Remembering Yolanda Zertuche
At the beginning of my junior year, the MacJournalism Instagram account got a DM asking if we could post information about a benefit lunch being held by the family of former McCallum custodian Yolanda Zertuche, who had recently passed away. Due to a mistake in paperwork, the family was being held responsible for the looming […]
Photojournalism
INTRODUCTION Writing has always come naturally to me, which has served as a good foundation for almost every other skill I have picked up as a journalist. If I could write and ask questions, I could do anything. Except take pictures. Camera settings seemed like a puzzle I would never be able to solve and I […]
Marketing & Audience Engagement
introduction Coming into the 2023 school year as co-editor-in-chief of the The Shield, no one prepared me for the fact that, by definition of the role, I would be producing less content. As an editor and a leader first, my writing, photography and design would take a backseat. This was a hard pill to swallow […]
Dear Mr. President, Madam Vice President
As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris assumed their roles as the president and vice president on Jan. 20, PBS Student Reporting Labs asked McCallum students what they wanted to see from the Biden-Harris administration. Here is what they had to say. As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris assumed their roles as the president and vice […]
McCallum: 70 Years Later
2023 was the 70 year anniversary of McCallum’s opening, which brought the opportunity for coverage of how the school has changed. Because of Austin’s rich history, I was able to be connected not only with McCallum Alum Maggie Slocum, who was part of the school’s first freshman class, but also 99-year-old Carl Shepherd who worked […]
Commitment to Diversity
INTRODUCTION It can be easy to think that diversity is just about representing marginalized groups or individuals. But really, issues surrounding diversity and inclusiveness affect everyone on campus. And it is the role of student journalists to authentically capture all members of the school community, making it irresponsible to fail in creating a diverse and […]
Law, Ethics & News Literacy
INTRODUCTION Right now, student journalism is in trouble. Between censorship laws, distrust in the media and the unknown impact of Artificial Intelligence, the understanding of law, ethics and new literacy is of paramount importance. Keeping this material in mind is the responsibility of each individual journalist, but creating awareness and advocating for accurate and objective […]
Web and Social Media
INTRODUCTION Over my four years on The Shield, I’ve always felt deeply connected to our online publications, The Shield Online and the @macjournalism Instagram account. Perhaps it’s a product of spending my entire first year as a staffer on Zoom. It’s no secret that I didn’t have the typical experience of most new staffers — […]
A Taste of Fascist Peach Cobbler / Following their (day) dreams
During my sophomore year, my Issue 3 story was chosen for the double truck, which meant I got to try out designing a center spread for the first time. For this design, I had to be mindful of proximity and space to tell two different stories about student bands. I also needed to figure out […]
Seeing these stars
For our second issue of the year, we wanted to use the space of our double truck to feature multiple students, rather than just one story. The mini-profiles on the page were all about students in the marching band who also are a part of other football game extracurriculars like Blue Brigade, cheer, athletic trainers […]
