“The best thing about RJI was meeting such dedicated teachers of journalism. I look forward to collaborating with you over the next few years.”-Jeff Bailey

by @maryprichardTHE ASNE READER

Tap, tap, tap, tap. A constant clatter of clicks and taps hums

in the background as Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center presents information on scholastic press freedom to a group of high school journalism teachers.

In the quiet classroom atmosphere in Fred W. Smith Forum, an occasional hand shoots up and a question or comment is spoken.

But another level of discussion is raging on the topic of censorship.

@WendyGZ31 poses a question. @MomsL8 provides a website link. @BLewis2080 offers his opinion. @tvteachkennedy asks a follow-up question. @AHosford6, @rileydog95, @jdbeauchamp, @txjteachr and @MomsL8 add in more comments and questions.

Silent conversation flows freely, all while Hiestand keeps presenting at the front of the room.

Welcome to the world of social media, and more specifically, Twitter.

For a few, Twitter was a familiar, comfortable alternate world. Four of 29 teachers said they were “active” on Twitter before coming to the ASNE Reynolds Institute.

“I really like Twitter. I use it to follow the news and things I’m interested in,” Corey Hale said.

But for others, Twitter was a scary new world. Fifteen teachers started accounts for the first time during the Institute.

“Going on Twitter had been a bright shining line I would not cross, and yet I did it. Finally, my eyes have been opened to its useful-ness,” Mark Riley said.

Using hashtag #ASNEmo, teachers used Twitter to

discuss the sessions, ask questions, make plans for the free time, and get to know each other.

“I think [Twitter] was a good tool to communicate announcements, lunch plans, and dinner plans,” Brad Lewis said.

In addition to personal conversations and offerings of gooey butter cake, Twitter was also studied in several sessions as a tool for journalism.

“I didn’t realize the practical application of Twitter before coming to this institute. I will be exploring it more now,” Erin Foster said.

Fifty-nine percent of the teachers indicated they plan to use Twitter after the Institute; 27 percent answered “maybe” and 14 percent responded “no.”

“Now I realize that Twitter can be an excellent tool for communication and following news,” Riley said.

threeASNE READER28 July 2011

“I am so glad I learned all the

technology.”-Katherine

Crowley

“The best food was all

of the ‘boxed’ lunches

(thank you, Jeffrey) and

one of the best moments of the trip was spending time with my new friends at the Ragtag movie

theater.”-Dianna Cervetti

“The best advisers in the

nation!”-Ingrid Benson

“The very best was the people involved in the Reynolds Institute.

It is so affirming to know that there are other people out there fighting

the good fight.” -Ann Breyne

“The best soda I sneaked into the Forum: Sierra Mist

(sorry Roger!)”-Jeremy Beauchamp

TWEEThow

it is

@AHosford6@ajseufert@BLewis2080@ClareGartlan@DeirdreJjones@eastmanz@erin_foster@haladkins@heybailey23@indieOR@jdbeauchamp@JeffreyBee@JskoolT@khactus80@maksl

@maryprichard@MomsL8@mrdonohue3@PhamJenn@PRiegelman@rileydog95@rogergafke@stevenapowell@theonlyalex@tvteachkennedy@txjteachr@VEisenman@wpevehouse@WendyZG31fol

low m

e

@heybailey23 Red Neck car launch...that’s where I come from...

@theonlyalex Sorry to all of you who have sat in the chairs after me. They are all the way at floor level.

@BLewis2080 Will we be awarded with “Creeper” certificates at the end of this session? My students would be jealous.

@txjteachr According to unconfirmed reports, we’ll be treated to a live presentation of “The Larry Show” during today’s boxlunch.

@PRiegelman In the “How Vermont are You” survey, the town my school is in was one of the four choices for “What town has the most dirtbags?” ! #A

SNEm

o

All the news that’s fit to tweet“The best

thing about this fellowship

is that it stands far ahead of

any other conference

I’ve ever attended.”

-Phil Donohue

four ASNE READER28 July 2011

“The best field trip was the Ragtag. The best moment? “We need to help them buy their new High Drive camera! What does HD mean?’”-Zach Eastman

“The best sessions were all of Kim Green’s.”-Venessa Eisenman

“The best field trip we took was to Kauffman Stadium. It was insanely hot, but it was such a great game.”-Erin Foster

“The best part was getting to know so many talented and dedicated teachers. Thank you to all, and to our wonderful hosts Roger, Adam and Jeffrey.” -Clare Gartlan

“The best hangout was the Ragtag Cinema. Cool atmosphere, great drinks and food and independent movies. What’s not to like?”-Corey Hale

“The best moment of the trip was our visit to Newsy and to see their set and just how small it is. OMG!! It literally is a closet. You talk about working on a shoe string budget...”-Alan Hilliard

CoMoPostcards

from the

2%of the US population resides in Vermont

of the RJI participants are residents of Vermont

9%ANNALISA|PETER|ZACHCOREY|JEFF|MARY

CoMo participants consider what type of person they are:

RJI’ers are an independent lot

politically. At least 39 percent identify

themselves that way... and

32 percent declined to label

themselves, which makes them independent.

