Skye Bulman
‘Iolani School Journalist
Table of Contents
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(01)
(02)
(03)
About me
Personal Narrative
Reporting and Writing
Editing, Leadership, and Team Building
(06)
Table of Contents cont.
(04)
(05)
(07)
(08)
Law, Ethics, and News Literacy
Web and Social Media
Design
Photojournalism
Commitment to Diversity
About me
Hello!
My name is Skye Bulman and I am a senior at ‘Iolani School. I joined Imua in 8th grade because it was the only available writing elective, and I stuck with it because I love the journalistic process, especially designing and editing. This is my fifth year in Imua, and I’m now Print Editor-in-Chief, after serving as Print Content Editor for two years. I have received Best in State awards from the Hawaii High School Journalism Association for my design layout and photo essays, I was voted “Most Valuable Staffer” from 2021-22, and I had the honor of representing Hawaii last year at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit conference, where I learnt about the importance of the press and free speech in a democracy.
While recognition is nice, for me journalism is all about activism— shedding light on important topics that otherwise wouldn’t be discussed. As an avid feminist and LGBTQIA+ activist, using my platform to share the stories of those whose voices have been suppressed is one of the most rewarding and meaningful parts of my journalism experience. I love to write (and encourage my staff to write) articles that push the envelope and force our readers to consider complex issues in a new light.
When I’m not in the newsroom I enjoy ceramics, kayaking, ice skating and swimming. I’m also Design Editor for my school’s literary magazine, Mane O Ke Ola, and I run a creative writing club called “Writing Your Truth,” where we study various types of writing, including flash fiction, poetry, and journalism. We also give back to the community, by reading books to nearby elementary school students, writing thank you notes for canned food drives, and holding book drives for veterans.
Personal Narrative
01
I intend to major in journalism because I want to share the stories of people in my community. When I was in elementary school, I used to read the newspaper with my grandma. She’d cut out the comics section for me, but I was more interested in the neighborhood news: I’d sit quietly with her, reading about the new pulled pork sandwich shop opening in Waiʻalae or the beach cleanup scheduled to remove invasive seaweed. Most of the information went over my head, but the feeling of peacefulness I had in those moments stayed with me. I’d always memorize a tidbit of information to share at the dinner table, and it made me feel worldly and smart to tell my family about what was going on in the neighborhood. My mother would chuckle and call me her “little reporter,” while my grandma would simply smile at me, knowing how easy it was for me to fall into a story.
When I first entered high school, my head was full of ideas for the stories I’d write- stories that people wouldn’t be able to hear without a newspaper, ideas that would make people laugh or cry or smile. I was a rookie journalist with a lot of excitement, but little experience in the ways of interviewing, picture taking, and AP writing style. But the current ‘Iolani newsroom editors at the time, Alisha and Eve, took me under their wing and showed me everything I needed to know. They were understanding about all of my blunders, from cracking my camera lens to deleting my entire layout the night before it was due. I felt safe around them, and they made journalistic writing an experience. I’d marvel at their confidence- they could go up to a complete stranger and ask them questions that would reveal the inner workings of their involvement in an activity. From them I learnt the value of keeping my ear close to the ground- you never knew when a story could appear and you’d be called to report on it. They taught me the art of listening, observing, and, when I was ready, writing. They were model journalists, and two years later, when I was asked to become an editor, I vowed to be as nurturing a mentor as they had been.
As Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, I’ve had to make difficult decisions. I’ve cut my own pieces in favor of newer staff members, to give them a chance to shine. Even if I’m excited to write my article, I will put it on the back burner so that other staff writers can experience the joy of seeing their name in print. I’m always the last person in the newsroom, talking to my advisor about layout or editing a staff member’s page. Whenever we get complaints from administration or teachers over a controversial story, I accept responsibility for it and take the time to rework the page and facilitate a discussion with the concerned party. I’ve had to make the tough decisions to reject ideas for print, but I always remember how disappointed I was when my first print story (a truly terrible piece on the merits of gingerbread houses) was rejected. Because of this, I do everything I can to take the sting out of the rejection… No matter how busy I am, revising the accepted pieces and giving source requests, I always take the time to tell the student in person, providing a reason for the rejection, a supportive comment, and the opportunity to move their story online, keeping them motivated and excited to write. With my staff, I try to form a personal connection and be the editor that I would’ve wanted when I was in 8th grade.
