In the journalism room at Aberdeen High School, Casey McVey sat at a computer editing sports articles.
Across the room, Steven McClaine wrote a book review while Elizabeth Blasdell edited an article about her recent visit to the Baltimore Basilica.
As deadline loomed, the students were working to put the finishing touches on the latest edition of The Blue and Gold, the Aberdeen High School student newspaper.
This year, the program is about more than the newspaper. In recognition of the struggles facing the print media, the curriculum for the class of about 27 journalism students includes a new wrinkle this year. The students are learning "convergent" journalism, in which students write news content that is adaptable to many media.
"The idea that there is a way to write our news stories and have a hard copy, Web and a broadcast version of our newspaper sounded really elegant to me," said Susan Burnett, the school's newspaper adviser.
The idea for the program came when Burnett attended a program sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. During the two-week program, Burnett learned about newspaper trends, creating blogs, using technology and creating award-winning newspapers.
The students post their newspaper articles on a Web site, sponsored by ASNE, a Reston, Va.-based membership organization for daily newspaper editors, where they can be read by people across the country.
Started in 2003, the site includes content from 489 high schools and about 90 middle and elementary schools. It provides an alternative medium for schools struggling with the cost of printing newspapers, said Diana Mitsu Klos, senior project director for ASNE.
"The biggest cost in producing a newspaper is the cost of printing," said Mitsu Klos. "Young people spend a lot of time online, and school newspapers need to be where the readers are."
To participate, schools pay a one-time fee of $50 and receive resources including a book about best journalism practices. The site appeals to schools where newspapers are in danger of being eliminated, she said.
"Twenty percent of the newspapers that post on our host site have gone to no print editions," Mitsu Klos said. "And that number is only going to increase. The host site is a microcosm to what daily papers are already doing."