13 percent of participants

report that they can make maple

syrup in their own kitchen...at least

one of them is not from Vermont.

90%send between 1-30 text messages per day...not sure how many contact their parents nine times a day, though.

you wish

you were

here!

fiveASNE READER28 July 2011

“The best session was with Charles Davis. Although there were several other really good ones as well.”-Charlotte Kaminsky

“The best thing Roger taught us was the 2/3 rule. The greatest thing was Beth teaching me digital editing. If I can get over calling it ‘editing film’

I’ll be 2/3 of the way there!”-Deirdre Jones

“The best moment was getting to know my fellow teachers and

feeling more empowered going into my second year as a newspaper

adviser.”-Andrew Hosford

“The best was networking with brilliant colleagues as future resources.”-Beth Kennedy

“The best memory was the rickshaw chase when Annalisa yelled, “Follow that rickshaw!”-Kim Kim

“The best field trip was to Kansas City. Although I was born there and have lived there for 25 years of my life, it still amazes me at the attractions my hometown has to offer visitors.”-Brad Lewis

State of MindPETERSTEVEKIMCLAREALANANNALISA

ANNALISAPEGGYKATHERINEMARK Z.ERINMARYBRADJILLDIANNAANNJENNIFERCHARLOTTEBETH

PEGGYDAVID

PHILJEREMYMARK ZANDREWALEXWENDYINGRIDMARK R.JEREMYVANESSAZACHALANCOREY

JEFFANN

what color are you?CMYK

you wish

you were

here!

overheard@rjiI lost my social media virginity!•Minnesota is the Vermont of the Midwest•Would you like a kid’s menu?•I’m not a color; I’m a person!•...and then I showed her my opus•That’s the last time I’m gonna say crotch shot•I want an iPhone 4•Tomorrow you need to be on the bus at 7:15•We were being nice letting you wait until 7:45.

Ann or Kristin Wiig? Hal or Richard Dreyfuss? David or Mike Huckabee? Ingrid or Maya Rudolph?

celebrity look-alikes@RJI

42%...CHECKED OUT WHAT THE LARRY SHOW WAS ABOUT.

Where we liked to eat...

The HeidelbergRJI Box Lunches @ Conference Room

in-gre-di-ent

Mai

n Sq

ueez

e

The RomeFlat Branch Brewery

la siesta

by steve powellspecial to THE ASNE READER

A guard dribbles down the lane as Matt Rimirez waits under the basket.

When the guard stops, Matt gets ready. The guard shoots. And Matt does, too.

Matt is a photographer and videographer. But what makes him notable is he can’t see. He was able to shoot the basketball game just by listening.

“Whatever happens, I have it on camera,” Matt said.

He is legally blind, only able to see shadows in his left eye, and 600/20 in his right. He explains that means that a person with normal vision can see something at 600 feet – that’s two football fields away – what he can see at 20 feet.

Matt’s been that way since birth, but it didn’t really bother him until the second grade, “when I really wanted to see something up close.”

Glasses don’t help, and he never learned brail, so Matt learns by reading large type.

Matt already is an accomplished photographer going into his senior year at Schuyler County High School in Missouri. But he wants to get better, so he’s gone to three journalism camps this summer.

This week he is at the University of Missouri Summer Media Workshop. He’s also gone to camps in Florida and Washington, D.C.

Matt, 17, became interested in journalism when he took a tour of a radio station in Florida in the sixth grade. The announcers were so impressed they interviewed him, and later he volunteered there.

Now he volunteers to shoot sporting events for TriStateFans.com, a website that features schools in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. He also has shot a few music videos,

one that has had almost 9,500 hits, and he’s got a YouTube site. He’s even put together portfolios of video to help basketball players seeking college scholarships.

His goal is to attend Mizzou or the University of Florida and become an ESPN cameraman.

“To be down on the field would be a thrill,” he said.

For the TriState website for basketball, Matt said he has shot up to 1,700 photos in a night, cutting them down to about 150 to put online.

Matthew Schott, who has run the camp in Missouri for five years, said he actually met Matt earlier this summer at the camp in D.C.

“He’s very smart,” Schott said of Matt. “He knows his goal and where he’s going. He’s not afraid to move up close and try different things.”