For me, journalism is about making a difference. Whether it’s mentoring a budding reporter or choosing to tell stories that inspire people, journalists can shape the world. I want to be a part of that in any way that I can.
Reporting and Writing
02
Link to More of my Articles: Skye’s Online Articles
With the emergence of Covid-19 boosters, a lot of misinformation was being spread about the effects of the shot, so I felt that it was my duty to inform my school community about the true benefits and risks of receiving a booster shot. I gathered my statistics from the official CDC and FDA sites, and I informed my classmates about our school’s guidelines regarding the booster. This story was important to me because I provided valuable information to my peers, helping to keep my school safe and healthy.
Link to Article: https://ee3.cld.bz/Iolani/ImuaSpring2022/6/
News Story #1
As campus clubs started to come back, I mentored and co-wrote an article with a new Imua member. It was my first time acting in a leadership role, and I was proud to teach a novice journalist the ropes of interviewing, design layout, and news writing. The article itself is a celebration of the diverse range of interests we have on campus, with students willing to learn about health and safety, community service, and different cultures. I enjoyed giving new clubs publicity, furthering their goal to provide causes for students to rally around.
News Story #2
This piece was one of my more ambitious projects… after seeing a New York Times article collection including a timeline with notable events of the past year, I decided to do the same for the New Year. This article forced me to find-tune my research skills, as I had to use a variety of new articles, raw data, and editorials to get an idea of the year as a whole. This article taught me how to write succinctly, taking serious news and converting it into a simplified version to fit a 7th- 12th grade audience while still conveying the important aspects of the story.
News Story #3
When I heard that Dr. Seuss, the classic children’s book author, was having his books called out for racism, I couldn’t believe it. This was a time where I had to check my initial bias and put aside my personal feelings for Dr. Seuss and his stories. After conducting in-depth research, I wrote an editorial analyzing all sides of the decision to ban certain Dr. Seuss books from schools. While “cancel culture” and censorship were discussed, ultimately I decided that diversity in the publishing world was enough to support the banning of these books.
Link to Full Article: Racism Hidden Within Picture Books
Editorial #1
When the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was passed last year, I knew our newspaper had to cover it. In the past we’d glossed over covering LGBTQIA+ rights, for fear of how it would be perceived by those with more conservative beliefs, but I was determined to spread awareness about this and how it would affect the queer community. To accurately represent the issue, I interviewed members of GSA club and spent hours researching the states’ anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation to better understand the unfairness of a rule designed to hurt a community so dear to my heart.
Editorial #2
With the emergence of the pandemic, the dangers to Hawai’i’s healthcare system became evident. In 2009, Hawai’i was very close to implementing a plan for universal healthcare, and as hospitals were flooded and students’ elderly grandparents were put at risk, many students at my school started to question whether socialized healthcare was a viable option. I transformed these students’ rhetoric into an article and did my best to increase the intellectual debates around this important dilemma.
Editorial #3
When the Biden administration announced that they were withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan, situation blew up the news and with it came the question of feminism within the country. Perle and I both wanted to expand our view of world affairs and challenged ourselves to relate it back to our school community by discussing feminism. The piece itself was a comprehensive discussion on what should be done for women in Afghanistan during this tumultuous time, along with what American feminists could expect with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the turn towards conservative judicial language. This piece was one of the most complex that I’ve written, and I’m glad that I was able to share my insights on a difficult subject with my school community.
Editorial #4
This feature is on the new drop-in tutoring program for Japanese that was introduced to ‘Iolani in 2020. Sometimes we don’t discuss it enough, and at my school there can be a stigma around it, but everyone can use extra help. The purpose of my article was to bring attention to a program beneficial for students, publishing it to remove some of the stigma around asking for help. My article accomplished this, because after following up with the Japanese teacher who coordinated the program, I was told that since the release of my article participation in the program was up 50%. This is proof that student journalism can make a difference.
