SNOcast

SNO Sites

SNOcast, by SNO Sites, features conversations with journalism teachers, students, and working professionals, discussing journalism best practices, lessons from being in the field and everything in between. Hosted by Alex McNamee. Music by Vibe Mountain via the YouTube Audio Library.

  • 30 minutes 7 seconds
    Lesson 8: News Satire

    This week, we take a look at satire journalism, including what separates a good idea from a bad one, the writing process, and how it must distinguish itself now from fake news. We interview Anna Larranaga, an editor of TheNordly.com, a regional satire news site based in Minnesota. 

    19 May 2021, 6:00 am
  • 37 minutes 46 seconds
    Lesson 7: Live Streaming

    This week, we discuss live streaming high school sports and other extra curricular activities with Mark Koski, vice president of the NFHS Network which streamed a million live events this past year and continues to grow.

    26 April 2021, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes 38 seconds
    Lesson 6: Watergate Retrospective

    This week, we ask retired journalism adviser Karl Grubaugh about his viral Twitter thread that reflected on a 1994 side project asking public figures who were involved in the Watergate scandal what America should learn from it. His Twitter thread begins here: https://twitter.com/kgrubaugh/status/1341277717975580672

    12 April 2021, 2:22 pm
  • 42 minutes 13 seconds
    Lesson 5: Pandemic Journalism

    This week, we turn the spotlight onto The Tower student publication at The Masters School (New York) and talk to journalism adviser Ellen Cowhey about their excellent, ongoing reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Ivy Kaplan joins the show for an expert's review of The Tower's recent work.

    29 March 2021, 11:00 am
  • 31 minutes
    Lesson 4: News Literacy

    This week, we discuss a future in which news literacy is standardized education, why it's so important and what it would look like with Darragh Worland, vice president of creative services for the News Literacy Project and host of their podcast, "Is that a fact?" Read her op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/We-need-news-literacy-education-in-our-schools-15900710.php

    15 March 2021, 10:00 am
  • 33 minutes 20 seconds
    Lesson 3: Polls and Surveys

    This week, Kansas Scholastic Press Association executive director Eric Thomas explains what makes him nervous about student journalists trying to be pollsters to provide definite answers to big, indefinite questions and why his advice to publications preparing their own surveys is to drop everything and run away.

    1 March 2021, 10:00 am
  • 41 minutes 53 seconds
    Lesson 2: Beginner Interviewing

    This week, journalism curriculum expert Ivy Kaplan teaches us how to conduct an interview. She outlines a few easy, transferrable strategies to be better prepared and discusses things to look out for during your conversation. Then, we spotlight the student newspaper at Powell High School in Wyoming and interview its journalism adviser, Vin Cappiello.

    15 February 2021, 10:00 am
  • 40 minutes 33 seconds
    Lesson 1: Forced Adaptability

    Teaching is a hard job. The coronavirus pandemic has complicated it even more. How can you carry on when your situation is so fluid, when you don't know whether you'll be teaching class tomorrow in person, virtually or by some hybrid model in the middle. This week, we focus on how one teacher is making it work. Tommy Li is the journalism adviser of The Accolade student newspaper at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California. He's not in a constant panic and hasn't pulled his hair out of his head. He talks about the challenges he and his students have faced, from tracking down sources virtually to toeing the line of politicization that has entered schools and the lessons they've learned about organizing a thriving publication virtually and keeping each other motivated from afar. It's all about being adaptable. The Accolade's website can be found at shhsaccolade.com.

    1 February 2021, 10:00 am
  • 25 minutes 45 seconds
    "You can find them on the ground": Reporting on Vaping at High Schools

    Alex calls on four student journalism superheroes raising the public awareness of vaping in their high schools. How do you tell your readers about the dangers of something with few facts and so many unknowns. Is the habit already out of control?  

    31 January 2019, 5:00 pm
  • 16 minutes 29 seconds
    Winning Awards with Brian Higgins

    Brian Higgins, adviser at Liberty High School, talks to Alex about why the SNO Distinguished Sites program matters, how it sets the table for future success, using it in the classroom, and why there should be a "Friday Night Lights" for Texas journalism.

    16 January 2019, 4:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 45 seconds
    Recruiting and Marketing Your Journalism Class

    Chris Grazier, journalism adviser at Cathedral Catholic High School, talks to Alex about the sensible, achievable ways he has recruited and marketed his journalism class, thus growing El Cid's publication staff. 

    9 January 2019, 9:00 pm
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