IHSPA Insider

By Jen London, IHSPA At-Large Executive Board Member

Floyd Central High School Adviser

Visuals in journalism matter more than ever. In an age where our students spend more and more time consuming images and videos than text, it’s important to remember that Gen Z scrolls before they read. That same principle applies to our print products, too.

No matter how incredible that 1,000-word feature story is, students are going to flip the page if they aren’t drawn in with some information layering techniques. Whether it’s in Instagram post or your print newspaper, we have to help our students move from simply snapping pictures or putting cute clipart on pages to crafting powerful visual stories.

Good design isn’t just decoration; it’s journalism.

When we report through visuals, that means anything from color selection to photo composition, typography, and hierarchy. Visuals communicate tone, emotion, and credibility, just like words do.

So, how do we teach our students to think like designers?

1. Remember that design is storytelling

• Ask students: What’s the story you’re trying to tell with this page or with this post?
• Focus on design choices that reflect story mood and hierarchy: font as voice, white space as pacing, image cropping to convey focus, or even text alignment to convey order or chaos.
• Encourage students to justify design decisions in the same way they justify editorial choices. For example, we just did a staff critique o our newspaper cover, which teased a story about our spring musical. The photo the editor chose was focused on a single cast member, but it didn’t really convey anything. It was a girl standing on stage singing. As a reader, it left me with a lot of unanswered questions–none of which really made me want to open the paper and find the answers. They had a ton of incredible photos from the show, but you’d never know it from the cover. I showed them this example of how one simple image swap could make an incredibly dynamic impact on drawing the reader in. The first image was muted (both in action and color), while the second showed personality and color while giving the audience an idea of what they can expect from the musical

2. Return to the basics of visual hierarchy

• Ask students: What can be cut without losing meaning? (Visual clutter flattens hierarchy — everything at the same weight means nothing has weight)
• Focus on the most basic elements of eye tracking research. Your eyes typically go: Headline → Photo → Caption → Copy → Sidebar.
• For social media posts, spend time looking at your analytics. What are your users actually engaging with? For example, my students quickly realized that if they posted content on Instagram that did not include images or video, their audience would mostly scroll right past it. In the these posts, the middle post only got 21 likes, but the two that featured students each had 135. If it lacks a personal element, you’ve lost your audience.
• Activity: Do a visual scavenger hunt. Students find examples of strong visual hierarchy or emotional photography in some of your past issues, yearbooks or even by scrolling through your social feeds. Here’s some things you could have them look for:
• A design that uses white space intentionally (not just empty space)
• A layout where color reinforces mood or tone
• An example of strong contrast (color, font, or size) to create emphasis
• A layout where size is used to show importance (headline vs. body text)
• A design that feels cluttered (identify why it doesn’t work)
• An image that tells a story without needing a caption
• A shot that shows interaction between people (relationships, not just individuals)

3. Teach reporters and designers to think like photographers

• Ask students: What emotion or moment defines this story? There are always shots we have to get as photographers, but help your students push beyond that and really dig into the stories and relationships behind the people you’re reporting on.
• Focus on getting your writers and photographers to talk early in the process. If the story is focusing the pressure a senior feels going into basketball sectionals, the writer and photographer should talk about what kinds of shots they want (a close-up of their clenched jaw during warm-ups, a wide shot of them staring up at their senior banner hanging in the gym after the game, etc.). If you need a photography request form to help your students think through their requests better, try this one.
• Activities:
• Moment Mining Exercise

• Goal: Train students to anticipate when the story will visually happen.
• Give a scenario (game, rehearsal, classroom activity, event)
• Ask: Where will the most emotional or telling moment likely occur? When should a photographer be ready?
• Students should map out a timeline of potential moments. This shifts thinking from “cover the event” to “capture the peak moments.”
• Caption First, Photo Later
• Goal: Reverse the process to emphasize storytelling. This builds the connection between visual + context + reporting.
• Give students a hypothetical or real assignment. Have them write a detailed caption for a photo that doesn’t exist yet
• Then ask: What photo would make this caption true?

Ultimately, good design requires a lot of collaboration. When students get stuck in the mindset that their assigned staff role is all they’re responsible for, design becomes much harder. Encourage your photo editors and designers to attend story pitch meetings. Build production workflows that treat visuals as integral, not last-minute additions to fill space on a page when something falls through. Words may tell the facts, but visuals make readers feel them — and that’s the heart of journalism.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) features several Vimeo courses:

• From Pitch to Print: How to Organize and Execute a Newspaper Cycle
• From Pitch to Print: Live Q&A with Jenny Dial Creech
• CPSA Crown Award trends
• Backpack Journalism
• Advice for Journalism Educators
• How to Recruit Talent
• In-Depth CPR

Check out Quill and Scroll, an international honor society for high school journalism students since 1926. This organization has a long history of supporting and recognizing excellent student journalists. Students who earn membership become lifelong members. Quill and Scroll offers both student and adviser scholarships along with contests and critiques. Furthermore, they offer resources for advisers of chapter members.

We want to highlight and share great journalism resources in our monthly newsletters. Use this form to suggest lessons, curriculum, classroom ideas, places to find resources, etc. in a future newsletter. Basically, please share anything you think would help your fellow advisors.

Advisers: Jim Streisel, Brandy Ostojic, Claire Burke, and Dominic James

The former print newspaper start in 1935 before transitioning to fully online in 1922. Students produce daily content that includes written stories, photos, graphics, multimedia, and social media. Furthermore, they publish a theme-based online news magazine called the Acumen, which students produce quarterly. The HiLite staff have earned may of the most prestigious state and national awards, including IHSPA Hoosier Stars, CSPA Crowns and NSPA Pacemakers.

• The cost of belonging: the financial side of high school clubs and sports
• IU media censorship incident reveals deeper strain on free speech rights in the U.S
• The male loneliness epidemic: a taboo topic brought to light
• Strike a Chord! Interactive JAM
• Up and Away
• Opposing Column: Banning social media is not the solution
• Opposing Column: The U.S. should follow Australia’s lead on social media restrictions for teens
• New diploma requirements and subsequent creation of AP course to impact student experience
• As AI transforms swimming, where does Carmel Swim Club stand?
• Yellow Issue (Acumen)

CHTV is a100% student-run television station. It broadcasts a wide variety of content, including live sportscast of Carmel High School sports, morning announcement, community events, PSAs, and game shows. CHTV has won numerous state and national level awards for their work.

• CHTV Morning Announcements: 2026 IASB Best Newscast, 2026 IASB Best School Newscast Honorable Mention
• CHTV Image Promo: 2026 IBS Best Promotional Spot
• Football Hype Video: 2026 IASB Best Branded Hype Video Honorable Mention
• Carmel Vs. North Central Homecoming Game: Produced By IBS And IASB Award Winning Sports Crew
• Fire Alarm Safety PSA

One of the goals of the Carmel High School yearbook is to "grow with an amazing group of students and work to show off each individual and unique section, club, student, staff and so much more of the school that may be hidden or nobody tries to pay attention to. The yearbook has won many state and national awards, including multiple Hoosier Stars.

• Pinnacle 2025 Cover
• Spirit Showdown
• What Makes Us, Us?
• 2024 Election
• Ceasefire Chaos
• Master of the Sport

WHJE 91.3 (Radio)

The student-run radio station for Carmel High School features an alt-rock format, including music shows, talk shows, podcasts, sports broadcasting, promotions & PSAs, and or news.

• Live Radio
• Sports
• Podcasts

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!