Link to Full Story: New Japanese Drop-in Tutoring Program
Feature #1
While this is a fairly standard feature story, it‘s important to me because I came up with the New Teacher Feature project idea, my first leadership o welcome our new teachers into the ‘Iolani community, each returning member was partnered with a rookie journalist, and together they had their first official interview and were published on our Imua site. Watching everyone take their first headshot, first interview, first article… it reminded me of why I love being EIC. The growth that these journalists have over gone in only half a year amazes me and I’m so thankful to have been a small part of that.
Link to Full Story: Ms. Talia Nagatoshi Feature
Feature #2
My “Three Musketeers” Fall Play Review was one of the first reviews I ever wrote for Imua. I had to adapt my writing style from that of an English student to a Journalism student, and in doing so I learnt the value of brief summary and distinct objective. Rather than summarizing the play, I learnt to write intentionally, taking a specific angle and fully developing it so that the story has a personality distinct of the work it’s reviewing. This is a piece of advice that I often share with my staffers… I tell them to “write the piece, don’t let it write you.” Essentially, tell a story with your own voice, putting a unique spin on the event that only you could.
Link to full story: Three Musketeers Fall Play Review
Review #1
My review of Billie Eilish’s song ”Therefore I Am” is important to me because it manages to incorporate Western philosophy, American pop music, and positive body imagery. Billie Eilish has always been a role model for me, as I see what she does (incorporating real-world issues into her songs in an artistic way) as very similar to what I strive to do through journalism. You can learn a lot by pulling inspiration from your idols, and this review was a way for me to pay homage to Eilish and all of the creative inspiration she’s given me over the years.
Link to Full Story: Review of Billie Eilish’s “Therefore I Am”
Review #2
The first news story I ever wrote was a piece on wrestling. It holds a special place in my heart, because it was the first time I really felt like a journalist. I learnt so much from completing this piece: how to integrate quotes, write in AP style, and scout story angles. I wanted to focus on the development of female athletes in a sport usually associated with males. To do this, I interviewed several girls on the team and
Sports Story #1
Leadership, Editing, and Team Building
03
Leadership
Presentations and Daily Announcements
Weekly Editor Meetings
In an effort to keep the staff as informed as possible, I started the practice of having weekly Friday meetings to check in on Social Media, Print, and Online editors. They discuss the pros and cons of the week, any struggles they might be having, and articles that need additional work. In turn, I provide support by reading over pieces that need additional direction, using my 5 years of journalism experience to suggest alternative angles and additional sources. We always end our meetings with a “happy story” of the week, to keep morale up and staffers motivated. We really come together at these weekly meetings, and ensure that all three branches are a united front for the week ahead.
Below, I have several presentations on print design standards, conducting interviews, copyright laws, and the basics of creating layouts on inDesign. I created these slide shows over the summer and I taught my fellow editors to create similar learning tools to use while giving presentations. I also updated and modified several of last year’s presentations on SnoFlow and social media requirements, using the skills I learnt from my Al Neuharth Freedom Spirit conference. These slides were used during our beginning-of-year workshops when we introduced new class members to journalism, and they’ll continue to be used in the future, as a tool for future editors as they add to and revise the information we currently provided them with. At the beginning of every quarter we have each editor run a presentation encapsulating the common mistakes they’ve seen over the past quarter and go over ways to correct them. For print, I typically re-iterate the interviewing procedures (cc’ing Imua, following up with late responders, asking a diverse group of students and teachers for multiple opinions, Otter protocol, etc.) and layout errors from the last issue (mostly journalistic AP standard mistakes and pull quote mishaps). Daily announcements serve a similar purpose, as I announce upcoming deadlines, answer questions about individual articles, and suggest social media and online article opportunities.
Sno Flow Presentation, Print Standards Presentation
Editing
Editing my own piece 5 years later was an enlightening experience. I can see how far I’ve grown in my journalistic writing style, chiefly by using analysis to support quotes, using active voice, and writing succinctly. I also gained more empathy for my staffers through this exercise, as I gained humility by revisiting my past work, seeing how much I still had to learn at the start of my journalistic career. In the future I’ll suggest that returning staff members also complete this exercise, as a source of self-reflection and a reminder of their personal growth.
