The words “student journalism” tend to conjure up visions ranging from investigations into the high school cafeteria’s mystery meat to fluff pieces about star basketball players. And while sure, there’s some — okay a lot — of that, student journalism is also a vital part of many school communities. Student journalists are real journalists, with a finger on the pulse of a local population. They offer an inside perspective on the education system with unique takes on the outside world. Here in Portland Public Schools (PPS), the majority of our high schools have a student publication of some form. Although they vary in size, structure, and history, they all further the same mission: keeping their community informed while providing hands-on experience to the students who run them.
The Headlight
Established in 2020
Student journalists at Ida B. Wells High School are following in the footsteps of their school’s namesake, but she’s not their only inspiration. Zoe Toperosky, The Headlight’s editor-in-chief, states that their late journalism advisor, Andrea Patton, “inspired [her] to create the space we have today.” In 2020, when the school was renamed, Patton rebranded the former newspaper, The Horse, as The Headlight. Unfortunately, Patton passed away two summers ago.
Now, The Headlight publishes articles online at ibwheadlight.com. Among their four sections published every two weeks, Patton’s influence is still clearly seen. Last year they were able to publish two print issues, one of which they named The Patton Pages in her honor. Toperosky explains, “We focused on [the] social justice issues that were most important to her.” The Patton Pages has since become one of their regular online sections, emphasizing how much Patton meant to the Wells community.
Toperosky is working hard to obtain funding for more print issues and ultimately aims to “set up the class for success in the years to come.” She seems to be achieving her goals; during the 2021-22 school year — The Headlight’s first in-person year — there were 12 staff members; last year there were 16; and presently there are 21. This change is welcome; the staff expanding and the structure adapting has brought exciting opportunities and inspired similar projects. For example, this year, Wells has offered a new multimedia class that is creating a school broadcast. Although separate from the Headlight, it shares the same mission of informing Wells students.
KBPS
Established in 1923
Serendipitous is the best way to describe the beginning of KBPS, Benson Polytechnic High School’s radio station. In 1923, a group of Benson students were strolling down the streets of Southeast Portland when they spotted a for-sale sign perched on top of a radio transmitter in the window of Stubbs Electric. As their faces pressed up against the cool glass and they gazed at the transmitter, I wonder if they could somehow see the celebrated future this transmitter would bring. Eventually, they convinced Benson faculty to purchase it, and KBPS was licensed on March 23, 1923, beginning broadcasts in May under the call letters KFIF.
KBPS is still running strong, though Chief of Staff Joseph Anderson admits, “KBPS has faced some challenges as radio has declined in popularity.” However, the program remains robust with class periods separated by age group: seniors are normally on-air around 12:30-2, juniors on-air roughly 2-3:30, and sophomores broadcasting less frequently and mainly learning during period 1. According to Anderson, student on-air shifts are a blend of talk and music, and “KBPS is always playing music, 24/7/365 — 366 this year.”
Upperclassmen also have the opportunity to broadcast live news and weather. “The Student Hour” is an hour-long news and talk show that airs on a variety of stations at 8 a.m. on Saturdays; you can find past episodes at kbps.am. Anderson explains, “We liken this to a weekly publication with deadlines for stories each week.” Though he’ll soon be graduating, Anderson looks back fondly on his time with KBPS stating, “Learning how to talk on the radio, produce stories, and bring news to my city really helped me become a better communicator.”
Efforts are currently being made to establish a written journalism program at Benson. Greg Huntington, who is spearheading these efforts, says, “We’d be the digital and print arm of the exciting work the students majoring in Radio are already doing.” He concludes, “Our students are hungry for it.”
Voices of Roosevelt
Established in 2022
Voices of Roosevelt may be the newest publication on this list, but what it lacks in age it makes up for in passion. The ten-member staff is incredibly devoted — some participate through Roosevelt High School’s Publications class and others give up one day a week during lunch to join the club. At the center of it all is Ellie Weiner, the current editor-in-chief. Voices began with her sophomore year pitch to her communications teacher, and Weiner’s leadership has now brought it to both online and print publication.
