IN THE CLASSROOM:Students get feet wet in print

On Wednesday afternoon, the only sound in Angela Balanag’s journalism class was a cacophony of mouse clicks.

The quietness of the room belied the students’ collective stress level as they worked to get the Laguna Beach High School paper, the Brush and Palette, to press.

The students occasionally broke the silence to ask questions about story placement or software, but their work was largely solitary.

Articles in the November issue included a homecoming wrap-up, political commentaries, book and movie reviews, a Q&A; with the principal, and the ever-popular horoscopes — mandatory fare for any high school publication.

Breaking news about one of the sports teams’ advancement to the CIF finals required a quick shuffle of the front-page layout.

The class only meets two times each week, compared to similar electives like yearbook, which meet daily.

Students are given no introductory course; they are flung into newspaper production and are expected to pick up their theory, technique and software training on the job.

This model requires students to either sink or swim, Balanag said. At the beginning of the year, students who are dismayed at the amount of work required quickly drop the class; she is left with a small group of dedicated writers, editors and photographers.

Experienced students are asked to mentor new students, and roles change for each issue to provide a breadth of knowledge.

The majority of the students are female, but one boy, Adam Wright, is on the staff; he’s a recent transfer from Ventura County.

Katie Kiraly, managing editor for this issue, said that she has learned a lot about responsibility and making deadlines through her experience on the paper.

Responsibility is an asset echoed by many of the students, which they found they don’t learn as thoroughly in other classes.

Balanag, who also teaches English, inherited a previously strong newspaper that had weakened in recent years, due to constant advisor changes.

“I’m still trying to pick up the pieces and put it back together,” she said.

This year’s newspaper, which is produced about once a month, has been downsized from 12 pages last year to eight this year. Along with the usual sections, a health page was included, the product of a popular two-page spread on mental health in last year’s paper.

The new health section contains recipes, information on fitness programs and other related articles.

The publication is funded by the school but supplemented with ads sold by the students.

Throughout the school year, Balanag teaches students about newsworthiness; the newspaper’s purpose; media law and ethics; reporting skills and graphic design.

Her students are expected to perform basic newsroom duties, like generating story ideas, selling ads and taking pictures.

They develop independence very quickly; Balanag measures participation by a three-ring binder that each student maintains, containing story ideas, progress sheets and past work.

Through required assignments like reporting and selling an ad, the staff learns confidence and acuity.

“I think they have a better temperament than I do, because I freak out about deadlines while they just say, ‘It’ll get done,’” Balanag said.