You have a theme. You have even created or are working on a cover. You might have worked on theme-related pages that are traditionally found in every yearbook, such as the endsheets, title page, opening, closing and division spreads. Now it’s time to do the storytelling, right? But wait. What about the theme? What about the voice? There are all …
In the newest episode of the Ask Mike podcast, host Mike Taylor, CJE, interviewed yearbook editors from opposite sides of the country. The first interview is done with Saugus High School, Saugus, California. Editors Megan Puettmann, Olivia Tessalaar and Ashley Dredge (collectively known as MOA), shared their thoughts on creating their 2020 yearbook. Taylor’s second interview, recorded the next day …
A note from the producer: This episode of Ask Mike was recorded during the recent yearbook workshop held in El Paso, Texas. While editing the episode, I fell in love with the border community, despite never having visited. The love Mike Taylor has for El Paso is also evident. The young people interviewed in this episode are amazing human beings. …
Mike Taylor, CJE, believes yearbook theme copy should be so strong that the school principal can read from it at graduation. Writing strong copy for the whole school year is no easy feat considering themes are typically developed in October. Some schools are even working on their 2020 themes now – in the spring of 2019! Taylor knows that it’s …
There are some yearbook staffs who continually impress, year after year. But how do they do it? Mike Taylor, CJE, host of Ask Mike, sat down to find out how. In this podcast episode, he interviewed the editors of three outstanding yearbooks. You can listen to their interviews on the new episode, ”What Sets These Yearbooks Apart from the Crowd?” …
If you haven’t already, be sure to listen to the excellent season two bonus episode of Ask Mike. In the episode, titled “How Do I Create a Podcast?” Mike Taylor, CJE, and guest Samantha Jo Berry of Bridgeland High School in Houston, Texas, discuss the many benefits of adding podcasts to her journalism class curriculum. Whether the podcast stands alone …
It’s the time of year when many yearbook staffs are finishing their books. The only problem? There are still months left in the school year! If you’re looking for a journalism skill-building activity for your yearbook staff, Mike Taylor, CJE, has an option for you: podcasts! The possibilities of scholastic journalism keep expanding, and many schools are turning to podcasts …
Over the last several years, I became known by the title of Ask Mike. This is mainly due to the questions I get when traveling around the country or through my podcast called Ask Mike. Now it’s time to answer some of those questions. D’Angilo in Kansas writes: Hey Mike, when we look at our spreads, we have maybe seven …
Four years ago, the yearbook program at Williamsville North High School in Williamsville, New York, was fine. They weren’t creating award-winning or journalistic yearbooks, but their yearbook club was creating image-based books that the community liked well enough. “It was a big picture book,” said yearbook adviser Erin DeVantier. This is fairly standard in their part of the country; most …
A beacon for student journalism, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is only weeks away from its 95th annual Spring Convention in New York City. What better time for Mike Taylor, CJE, to interview the organization’s executive director, Ed Sullivan? For the first episode of the Ask Mike podcast’s second season, Taylor and Sullivan discuss Sullivan’s history, CSPA, and the …