IHSPA Insider

By Jim Streisel, JEA Curriculum Chair

Carmel High School Adviser

This article was original published as a guest column for the HiLite on January 29, 2026. While aimed at Carmel High School Students, its discussion about the value journalism can have for all students is something important for advisers to consider as well.

I’ve heard it for quite a while now; journalism is a “dying” profession. The thing is, I haven’t seen it, at least not here. I’ve been a journalism teacher for more than 30 years, all of them here at this school, and while I have definitely seen a shift in the way we do things, I can’t say we’re dying. Not even close. But to see why, you have to look at the bigger picture.

See, high school is about a lot of “stuff.” It’s about taking math classes and struggling through SATs and attending pep rallies and navigating relationships. It’s about filling out college apps and thinking about your future career and learning how to drive and figuring out how to take the perfect selfie.

But above all else, high school is about learning, not just about subjects, but learning about life. How to navigate complicated situations. How to find balance. How to juggle several tasks at once. How to work as a team. How to find good credible information. How to develop networks. How to be “professional.”

As a proud teacher in the communications department, an elective area, I think recently we’ve lost sight of why students take our courses in the first place. Lately we’ve been focusing on the “hard” skills we teach — job-specific skills, some might say. But while those skills are not necessarily less important, they are at least equally important to the “soft” skills (what many call “transferable” skills) I just listed. I need only look at the small handful of students I’ve taught who chose to pursue journalism in college and beyond (and who do extremely well, I might add), and compare that to the vast majority of my students who do not. For those students, classes like mine are not, and never will be, about pathways and “job-readiness.”

It’s clearly about something else.

I learned a long time ago that I'm not in the business of producing professional journalists, just as art teachers aren’t in the business of producing professional artists or performing arts teachers aren’t in the business of producing professional singers or dancers. Rather, I’m in the business of teaching students how to be solid, productive and responsible members of society. I just happen to use the language of journalism to reach that goal. That’s what students want, and that’s what they get in our department.

I wrote this column at the request of my perspectives section editors. They decided to try something new this year and introduce guest columns, something we’ve never really done. And I encouraged it. Frankly, it’s been a great addition to what we offer for our readers. I try to do that with my other students, too. When they ask if they can try something new, I don’t say no; I say, “Show me.” And then they go back and do some Google searching and watch YouTube tutorials or look at scads of professional examples, and they figure it out. Along the way, they learn something. Not “journalism” per se; they already know how to do that. No, they learn how to navigate tough situations. They learn where to turn when they don’t have all the answers. They sometimes learn how to deal with disappointment when things don’t turn out the way they wanted, and then they learn to try a new way.

That sounds a lot like life to me.

So why join the communications department? Because what we do here is special, it’s unique. Covering the students of Carmel High School is a privilege and an adventure unlike any other you might have. Being part of a journalism staff — whether it’s CHTV, Pinnacle yearbook, WHJE or HiLite News — is like being part of a family. For many of our students, this area is their “home base.” They love it here. They feel safe to take risks here. They feel challenged here, and, subsequently, they feel rewarded here.

We’re not dying. On the contrary, we’re alive and well and we want you to be a part of what we’re doing here. And if you join us along the way, who knows? You might learn a thing or two.

One great way to learn about the changing trends and finding ideas for your staff is to become a judge. As a judge, you get a exposed to a wide range of student journalism to see what works and what doesn't. Plus, you can get paid to judge and learn in many competitions. One of the easiest ways to get involved in judging is to complete the JEA Critique Training, which is only a 2 hour lesson. Completing it puts you on the list of JEA judges that many state journalism contests reach out to first to find new judges.

Advisers: Erin Leinbach and Scott Greene

Warsaw Community High School Publications feature the print newspaper The Roar and the yearbook The Tiger (Both advised by Leinbach) and WCSN News (Greene). Since 1936, Warsaw has featured different newspapers under various names. The current version, The Roar, is the 15th volume of the newspaper. The yearbook The Tiger has covered each school year going back to at least 1912. WCNS News is a weekly news show. The program continues to grow, exploring the addition of a student-run print shop.

• 25-26 Issue 1: Back-to-School
• 25-26 Issue 2: Spooky Issue
• 25-26 Issue 3: Holiday Issue
• 25-26 Issue 4: Winter Issue
• 25-26: Issue 5: Spring Issue

• WCSN News Playlist

Submit the best of your student's work here. Every month we'd like to highlight great journalism from IHSPA journalists. We'd like to high light a variety of journalism, including print, yearbook, broadcast, writing, photojournalism, podcasts, etc. So, keep submitting your student's work throughout the year!