You’ve spotted yourself and your friends in the yearbook photos, read articles about your favorite teacher and liked the West High Athletics social media posts. Now it’s time to go behind the scenes and learn more about how West student journalists produce this plethora of content.
Journalists aim to provide their community with the most factual and relevant information possible. To do this, West provides two student-run publications: West Side Story, the student newspaper, and Trojan Epic, the school’s yearbook.
“Journalism, whether student journalism or national coverage, is important information for people [who need] to know what’s going on. Journalists [strive] to get the unbiased truth out of both sides of the story, and that’s really important,” Editor-in-Chief of the digital WSS Ashlyn Brady ’25 said.
From curiosity to confidence, journalism students develop versatile skills which are applicable to their daily lives. As the Editor-in-Chief, Brady utilizes these skills while directing the class in announcements and assignments.
“You not only learn journalism skills, but life skills [as well]. I was a very shy freshman, and now, [in] senior year, my job is to stand in front of the class every day. Even if you aren’t thinking of being a journalist after high school, you should [still] join because you learn so many unique life skills that you wouldn’t learn in another classroom,” Brady said.
Journalism Advisor Sara Whittaker believes there is one characteristic that is most important for journalistic success.
“Curiosity and being able to listen are the most important things in journalism. Just being a little nosy and willing to follow up to get certain answers is really important,” Whittaker said.
Joanna Kao is the Senior Editor of Artificial Intelligence at the Pulitzer Center, a non-profit media outlet. Though Kao graduated in 2009, she credits the WSS for her continued love of journalism.
“I’ve been very lucky to still be involved in journalism since graduating from university,” Kao said. “My love for journalism started at West. It’s such a big school, [and] it’s hard to know what’s going on in every corner with every group. Being a part of a newspaper made it possible to share stories across the entire school.”
Like Brady, Kao agrees that many journalism skills translate into applicable knowledge in other fields.
“One thing I really loved about the newspaper at West High was that it was student-run. Mrs. Whittaker let us try stuff out — there are very few classes where you get to do that outside of journalism,” Kao said. “It taught me time management, how to motivate myself, explore my own interests and work with people. There’s a lot of teamwork skills involved which I definitely have taken into my life now.”
Trojan Epic Co-Editor-in-Chief Taelim Yoon ’26 agrees the freedom aspect of the newsroom creates a sense of responsibility and importance among the staff.
“Because it is a student-led publication, students take charge and are on top of things in the news and then inform their peers,” Yoon said.
Foundations of Journalism:
As students begin registering for next year’s classes, they are bound to run into “Foundations of Journalism” underneath the “English Electives” section. As a prerequisite to joining any of West’s publications, FOJ teaches students many aspects of journalism, spanning from photography and design to interviewing and podcast production.
“The best, most straightforward way to get involved with journalism is to enroll in [FOJ],” Whittaker said. “It’s the year-long prerequisite class where [you will] learn how to do all the different aspects of journalism and get involved in all three publications. Then [you] can choose to apply for Broadcast Lab, News Lab, Trojan Epic staff or a combination of those publications.”
Amanda Anyaoha ’27, a student currently in FOJ, believes the class is giving her a strong base to build upon as she plans to join the journalism staff next year.
“[Whittaker] doesn’t just send us off, she prepares us to join a publication. She teaches us what we need to expect going forward,” Anyaoha said. “FOJ is showing me everything I need to know for each section of the publication.”
After taking Foundations of Journalism, Sophie Bergman ’27 joined Broadcast Lab and the Trojan Epic her sophomore year.
“The thing with journalism is that there [are] so many options. With almost every other activity, there’s maybe one or two things you could do, but with journalism, you could go into yearbook, you could write, you could design, you could take photos, you can do videos,” Bergman said. “Especially with our program, it gives you so much freedom.”
Trojan Epic:
Since 1968, the Trojan Epic has served West High by producing timeless, memorable yearbooks. The Trojan Epic yearbook staff works meticulously year-long to encapsulate the school year’s memories into one hardcover book.
