Leading into October, the staff of the Wahawk Insider made a big decision; they were going to release a newsmagazine every quarter. With a plan in mind and two weeks on the clock, staff members put everything on hold to get a final copy submitted in time for a first quarter release. Although the deadline was short, the magazine managed to be published and ready to distribute on Oct. 25, the official end of the first quarter.
While a magazine may not be as important to most students, for returning member Ali Parkhurst, it means a great deal. Reflecting on her feelings on how the magazine turned out, Parkhurst shared “with every publication, there are bound to be things you notice once the print is done so you jus have to move past them. I feel that this was a great turnout and accomplishment for the staff – especially since we completed it in just two weeks.” Parkhurst, thinking about the teamwork that went into the magazine, then said “this magazine is another groundbreaking accomplishment that Insider is having on the school. It is something new and challenging that we took on as a group and we came out of it so much stronger.”
Physical publications have never been done by the Wahawk Insider so the returning staff members were all very excited to get to work. Though they were excited to experience something new, so were the new members. Kaylynn Crawford, a first year staff member, said “it feels amazing to have been a part of the making of our first newsmagazine. Having this published made me feel so accomplished and proud of how far our publications team has come.”
Crawford shares “as a middle schooler, I always hoped to be able to share my thoughts and experiences through writing with others, it makes me feel listened to. Even though it might seem small to other people that aren’t on Insider, the magazine means an astronomical amount to me.” Looking into changes for upcoming magazines, Crawford hopes to see longer articles for opinion and news stories but was really pleased with how it turned out.
The adviser of Wahawk Insider, Nicole Goodman, shared the same sense of pride. “In our first week this semester, our staff spent a day digging through the West High archives, looking at West High and Waterloo newspapers dating back to the 1890s. As we did so, I just remember the joy and curiosity that came with holding physical copies of journalism and seeing the history of Waterloo,” Goodman recalls.
While we live in a very digital world, Goodman believes that there will come a day where our technology will change and our online publication will cease to exist; having physical prints will help immortalize the Wahawk Insider so future generations can look back on it like the staff did The Spectator.
“It feels great to see something we dreamed of actually come to life. We talked about the possibility last year, but to actually get the project off of the ground this year feels surreal. To go from restarting a newspaper to holding the first physical copy of a print publication in your hands feels amazing,” said Goodman.
Upon opening the boxes of magazines, the Insider staff was very excited, and rightfully so. Reminiscing on the excitement, Goodman said “to me, this just shows how alive journalism is within West High. West High used to have an award-winning print publication, and hopefully we can rebuild that legacy!”
The Spectator, West High’s original print publication, had been around since the early 1920s and remained in operation up until it ended it 2015. Benjamin Hirdler, one of West High’s newest staff members, happened to be one of the last Spectator staff members. Sharing his thoughts on the Wahawk Insider starting physical publications, Hirdler said “I think it is fantastic! The more opportunity that students have to showcase their work, the better! The magazine is such a fun, unique idea for students to be creative with the writing, design and publishing processes.”
While the Spectator was a physical print publication, a magazine was not part of their publications. “When I was on the staff of the Wahawk Spectator, we did not have a magazine, though we published a physical newspaper once a month. When we printed them, we distributed them to teachers’ mailboxes and I remember seeing students read them and get excited to read the new versions of the paper when they came out,” explained Hirdler.
As humanity strays towards a primarily digital world, physical publications are slowly dying off; they are often seen as inferior and unnecessary. While print publications may be less convenient to their digital counterparts, Hirdler believes that they will continue to be valued. “While I do not foresee people getting their information predominantly from physical publications, I think they still hold value and provide unique experiences for people. I love the feel and the smell of a real book compared to reading an eBook for example,” says Hirdler.
On the first distribution day, Wednesday, Oct. 25., to the shock of Insider staff, the magazines ran out in just over four minutes; it was initially expected to last through eighth period and even after school. With less than 250 copies and around 1800 students, not everyone could get a physical copy. If you missed out on a physical copy, you can access the digital version below and keep an eye out for the next releases.
