As the coordinator for student media advising at North Carolina State University, Bradley advises the daily newspaper, the radio station, a weekly newspaper, a literary magazine, an online magazine and the yearbook. He is a frequent speaker at workshops worldwide on topics ranging from the ethics of digital photography to publications design. He is the editor of the publications for the national Journalism Education Association and active in local and regional associations to improve the quality of journalism education. He has received the Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association, the Medal of Merit from the Journalism Education Association, the Star of Texas from the Association of Texas Photography Instructors and the Trailblazer Award from the Texas Association of Journalism Educators. In 2006, JEA awarded Wilson its highest honor, the Carl Towley Award.

By Bradley Wilson
Coordinator, Student Media Advising
North Carolina State University
bradleywilson08@gmail.com

One of the fun things about working with college students is that, often, they’re not inside the box. They often are creative thinkers that aren’t jaded by the ills of the modern mass media.

But for every bit of innovation and creativity that college students have, sometimes high-school students have even more. Sometimes they lack the technical skills to implement their ideas, and sometimes they don’t know what their options are, but a good adviser is there to help out. Just like at the college level, the adviser is there to guide the students, to get them outside the box, and to realize the possibilities. When the students challenge the system, work as a team with their adviser and push technology, the results are amazing.

Last week, I attended something like my 25th Fall National High School Journalism Convention hosted by the Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association in Washington, D.C. And, as usual, I saw some of the best journalism, some of the best examples of students pushing the technology, that I see all year long. These students are not inhibited when it comes to using technology, that’s for sure.

As we sat around talking about Web sites — in between photo contests, meals and meetings — we also talked about what made a good Web site. Above all, I became convinced more than ever that a good site provides content, first and foremost, and doesn’t just fill space. That content has to be timely, provided efficiently for the ADD generation, and updated frequently. Television is a superficial media. Newspapers are an in-depth media but require a time commitment. Radio lacks visuals. The Web can be as in-depth as the viewer wants, can be a fast read and fits the ADD generation with lots of shiny objects.

Then I solidified my thinking that good Web sites make use of the technology. They don’t just dump the print edition online. They certainly provide visuals with almost every piece. But they also provide podcasts, audio-visual slideshows and videos. The Web is not a two-dimensional media — it’s a four-dimensional media making full use of depth through sound and video and time providing updates in almost real time when things are working well.

Speaking of the ADD generation — forget calling them the millennials, they can’t spell it — they also expect that fourth dimension to include links forward and backward in time through links to old stories, links to other media (videos, etc.), and links even to stories on other sites. Remember, how the guy from Macy’s in Miracle on 34th Street (the original one) sent people to other department stores and how successful he was? A successful site provides one-stop shopping for viewers. Sure, it’s not cool to be scooped by another media outlet. But when scooped, then, the object is to provide readers with a link to the most up-to-date information and then go in another angle. Provide your readers with information they can’t get anywhere else and link to what you can’t provide.

Our local television Web site — wral.com — wins national awards such as the Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in journalism. They don’t always scoop the other television stations or even the local college newspapers, but they always provide resources for their readers, linking to videos, slideshows, other stories and other media if that’s what it takes. Of course, they have resources that most newspapers and other television stations are jealous of and managers that know the value of the mass media on television and online.
College media always look to entities like wral.com to set high standards. But we would all do well to also look to some of the best high-school standards to push our bar even higher (and recruit future staffers).

BVWNews, Blue Valley West HS, Overland Park, Kan.

CNHSMedia, Columbus North HS, Columbus, Ind.

The Rider, Legacy High School, Mansfield, Texas

FHNtoday.com, Francis Howell North HS, St. Charles, Mo.

The HiLite, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind.