Have you ever wanted to express your opinions to the students and staff of Weatherford High School? Do you want to improve your writing skills? Do you want to bulk up your college or work resume?

If so, consider joining either Newspaper or Yearbook!

Both of these student-led publications offer creative wiggle room at Weatherford High School for students to capture memories and impactful events all throughout the academic year.

Even though journalism has built a bad reputation over the last few years, real journalism is not just bashing political figures and making “fake news.” Real journalism is reporting on the topics that will impact the world around you. Whether it be debunking false information, or seeing the other side of an argument, journalism is meant to inform and keep the public updated.

High school journalism students earn higher grade point averages, score better on the ACT college entrance examination, and demonstrate better writing and grammar skills in college compared with students who do not have those journalism experiences. These findings are the result of new research conducted in 2008 for the Newspaper Association of America Foundation by Jack Dvorak, Ph.D., director of the High School Journalism Institute and a professor of the School of Journalism at Indiana University.

Composing stories in journalism or newspaper publications provides students the opportunity to express themselves and to create work for everyone to enjoy. Students learning about how to write editorially will lead them to acquire the ability to communicate well with others and work efficiently in groups.

“The newspaper has impacted my life in such a great way, and has led me to make new relationships within my school,” said junior Alli Williams. “Newspaper connects me with so many amazing people and truly makes me smile even more every day.”

Additionally, journalism gives students familiarity and fluency in writing, which can be applied in almost every aspect of a student’s educational career. A journalism program does not just create journalists, it creates leaders, activists, lawyers, politicians, authors, accountants, teachers, and infinitely more.