Junior Talia Lissauer and Hill work on the News page on Late Night. The front of the paper was dependent on a City Council Vote occurring at 7:30 p.m., so Lissauer and Hill collaborated to get the story and the design done. Echo was one of the first newspapers to publish the news of the vote.
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Walking into the Newseum Nov. 24 in Washington D.C., I’ll admit, I had low expectations. It had been a week full of museums — I was tired of them. However, it turned out the five hours we spent at the Newseum wasn’t enough, I wanted more. I could have spent days in that museum, and am sad that I will not be able to visit again as the museum has since closed.
Before experiencing the Newseum, I knew journalism was important. I grew up with The New York Times on my doorstep every Sunday and NPR playing in the kitchen every morning so I knew the work journalists were doing was important, but seeing the direct effect journalism had on such big events — like the bombing of the Boston Marathon — drove it home. Leaving the Newseum, I was more certain than ever that I would pursue journalism after high school. I was inspired by the legacy left behind by other journalists, and decided I want to continue sharing the truth and educating the public. I never could have imagined that the application for Echo I turned in on a whim at the end of my freshman year would lead not only to one of the most impactful experiences I have ever had, but also to a career and a passion. When I say on a whim, I really mean on a whim. I was sitting in my seventh-hour study hall freshman year, when my teacher, Lori Keekley, asked if I was going to apply for Echo, the student-run newspaper. I was hesitant at first, but she convinced me to give it a try. Looking back, it was a decision that changed the course of my life in the most positive way imaginable. As someone who had always breezed through school, Echo provided a much needed challenge. I came onto staff knowing next to nothing about journalism. Since I never took the intro to journalism class, my only experience with journalism came as a reader. Echo was hard. Transcribing interviews took forever and writing the story even longer. I still didn’t understand the rules of the game, much less how to play it. But I kept trying. I kept writing, interviewing, beating my deadlines, signing up for extra stories, and pushing myself. Though I still strive to not procrastinate homework, if I need a break from history reading or biology questions, I now turn to journalism. As high school went on and my classes got harder, Echo became one of my easier classes. That’s not to say anything about Echo changed, rather I did. I still come across challenges regularly, but now I have the skills to meet those challenges. Starting my senior year as one of two Editors-in-Chief, my love for Echo got out of hand. I felt an immense pressure to help everyone, immediately, and constantly — but that's not possible. Over time, I was forced to learn where to draw the line of how much Echo is too much Echo for one night. Now I am much better at prioritizing what needs my attention on Echo, so I can continue to succeed in the rest of high school. My non-Echo friends think I am insane for how much Echo work I do every day — it really is a part-time job — so I try to explain to them that journalism isn’t just an elective or a cocurricular for me, it is a passion. My fascination with journalism has been steadily growing inside me since I began three years ago. My experiences in my senior year, encouraged that growth to a whole new level. After touring the Washington D.C. office of Politico, I could suddenly picture myself working in a newsroom. I became captivated with the possibility that in several years I could be producing the breaking news coverage, or writing the in-depth piece on the presidential candidates. Before attending the National High School Journalism Convention in 2019, journalism seemed like a far off dream — one that I had no intention of following through on. Meeting Mary Beth Tinker while in D.C. humanized the issue of student censorship for me. The brief conversation we shared inspired me to learn more about student censorship and reminded me how lucky I have been with my journalism experience. My school has a long standing tradition of excellent student journalism, which has created a wonderful environment to learn about journalism in. I keep going back to a quote I saw at the Newseum. Journalism is the first rough draft of history" I hope my continued passion for journalism and drive to spread the truth will someday contribute to the rough draft Graham speaks of. With every rough draft I turn in, I will remind myself why I am a journalist: because I believe providing truth and clarity amid complexity is of the highest value.
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