Almost on cue, Matt moved around the room taking pictures of the other campers. He moves in close, almost uncomfortably close, to the speaker.

Matt talks about his equipment like most people talk about their kids or pets. He uses a Nikon D5000 with

automatic focus. When he shoots video, he loves to use the Sony SR250.

Just by looking at him, it’s hard to tell that Matt is blind. Awkward blinking and discoloration in his left eye are the only clues.

Schott said the other campers don’t even seem to notice.

“The other kids treat him like an equal,” Schott said. “He’s cleared lots of hurdles, and he’ll figure out ways to clear more hurdles.”

Matt said he’s had a lot of support and been given a lot of opportunities, so he doesn’t get depressed.

“God made me this way because he knew I could handle it,” Matt said, adding he hopes his story inspires others.

Matt is an optimist. He wasn’t getting along with his mom in Florida so he moved to Missouri last year to live with his dad. For many students, moving in high school would be tramatic. But for Matt it’s just one more challenge.

“It’s just a new chapter in my life, an opportunity, another chance to make myself better,” he said.

steven powell | THE ASNE READERSenior Matt Rimirez may be legally blind, but that doesn’t stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming an ESPN cameraman.

A special eye for photography

six ASNE READER28 July 2011

“The best trip was the baseball game. I love the energy of a live game, even though I’m not what would be called by most ‘an avid sports fan.’”-Annalisa Parent

“The best thing I learned was that I can make a few changes each year to make a big difference in my school’s publications. -Whitney Pevehouse

“The best meal I had was the tomato basil soup from Ingredient. It was the BEST tomato soup I’ve ever had!”-Jennifer Pham

“The best session was on how to edit video. The best event was the great free lunches.”-Steve Powell

“The best moment was any time Deirdre spoke up or Jeff showed up. The best den mother was Jill. The best hash mark- Jill.” -David Lopilato

“The best session was Padgett’s ‘Understanding Youth and Young Adult Audiences.’ Her analysis of YAYA is a must for all teachers!”-Peggy Machol-Bassett

“The best food I ate was pretzels, custard and gooey butter cake. The best session was The 1st Amendment with Ken Paulson.”

-Mary Prichard

by whitney pevehouseTHE ASNE READER

The general consensus was that it was an exaggeration.

Surely the staff of the Institute wouldn’t adhere to a 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. schedule for more than a day or two. The schedule posted online was, after all, tentative. But as the days went on, the bus rides home were marked by audible groans and grumblings about how tired everyone was.

Long days turned into short nights and back into packed days again until finally the weekend rolled around. Participants spent all day and night Saturday bouncing around Kansas City, taking in more sights than would have been thought possible. The excursions and the bus ride home that night were filled with talk of what each person would do on Sunday, their one day off.

Wendy Zajac-Glover of Festus, Mo., spent her Sunday with her husband. It was his birthday weekend, and the two went to a nearby casino to celebrate.

“It was his 40th birthday and it was fitting because he won $40,” Zajac Glover said of her husband’s winnings.

Katherine Crowley of Estates, Calif., had a much different experience than the rest of the group. She suffered from heat exhaustion from the hot and busy Saturday and had to be taken to the hospital

overnight. Crowley was able to be released from the hospital at around 1 p.m. Sunday and spent the rest of the day with new friends Jennifer Pham and Mary Prichard.

Though many in the group worried about how sick she had gotten, Crowley said she felt much better after her stay in the hospital.

“Those IV’s are wonderful,” she said of the experience.

Jill Proehl took the opportunity to treat her fellow fellows by bringing in treats from her hometown of St. Louis. Proehl’s husband and three kids spent the day with her and brought Ted Drewes’ frozen custard, Gus’s pretzels, and gooey butter cake. She sent out a tweet to round up all of the hungry of the group who were enjoying a lazy day at the hotel.

Peggy Machol-Bassett had to decide whether to visit the home of Laura Ingalls-Wilder in Mansfield, Mo., or drive three hours to Seymour, Ia., to visit old friends. She decided on the latter as she had spent her childhood in Seymour but hadn’t been back in 37 years.

Some participants took advantage of the day off to catch up on things like watching movies and doing laundry. As the hotel only had one washer and dryer, Lewisville, Texas resident Corey Hale chose to do their laundry elsewhere. Hale spent a good portion of his day at Splashers laundromat and tanning salon, a laundry venue complete with a bar and video games to help pass the time.

“I didn’t tan, but I did play a big buck game and killed, like, six deer,” Hale said.

Though most of the ASNE fellows planned to keep their day off low key, a few of them had high hopes for some adventure, but the events of Saturday left most feeling a bit unmotivated to travel.