Law, Ethics, and News Literacy
04
Link to First Amendment Research Paper: First Amendment Case Study
Examples of News Literacy
Free Speech, Free Society Article
Spreading Awareness about Journalism Ethics
To expand students’ thinking, I try to encourage my staffers to be aware and conscientious of the world around them. Sometimes we can get stuck in our ‘Iolani bubble, bogged down by tests, quizzes, and homework, unable to see the full picture. To combat this, every quarter I have every staff member do a presentation on a news article that inspired them to take action. So far we’ve done presentations on This way, by studying the work of those instigating social change, we have a goal to shoot for. Topic matter, interconnectedness with target audience and global audience, and the power of journalism are messages taken away from these presentations, and I feel that they help students better connect to their own articles.
Last year, I participated in the “We the People” essay contest, where I attempted to understand the fundamental rights we as a democratic society have, and the safeguards a free press provides for said rights. I did in-depth research on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and how it threatened students’ First Amendment rights similar to the Tinker v. Des Moines case, which I later developed into a full news story. I also discussed the unjustifiable acts of the Ukraine invasion, and the budding Chinese-Russian alliance, comparing the First Amendment rights of these two countries to America. I shared this article with my journalism class, and my advisor has used it as an example of effective, informative news writing.
Link to Article: Free Speech, Free Society
Journalistic ethics can be a difficult subject to introduce students to. Naturally, we teach students to fact-check and not spread misinformation or plagiarize, but it can be more difficult to explain the fairness and impartiality and humanity that come with reporting. Imua is a wonderful opportunity for students to express their beliefs on current issues, whether they be political, cultural, or environmental in nature. But with that power comes the responsibility of writing ethically and providing coverage to all sides of a story. A slide show presentation isn’t enough to fully explain the magnanimity of this responsibility, so I allow staffers to evaluate themselves at the end of the quarter… they reflect on their work and fill out a Google Survey judging how true they’ve stayed to their journalistic ethics.
It’ s a great chance for self-reflection, to let themselves know what work they still need to do, and with this information I can help them over the course of the year.
At the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Conference last summer, I had the opportunity to listen to and interview Ruby Shamir, the award-winning co-author of Chasing the Truth: A Young Journalist‘s Guide to Investigative Reporting. From her, I learnt the importance of following through with a story, using respectable journalism tactics to publicly document concealed wrongdoing. The lessons in courage, fighting for stories that were too invaluable to go unheard and checking your own biases to find those
Learning About Journalistic Rights
ground-breaking stories are lessons that I presented to my class in a slideshow and continue to emphasize every day. It’s vital that my staff members learn to use their journalistic power to write about worldly issues, not only to educate our school community, but to give them practice for the real-world, where they’ll take the tools they learnt regarding free speech and use them to stand up and talk about social injustice.
Web and Social Media
05
Social Media
Social Media Presentations
Social Media Reel Implementation and New Roles
While I’ve never been the most active follower of social media, I understand that it’s a necessary part of the journalistic process, especially in this day and age, when most readers get their news from online sources. Last year, our staff struggled to produce social media content outside of sports, due to the pandemic and mask-wearing requirements. Adapting to these requirements was difficult, but I led a training on social media picture taking specific to COVID-era rules, and provided our social media manager with support by appointing and training two new roles: Photo Editor and Photoshop Manager. With photo restrictions lessening this year I’ve encouraged my social media editors to cover a wider variety of events, and I think this shows in our increased following and increased posting schedule.
Creative Posting Social Media Presentation
Most of the work that I do for social media is behind the scenes… in my first 3 years in Imua I focused on refining my photo editing and Adobe Bridge skills, but as the years progressed, I realized that I was most passionate about print writing. To stay engaged with social media, I worked on updating our caption standards, often answering questions on hooks and necessary photo identification. With my social media editors, I created a year-long schedule for potential social media events per the Daily Bulletin. I also encourage my staffers to keep their ears low to the ground, to capture new and exciting posts.
