When Jacqueline Caglar from Barrington, Illinois, went into the “High School Video Critique” workshop taught by Carlin McCarthy, Caglar expected the video sample from her school’s broadcast team to be “ripped apart.” Instead, Caglar said everyone enjoyed each others’ videos and offered supportive feedback.
“High School Video Critique” was one of ten workshops cherubs could choose from. The workshops gave cherubs a break from lectures and allowed them to explore specialized topics.
“I learned a lot,” Caglar said. “Some advice that stuck out to me was to always over-record because you’re always going to need more footage than you think.”
Lexi Newsom from Overland Park, Kansas, attended the “Investigative Reporting Ideas You Can Use” workshop taught by Elyssa Cherney. Cherubs learned how to use the Freedom of Information Act to access public records and brainstormed article ideas.
“The workshop definitely gave me a new direction,” Newsom said. “I didn’t realize just how easy it was to get public records. I’m excited to go back and use what I’ve learned.”
Newsom said she plans to investigate how her school district is breaking the law by not publicizing its financial records.
Bret Begun taught the “Profile Writing” workshop. Jenny Wang from Los Angeles said she appreciated Begun’s advice on maintaining a professional relationship with subjects.
“He taught us to be fair, but not flatter,” Wang said. “That’s a great approach to profile writing because we’re supposed to get very personal details from the interviewee but also be objective.”