David Lopilato of Bethesda, Md., spent Friday night making big plans to rent a car and travel to Hannibal, Mo., to visit Mark Twain country.

“I don’t think I can leave with a clear conscience having not been to Hannibal,” Lopilato, an avid Twain fan, said.

But by Saturday morning he was, as he put it, “waffling.”

David ended up riding his bike to the art fair and farmer’s market in Columbia. He was joined by Clare Gartlan, Ingrid Benson, and Ann Breyne, who took a taxi to the event.

“It was nice because it was inside and there was real variety (of art) and it was good stuff,” Benson said. “So that made it worthwhile.”

Some participants intended to work on stories on their day off, but most didn’t follow through.

Bronx, N.Y., resident Alan Hilliard spent the day walking the mall and shopping a sale at Eddie Bauer.

“I intended to go down to the workout room, catch up on stories and chat with my

And on the seventh day they rested

sevenASNE READER28 July 2011

“The best day of ASNEmo was when I took my husband to the casino and he won $40!”-Wendy Zajac Glover

“The best field trip we took was

to the Royals game. It’s not often that you get to see the

home team win in extra innings

at Kauffman Stadium.”

--Alex Seufert“The best

restaurant IS the Heidelberg.

Good food, good beer, good

service.”-Peter Riegelman

“The best thing I learned was

that we are not in this alone.”

-Jill Proehl

“Can’t decide. All of it. Okay, lots of it. When I realized there was a secret

Twitter class happening during the regular class.

When Corey posted a positive comment on my

Storify. When I realized the .390 Club at Kauffman

Stadium was air-conditioned.

Roger Gafke’s quiet elegance

and strength. The sound of the

cicadas in the trees. Nearly all

of it, which is extraordinary.”

-Mark Riley

“The best gallery with artwork of a naked, gray-haired man was at The Larry Show.”-Mark Zeske

The ASNE Reader is a publication of the ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute. Held in Columbia, Mo., at the University of Missouri from July 17 to 29, the Institute brought together 33 teachers from across the United States to learn more about journalism education and practice their skills by producing content for www.asnemissourian.com.

THE ASNE READER STAFF:Hal Adkins | staff photographerJeff Bailey | graphic designerJeremy Beauchamp | design editorErin Foster | staff artistClare Gartlan | staff writerCorey Hale | columnistWhitney Pevehouse | staff writerMary Prichard | editor Mark Riley | imaging specialist

by corey “scoops” haleTHE ASNE READER

“Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come.” – Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

For many of us, the hottest spot during Saturday’s trip to Kansas City, both figuratively and literally, was

Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals. The recently-renovated ballpark was named for late Royals owner Ewing Kauffman. Famous for the fountains just beyond the outfield fence, the stadium will host the 2012 All-Star Game.

Brett’s butt: Just beyond those fountains stands a life-size statue of Royals Hall-of-Famer George Brett. A parade of fans stopped by to have a photo made with the hometown hero, but a disturbing number of people seemed preoccupied with the former third baseman’s posterior, some patting and others poking. Perhaps they were just checking for pine tar, but this reporter can testify that if anyone tried that with Nolan Ryan’s statue in Arlington, the violator would probably catch a beating.

Notable neighborhood: A visit to the Negro baseball league and jazz museums at 18th and Vine treated the group to a quick peek at one of the cradles of jazz music in the United States. Most notable among KC hepcats was legendary trumpet master Charlie “Bird” Parker. KC’s famous barbecue was also born on the same block. In 1908, a Shelby County, Tennessee, transplant named Henry Perry began selling smoked meats wrapped in newsprint for a quarter. In addition to beef, Perry also offered cuts of possum, raccoon and woodchuck.

Exit extras: Zipping down I-70 on the way to KC, it’s easy to zone out on the bus. But those who paid attention noticed some interesting exit signs. I spotted a Wellington (pop. 784) and, not long after, a Napoleon (pop. 208). But it wasn’t until the next day that I discovered a small, unincorporated community along highway 224 between the two towns. Its name? Waterloo, of course.

Stuff happened, I wrote it downK a n s a s C i t y n o t e b o o K

mary prichard | THE ASNE READER

Vana Sweetland, market-ing production and traffic manager at the Kansas City Star, gives a tour of the newspaper’s Press Pavilion. The eight-story building cost $200 million and encom-passes two city blocks.

Annalisa Parent poses next to the statue of Royals hall-of-famer George Brett. During the game, other fans showed an odd interest in the star’s backside. Brad Lewis theorized that the fas-cination with Brett’s butt was linked to his well-publicized case of hemorrhoids during the 1980 World Series.whitney pevehouse | THE ASNE READER