Tired of the same old story format?
Back-to-school is upon us, and
Poynter High's Director Wendy Wallace and I are advocating alternative story forms for student journalists in the new school year.
Check out this gutsy Q+A format used by Palo Alto High School students in their online publication, the
Paly Voice.
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Palo Alto High School's the Paly Voice
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Instead of writing a run-of-the-mill story on 'what's new and exciting this year,' the staff chose to publish a question-and-answer session with Asstistant Principal Doug Walker featuring some candid questions including:
- What's the deal with the new staff parking?
- How much did the new science building cost?
- How much did the piles of dirt cost?
Walker gave refreshingly candid responses. Read the whole feature
here.
The Q+A format works here because it provides students with the assistant principal's answers, verbatim. Readers don't need a lot of background in a story like this, they just want straight information.
The
Paly Voice runs a Q+A every week featuring students, faculty, and administration. Why not add an alternative story form to your paper's repertoire?
