Janet Ewell for Goodheart-Willcox Author Testimonials

Speaker: Janet Ewell

Janet Ewell: Hello, I am Janet Ewell, the lead author of Journalism: Publishing Across Media. Journalism teachers are some of the busiest people in the profession. A Journalism teacher may teach Journalism 1, 2, and 3 and advise students publishing in several media, sometimes all in the same class period. It is hard to find time for three levels of direct instruction amid all the other demands. This textbook is meant to be put in the hands of the students to be accessible to them. It is written in broadcast language which means its reading level is at the 9th or 10th grade. The information is in consumable chunks with frequent subheads and opportunities for application. For instance, in the ethics chapter in the section titled, What You Do Not Owe Your Sources and Subjects. You will find short sections titled Money. You do Not Owe Them Money. Control of the Story. The Right to Review the Story and Anonymity and the Anonymity subsection is the longest. It is followed by Your Turn box that asks students how they would handle a specific request for anonymity from a student in the foster care system. How would they verify the sources credibility and how would they give others the chance to respond to the statements made about them? The reading could be assigned to an individual or a small group of students with the teacher returning to those students to guide the discussion after their reading. And after the teacher has checked out cameras, fixed computers, returned first drafts of articles for publication, and pointed out editorializing in a news story. This text is designed to be helpful for both students and teachers.

Janet Ewell: I'm Janet Ewell, lead author of Journalism: Publishing Across Media. Our third edition will have several exciting additions, three new chapters, profiles of former journalism students and updated content throughout the book. We've added a stand-alone photo and video journalism chapter, Numbers in the Newsroom chapter which is an introduction to data journalism and also a chapter on staff handbooks, editorial policies, and style sheets. We've also added profiles of for former student journalists who tell how their scholastic journalism experience prepared them for their current careers in finance, medicine, the military, the nonprofit sector, tech, and even aerospace. They have insightful things to say about the value of journalism. In addition, we have revisited every chapter and feature to be sure the text is helpful and relevant for students who may be publishing across multiple platforms and in many forms of media from yearbooks to photo sharing apps to live updates on the web and in more traditional print formats.

Janet Ewell: Journalism: Publishing Across Media is freshly updated, accessible to students, is a comprehensive high school textbook, and contains style exercises, writers workshops, and other helpful features. The text is fresh. The third edition will be published in 2025. The second edition was published in 2021. We discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by the many ways news stories can now be disseminated and encourage students to use the media that is best for their story and their audience. The text is accessible. It is meant to be in the hands of the students, not just as a source for the teacher's direct instruction. It is written at 9th or 10th grade reading level. The content is clearly divided into short consumable chunks. At least one relevant feature box appears in every spread—a your turn box, a cartoon illustration, a chart, an info box, an example, a feature such as Now Closer to Home, which focuses on practical application. Students are never faced with a page of black and white text. Journalism: Publishing Across Media is meant to be a comprehensive high school textbook and it is appropriate to the high school setting. It has been adopted in six or seven states and is on track for another half dozen adoptions. It is helpful in almost all aspects of the Journalism 1 curriculum. The text includes journalism style exercises and quizzes, writers workshops, frequent checks for understanding and application. As more as well as more traditional end-of-chapter materials. It's supported by web resources such as how to cover issues of disability and how to estimate crowd size, as well as additional practice.