On Friday, Oct. 2, the Spectator staff visited Northwestern University’s campus for the Medill School of Journalism’s High School Journalism Day. The program included a welcome from Dean Charles Whitaker, a keynote from alumni speaker Sheinelle Jones and workshops on various aspects of journalism. The workshops covered topics such as story structure, broadcast journalism, interview techniques, audio reporting and more.
Members of the Spectator found the program to be informative and enjoyed hearing from the guest speakers and professors. Sadie Bruns ‘27 said her favorite part of the event was listening to Jones. “She was inspiring, and it was great to hear her story,” Bruns said.
Evie Ro ‘28 said she loved seeing Northwestern’s campus on a beautiful day and learned a lot from the workshops. One piece of advice Ro remembered came from a speaker who said young journalists should be as curious as Curious George.
This year, Medill’s High School Journalism Day was split into two days because of the number of schools attending. The Spectator attended the first day, Oct. 2. The second day will be Oct. 30. Expanding the event has been a goal for the Medill School.
Stacy Simpson, associate director of special events at the Medill School, said one of the school’s main aims is reaching as many local schools and students as possible. She noted that some students who attend High School Journalism Day have never been on a college campus before, and she hopes that the event will inspire future journalists.
On the same token, Simpson explained the importance of introducing Northwestern to local Chicago students through High School Journalism Day. “We feel very proud of Medill, but every school at Northwestern is special and important in its own way…so we want to make sure that young people in the Chicago area who are thinking about going to college know about Northwestern.”
Simpson said that another motivation for running High School Journalism Day is to instill in younger generations an appreciation for the press and its role in democracy. She called the event an “early investment” in preserving the journalistic spirit of future generations, especially given the misinformation circulating today.
“I would want them to feel excited about journalism,” Simpson said. “That excitement might make them pay attention to journalism more and find sources other than TikTok.”
Furthermore, Simpson believes that the power of communication and journalistic storytelling is critical in life outside of the field of journalism as a college major. “A doctor needs to be able to express to a patient’s family what’s going on with their family member. They need to be able to tell a story that makes sense to the person who’s hearing it or reading it,” Simpson said.
To maximize the outcomes of High School Journalism Day, professors hosting workshops are encouraged to teach topics they believe high school students may want to learn about. Simpson said that a few of the workshops she particularly liked this year focused on AI usage in journalism, broadcast media and how the business of journalism has shifted with the rise of subscription services in news.
All in all, the point of Northwestern High School Journalism Day is to motivate aspiring journalists with hands-on experience in the first-ranked journalism school and champion what it means to preserve passionate journalism through the next generations to come.
As Simpson said, “We want to do what we can from Northwestern, both for high school students, our current students and even our alumni, to celebrate journalism, help people understand why it’s so important in our world and to our democracy and keep it alive. And you guys are the future.”