Social Media
Instagram Reel: Ukraine Protest
Design
06
Design Experience
Print Design Management
As Print EIC, I’m responsible for all aspects of our print newspaper. That includes pitching stories, news writing, and design layout. Of all of these, design layout has to be my favorite. When I entered Imua, I’d had previous design experience from working on my school’s literary magazine, so I was familiar with Adobe inDesign and Photoshop. I’m glad that I get to put that knowledge to good use, by leading presentations on inDesign and graphic design. In addition to this I’m responsible for page layouts, meaning I have to organize all of our print articles into the best, most logical order, keeping in mind that the article direction could chance at the drop of a hat. It’s a challenging job, but one that’s necessary and often enjoyable. I’ve found that I form closer bonds with my staff members by discussing their pagination with them, and it gives me a clearer idea of what design they should go with. This has taught me the benefits of open lines of communication when it comes to designing, as I often pick the brains of my fellow editors to gain layout and design advice.
I’m very proud of the final product that we produce, and although I sometimes lament the loss of time I could’ve spent on my own design, I understand that the team’s needs come before my own. Even if that means staying late, taking work home, or designing whilst fielding questions from new staff members, I know that my role is to pass on my design experience to the next group of artists, journalists, and graphic designers.
To my left I’ve included two of my favorite designs, the top one for the simplistic yet powerful message shown through the use of negative space and line placement, and the bottom one for its use of color and text type to match the mood of the piece. Both have my favorite element of design: intentional artistic choices.
Links to Print Issues I’ve Designed and Created the Layout For
Photojournalism
07
Link to Photo Essay: https://ee3.cld.bz/Iolani/ImuaFall2021/12/
They say that a picture’s worth a hundred words… that is certainly the case when it comes to student opinion regarding the print edition of the Imua. We always include at least one photo essay per print issue, and it’s always popular amongst the students. Everyone wants a chance to be featured or see their friends in print, so these photo essays play a vital role in showcasing the ‘Iolani community. For the above photo essay, Makai and I took pictures of dorm students, athletes, musicians, STEM-students, and lower schoolers to provide an accurate shot of what students are looking forward to in the new year.
Photo Essay
Social Media Posts
Commitment to Diversity
08
Within my school, diversity looks a little different, as we’re a predominantly Asian community, with all the intricacies and complexities that that entails. Within the newsroom, I attempt to push my staffers’ mindsets by suggesting that they write articles about topics that they‘re unfamiliar with. This past year that’s meant increased LGBTQIA+ coverage, African American coverage, disabled coverage, and Jewish coverage. Every voice within our school community is powerful and worthy of being heard, so looking for opportunities to cover minority communities is a task that I take very seriously.
Our campus cannot truly be represented, embodying our “One Team” motto if we don’t provide differing viewpoints. To ensure that this happens, I try to pair returning journalists with newbies, so that the returnees can show them the logistics of journalism and new staffers will gain the necessary experience to cover heavy topics successfully. This begins with an investigative journalism piece at the beginning of the year, where the best piece is published in print. This year, a piece on period poverty won, and in the past a wide array of topics have been covered: from food insecurity to racial inclusivity within action movies. By making use of new journalist’s ideas and returnees’ journalistic instincts and skill, we manage to cover a lot of complex social issues.
Diversity Within the Newsroom
Articles that Showcase Diversity
We’ve also created “Boarder Bulletin” this year, in an effort to bridge the gap between our day students and our boarding ones. Day students have the opportunity to learn about other cultures and boarders can bond over shared experiences. This is one of the many efforts we’re making to be more inclusive of non-traditional students. We also started to focus on our coverage of the arts and humanities, as after reviewing last year’s print edition, we realized that we tended to cover more STEM-articles than humanities ones. One of the ways we’re constantly improving is by reviewing our past issues to make adjustments and increase diversity where we see we’ve fallen short. We many not be perfect, but we try our best to be a publication that accurately depicts our school community.
Boarder Bulletin and Arts Coverage