Physical distribution of around 1,000 copies happens three times a year, while digital publication happens monthly. If you’re envisioning dilapidated piles sitting unread in the back of a classroom you’d be wrong; the community is excited to see what the next generation of journalists has to say. A piece about PPS’ controversial new lanyard rule was even featured in a local newspaper, the St. John’s Review.
The lanyard article was part of Voices’ editorial section which is published alongside news and feature sections. Their website also offers student poetry, artwork, and photography. Weiner explains, “The entire idea behind [Voices] is to create a place for all Roosevelt community members to have a voice.” The 40 year gap without a newspaper has presented challenges in community participation, but Weiner highlights the staff’s hard work, adding, “Everyone has put so much effort in in the past two years to get us to where we are now and we will always keep pushing toward our main goal which is to ‘keep it going.’”
McDaniel Oracle
Established in 1957
What’s big, red, and holds newspapers? The three McDaniel Oracle distribution boxes. In addition to classrooms and, more recently, community spaces like libraries and coffee shops, the distribution boxes are where around 1,500 copies of McDaniel High School’s newspaper can be found five times a year. Online editions, developed post pandemic, are published much more frequently; they’re released on a two week basis at mhsnews.org. Lincoln Wheeler, the editor-in-chief of the Oracle, recalls, “Out of the pandemic we began our website publication and came back with a bigger and better print publication. So things have been just getting higher quality, a little more steam behind them, [and] a lot more people are involved.” One way they’ve expanded the staff, encouraging the development of the next generation of Oracle reporters, is through the inclusion of the Cub Edition, a section dedicated to publishing stories by Intro to Journalism students.
Oracle issues include the classic archetypes of news, feature, and sports articles, yet the Oracle really shines in the more creative arena. Their review section covers everything from Dave’s Hot Chicken to school theater performances. If an article titled, “A Magic Puppy ruined my childhood,” isn’t your cup of tea, then turn your coffee-loving self to their thought-provoking photo essays.
The praise for their creative work doesn’t imply that their traditional-style articles are lacking; readers will find that the opposite is true. Regardless of the gravity or humor infused in an Oracle article, quality is always ensured. Wheeler sums it up, “I think we have a lot of talent,” and he is quick to acknowledge the efforts of the staff, noting that this is in combination with lots of hard work.
The Cardinal Times
Established in 1897
Lincoln High School’s The Cardinal Times holds the record for the oldest high school publication in the West. Editor-in-Chief, Camilla Correani, states, “We carry a legacy and it’s our motivation everyday.” This legacy is based on a track record of status quo-challenging pieces such as “Abused and Afraid,” which covered how teacher misconduct is handled at Lincoln and was featured by OPB and the Oregonian. More recently, two staff members were interviewed on OPB’s Think Out Loud after The Cardinal Times’ editorial board wrote an opinion piece on school-based fundraising.
They’re currently working to expand past traditional print journalism and make the most of their online presence. This includes members working to produce online video content, podcasts, and the physical copy of the newspaper, which is cross-published online. You can find online content at cardinaltimes.org.
Despite their digital presence, many of The Cardinal Times’ readers come from the eight print issues distributed throughout the year. Every issue features a piece from Puño & Letra, Lincoln’s Spanish magazine. Additionally, as Lincoln’s other magazine — Beyond the Flock — concluded its 13-year tenure this year, some of Beyond the Flock’s staff have transitioned to The Cardinal Times.
After a print-redesign, the paper has garnered more engagement from the community with high-quality content tailored to match the interests of Lincoln’s student body. Correani attributes this to the work of the head designer and the design team who “spent hours working on ways to make our paper more visually appealing to ensure people would be interested in reading.”
