Journalism has had a solid foundation in Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) for years and has transitioned from paper print news options to online press to accommodate news readers today.
When journalism classes first started in FCPS, students would publish paper versions of a school newspaper. Now, journalism classes have taken advantage of technology to publish completely online, without print options or the need for a budget to afford them.
One part of the journalism class curriculum is to teach students about student journalists’ rights, copyright or fair use policies, and the freedom of press. Those protections at the state and federal level have helped student journalists publish a wide variety of articles all over the United States.
Brunswick High School (BHS) has had the journalism club, alongside a journalism course, where students run the school’s new site called the Garnet & Gold Gazette since 2021.
When the Gazette just started at BHS, there was not much to use for the teacher. Journalism wasn’t a course at BHS since the 1980s.
A BHS alumni, class of 2024, Editor-in-Chief-Emeritus of the Gazette, Kylie Lancaster shared about her humble beginnings and experiences in journalism.
“So when I started journalism, we had nothing here. We didn’t even have cameras. We didn’t have microphones. It was simply us with our laptops and our phones.”
Due to the school’s budget allocated from the county, and as an effect of BHS’s size, the Gazette doesn’t have enough financial resources to have their own. As a result, this limits student journalists’ ability to publish good quality photos, videos, and articles. There is no way to use Adobe Photoshop on FCPS school chromebooks and there’s no other software provided for journalism classes for photo editing or videography besides using online resources or Canva.
Due to a small budget from being a small school located in a rural area, the Gazette doesn’t have their own personal cameras for students to use for articles, galleries and videos. Often the Gazette staff uses CTC equipment to help with large photo needs, thanks to generous teachers and safe use. Those two R10 EOS Canon Cameras borrowed from CTC cost roughly $900-1,400.
Yet, the Gazette always finds a way around it, making the most of what they have.
To make up for the lack of funding, students in the journalism classes have access to borrowed cameras, as well as a boom microphone, a camera tripod, and two tiny microphones, bought by the adviser from any donations made to the program or personal funds.
This is more than what the Gazette had when they first started with only 11 kids in the first section class in 2021. There is projected to be 38 students in the spring of 2027.
The small amount of resources can go a long way, and still allow student journalists at BHS to publish their work.
Another student journalist, Lucy Caulton, class of ‘27, shared how she still really enjoys being a journalist for the Garnet & Gold Gazette.
“I really do love it,” Caulton said, “I like being able to interview businesses because that’s usually what I do for articles.”
If you enjoy listening to student podcasts, reading articles, or viewing pictures, consider supporting the BHS student journalism class and the Garnet & Gold Gazette. Below is a list of gear to purchase to donate to our program.
The opportunity for you to buy some of your own Garnet & Gold Gazette merch will continue until May! See the flier below.
All of the donations received go towards buying more resources to help our student journalists such as a backdrop for podcasts, backup SD cards for the cameras, and possibly even another camera or more equipment.
You can also visit our front page on the site to donate to our program!
