Start With Why
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
August 20, 2015
By Rob Melton Now that you and your staff have put to bed your final issue of the newspaper, yearbook, website, video channel, or podcast, it's time to think ahead to next year. What better way to rethink, rewrite and redesign with your staff than showing Simon Sinek's "Start With Why: How Great Leader...
Fun With Fonts
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
April 15, 2014
By Rob Melton When you talk about type, beginning with a video such as the one above is a great way to entertain and interest students in the study of typography. Once they are hooked, spending time learning the nuts and bolds is the next step. Minnesota adviser Laurie Hansen at Stillwater (Min...
Navigate your way to great stories and photos with story planners
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
March 26, 2014
By Rob Melton It's all about the story, whether in words or photos. The trick is learning how to plan, gather and structure a story for your newspaper, yearbook, website or newscast. The purpose of the new Story Navigator planner forms is to lay everything on the table where you can work with it...
Advertising A-Z: A practical guide for high school publications
March 22, 2014
By Rob Melton Advertising A-Z: A practial guide for high school publications, created by Oregon advisers Rob Melton and Sunny Stautz, includes everything you need -- all the forms to start your own advertising and business departments, plus a handy how-to-do-it guide with plenty of tips. Sunny remembe...
First Things First: Using the newspaper to teach the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
March 19, 2014
By Rob Melton The reason for integrating newspapers into the curriculum is to acquaint students with various types of expository texts. These lessons help students analyze historical documents and synthesize them with issues involving the First Amendment. View First Things First or download it in P...
Make your own free press passes with this one free website
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
September 12, 2013
By Rob Melton "You do not need to ask permission from anyone to be a journalist," explains the Periodical Publishers Association. "It is sometimes useful, however, to be able to identify yourself as a journalist when needed." To this end, journalistic agencies issue press cards to their reporters, c...
Get up to speed fast with online stylebook and staff manual
June 4, 2013
<strong>By Rob Melton</strong> The online News Writer's Handbook serves up publications rules and guidelines for news writers, editors, photographers and designers. It's also a great teaching tool for new staff members to get up to speed. Best of all, it's free. Teachers and students have p...
Write great leads using these nine strategies to grab your reader’s attention
Sue Barr
October 9, 2012
Editor's Note: This handout by former South Eugene H.S. journalism adviser Sue Barr is one of many that were shared with Oregon journalism teachers and at JEA conventions. The key to writing good copy lies in the first paragraph — the lead. It needs to capture your readers’ interest so they’...
42 tips, tricks, exercises from the pros on how to write a memorable narrative for your publication
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
October 2, 2012
By Rob Melton Narrative is structured in the same way whether it is fiction or nonfiction. It uses all the devices of the narrative. Training young journalists in the art of reporting and interviewing for the kinds of details and perspectives needed for nonfiction narrative can be effectively devel...
Follow these simple techniques to write the perfect caption every time to intrigue, inform readers
Rob Melton, Contributing Editor
September 30, 2012
By Rob Melton Notice what you just did? You looked at the featured photo, then you looked under the photo for the words to help you understand what you just viewed. Then you looked back at the photo to fully appreciate what you know now that you didn't know just a few seconds before that. ...