Grant Magazine
Established in 2011
As 2022 faded into 2023, “Student publication reveals independent Oregon reporter banned from district after unsolicited messages to teen girls” graced the top of the Oregonian’s page. The student publication in question? Grant Magazine, Grant High School’s publication that functions as both an online news source and a monthly 36-page full-color print edition. The Elite Oregon Girls story is just the most recent instance of Grant Mag garnering media attention; they’re known for high-quality investigative reporting and timely personal essays. Julian Balsley, one of the four editors-in-chief, attributes this to the magazine format. The longer production cycle gives staff members “the time to research and write much more nuanced and multi-faceted articles than a lot of other high schoolers have the opportunity to.” Grant Mag was adapted from the Grantonian, a traditional newspaper, in the 2011-12 school year.
In addition to the written word, Grant Mag offers photography, illustrations — including water color paintings — and comics. Their website, grantmagazine.com, serves to further their print work, morphing to fit the needs of each individual story. Unfortunately, post-COVID recovery has been difficult and Balsley states they are “running essentially issue to issue” on ad-money and donations. Despite this, Grant Mag continues to publish and be recognized for their high quality work as they recently won a Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for the High School General Magazine category. Balsley adds, “The whole staff now feels how tenuous the existence of our magazine is,” but describes the work as a “privilege.”
MLC
Established 2017
Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC) offers a journalism class every other year, with a typical roster of 15-20 students. Elizabeth Buelow, the advisor, explains, “It is unique because we are a K[-]12 alternative school and our paper focuses a lot on that — mixed grades, things happening at our school across all grade levels, etc.” Each class publishes 3-4 issues which include commentary on these topics alongside local and national events. In the past, it has been offered as a semester-long class, but starting next year the journalism class will be transitioning to a year-long format for the foreseeable future.
Cleveland Clarion
Established in 1948
Green and yellow are controversial colors in a town starkly divided between the Beavers and the Ducks, yet they’re splashed across the front page of Cleveland High School’s newspaper, The Cleveland Clarion. Founded in 1948 as the Tomahawk, the paper was rebranded as the Clarion in 1988. Since then, the Clarion has produced monthly print editions, with clevelandclarion.com eventually being developed as a way to publish articles more frequently. A “Breaking News” header rolls across the top of the website, illustrating the consistency and speed their online format has offered.
Reporters are assigned to write for one of four sections: student life, news, sports, and commentary. Print Editors-in-Chief Vivi Golomb and Sarah Pender highlight teamwork as the most notable aspect of their paper. Golomb states, “We have a really fun team and advisor that all get along super well.”
Franklin Post
Established in 1915
Our very own paper, The Franklin Post, is one of the oldest PPS publications — first published in January of 1915. While the pages of the first issue were filled with hand-drawn illustrations, current editions of the Post are still illustration-heavy, although our artists now favor digital mediums. One unique aspect that has since been discontinued is the inclusion of the humorous “Exchange” and “Jokes” sections. An example from the Jan. 1915 edition’s Exchanges page:
“Miss Edith,” asked a young man, “may I ask you, please not to call me Mr. Durand?”
“But,” said Miss Edith, with great coyness, “our acquaintance is so short, you know. Why should I not call you that?”
“Well,” said the young man, “chiefly because my name is Dupont.”
The Literary section has had an off-and-on presence in the Post since 1915, although this year it was rebranded as the “Post Pulse” to more accurately reflect its contents: a submission-based page that shares the heart of the Franklin community. The Post Pulse has released one podcast on YouTube featuring Franklin icon and law teacher, Brian Halberg, and plans to publish more in the future.
The Post also covers topics relevant to the larger community, such as an article covering fundraising systems in PPS that was brought up in one of PPS’ Policy Committee meetings. Another notable piece featured a conversation with Anis Mojgani, the current Oregon Poet Laureate. This variety of pieces brings an annual average of 100,000 visits to our website, fhspost.com, and ensures readership for 1,300 print copies per cycle, distributed seven — previously eight — times a year. Copies are distributed within Franklin but also to feeder schools. At Atkinson Elementary, students were even inspired to create their own paper, The Atkinson Times. Additionally, we partner with The Southeast Examiner, a local newspaper that features articles by Franklin Post staff in every issue.
Jefferson High School does not currently have a student publication. Alliance High School did not respond to inquiries and information about a student publication was not found online.