Student-led journalism chronicles local life
The Haldane Outlook published its first edition on Nov. 1, a journalistic effort that should prove of interest not just to students but Philipstown residents.
The Outlook’s initial 16-page issue covers a wide swath of life in the school district and issues that extend beyond campus. The student staff, assisted by parents Jennifer Zwarich and John Wayland, and Ashley Linda, an English teacher at the high school who is the journalism club advisor, use The Current offices on Main Street in Cold Spring to plan and prepare the paper. It’s available at the school, the Butterfield and Desmond-Fish libraries, The Current office and other locations. Its stories are also online at haldaneoutlook.com.
On Nov. 11, the Haldane School Foundation awarded a $3,500 grant to The Outlook to cover printing 500 copies of each issue and other expenses. From 2018 to 2023, the foundation provided smaller annual grants for a partnership between the nonprofit Current and The Blue Print, a digital publication created by students in Linda’s journalism class, with select stories reprinted in the paper.
The first front page proves that its editors and reporters are serious about their work. It includes opinions on the presidential election and views from within Haldane on a proposed $28.4 million capital project.
Other stories cover the introduction of goats to campus to eliminate invasive plants (with the headline, “New Kids on Campus”) and the recent homecoming parade. Inside, The Outlook has reflections on Haldane’s 9/11 memorial; the national debate over the significance of Columbus Day; the role of students in civic engagement before they are old enough to vote; and student perceptions, from freshmen to seniors, on the value of SAT exams.
The editorial leadership includes Editor-in-Chief Keira Shanahan, a senior; Managing Editor Lincoln Wayland, a sophomore; Photo Editor Nicolo Masella, a junior; and Chief Design Editor Kira Drury, a senior.
In addition to writing articles, 14 other students oversee copy editing, sports, features, opinion and arts and entertainment. Nineteen more students contributed content.
Shanahan and Wayland debated what should go into the paper but agreed that putting it together was hard work. “I was expecting it to be difficult, and it was,” Shanahan said.
Wayland, who is also a member of The Current’s Student Journalists Program, said the biggest challenge was handling the volume of details, such as “the last-minute things, such as calling 1,000 people to make sure we have the right photos and the right versions of articles.”
Naming the paper was easier. “Haldane is situated on top of a hill that overlooks the village — that was kind of what we were going for,” Wayland said. That is also reflected in the paper’s motto: “The Student Perspective from Two Hundred Feet Above the Hudson River.” Shanahan noted that outlook “is also about our view of things. It’s a play on words.”
The quality of the fledgling paper surprised students. “People might have been a little skeptical,” Shanahan said. “But when it came out, it was like, ‘Whoa, this actually looks like a genuine newspaper!’ ”
Both editors said The Outlook has changed how they view their school and sharpened their eyes for stories. Wayland said he has adopted a habit of checking the school district calendar. Shanahan carries a notebook and talks to students about their concerns.
“The students have a real sense of ownership; they’re fully in charge, which makes them take the work very seriously,” said advisor John Wayland. “The first issue reflects their curiosity, hard work and dedication.”
Jennifer Zwarich said she and Wayland, who are Lincoln’s parents, each worked on their high school and college newspapers. “A student-run paper can be an important forum for young people to engage with their world,” she said, noting that Lincoln’s involvement in Linda’s journalism class and The Blue Print sparked their interest in helping students create a printed paper with a broader circulation.
Shanahan said she is already thinking about improvements. She’d like more attention paid to deadlines and to finish copy editing “much earlier.” An assistant photo editor has been named and the sports section needs to be reexamined, she said. “When you’re a quarterly paper, you can’t report on every single game within that span,” she said.
She thinks the success of the first edition is increasing student interest. “Now that they’ve seen it and know what it can be, more people are eager to get involved,” she said. “That’s very exciting.”
The second issue of The Outlook is scheduled for Jan. 17.