“You’re making this memory book, like a time capsule, for people to look back on,” Co-Editor-in-Chief Charlotte Stephens ’26 said. “I really value being able to have people be proud of the book and keep it forever. Being able to look back and show their grandkids, ‘Here’s me at Homecoming’ or ‘Here’s me in the student section.’ Being able to relive those memories through the raw emotions you can capture in a photo.”
A typical day for a yearbook staffer includes several tasks to ensure the publication runs smoothly.
“Depending on the day, you could be focused on reaching out to sources, getting interviews done, writing story drafts or attending sporting events and taking photos. Every day is different,” Yoon said.
Yoon enjoys the ability to partake in multiple activities in the publication.
“[Yearbook] allows you to experiment in so many different ways,” Yoon said. “You get to take photos, design, write and get a little bit of everything. It allows you to explore all of your creative urges.”
Similar to Yoon, Bergman finds that journalism has provided an avenue to explore and get to know her school better.
“Yearbook helps me see West better because you get to see behind the scenes of events you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. I get to see sports, music classes and meet really cool people,” Bergman said.
Broadcast:
Though broadcast journalism often refers to video content, Broadcast Lab encompasses all things web: timely coverage, multimedia, podcasts and more. Although WSS has had a web presence since 2007, the current WSS website, wsspaper.com, which attracts over 22,000 viewers each month, was created in 2011. In addition to the website, Broadcast staff contribute to the print publication and manage the WSS and West Athletics social media accounts.
“We shoot really hard to have timely news coverage because that’s something Print and Yearbook can’t do,” Brady said. “Every Monday, we’ll talk about what’s going on at West. We’ll always bring up people if they’re doing something really cool [or] if there’s a club that’s doing something; we’ll make sure to cover that as well.”
Broadcast differs from Print and Trojan Epic because of the ability to incorporate multimedia into their work. These opportunities pushed Brady to join the Broadcast staff.
“In Broadcast, you can shoot videos, record podcasts and do a lot of multimedia that you aren’t able to do in our print publication or in our yearbook,” Brady said. “That possibility made me excited.”
However, posting on the WSS website is not reserved for broadcast staff only. Print staffers are encouraged to and often publish on WSS’s website.
“We strive to have as much collaboration as possible, whether that’s just in the class or throughout other class periods,” Brady said.
West Side Story:
The WSS is West’s magazine publication. Over the years, the staff has covered controversial state legislation, school board meetings, elections, state championships and the accomplishments of West students and faculty. The WSS features diverse stories and sources in an effort to have the most fair and honest coverage. Feature Editor Shanza Sami ’26 finds excitement in interviewing unique sources.
“There [have] been a wide range of cool sources I’ve gotten to reach out to and receive insights from,” Sami said. “For example, there was one [source] covered by outlets such as Forbes. For my current article, I’m interviewing this professor from Rutgers University; he’s been covered by the Scientific American. Journalism gives you the opportunity to reach out to people you wouldn’t have thought about contacting. Through that, you get these really cool insights and build connections.”
However, the WSS isn’t all about writing; there are designers constantly working to pull in readers with captivating visuals. Designer Ahmed Ibrahim ’27 discovered his love for design in FOJ.
“I loved our designing unit in FOJ, and I really wanted to continue that this year,” Ibrahim said. “It’s a way to express my creativity.”
Together, the writers and designers work together to publish six issues throughout the school year. Over the years, the publication has built up its reputation by holding the Iowa High School Press Association “All Iowa News Team Award” for eight consecutive years.
“This publication has been built from people [who came] before you,” Sami said. “They’ve built the publication up to be reputable in terms of high school journalism and have laid the foundation for you — I think of it as continuing a legacy. That’s what motivates me to write.”
Whittaker believes current staffers and alumni find that the job is a positive experience they wouldn’t have wanted to miss.
“I’ve never had a student say they regret taking journalism, but I’ve had many students I didn’t have in class [who] said, ‘I wish I would have done journalism in high school,’” Whittaker said. “There’s so many students that form lifelong friendships and connections. [They] think of the newsroom as a home base and [use it to] create meaningful work. I don’t think you’d regret it if you gave it a shot.”
