Writing about writing again

By Mary Whitfill Features Editor   I love the media. #unpopularopinion. I think the media is the only industry that works more than it does not. I think it is the most fulfilling profession of all time and I completely understand why so many people despise it. I think the media is a perfectly reasonable thing to hate. There are plenty of reasons that normal, sane people want to throw a shoe at media personalities every time they write another column or open their mouths, but there are an equal number of reasons as to why journalism is the most necessary field in the world. Journalism is a public dialogue. The people who work in…

Cowlishaw follows in fathers footsteps

By Ben Cowlishaw Online Copy Editor This is the time in students’ lives when we begin to discover our independence. We explore what inspires and intrigues us as we get closer to leaving our parents’ massive influence. It is an outdated cliché to continue the “family business”, but as most try as hard as they can to exploit the differences between them and their parents, I’ve realized that following in my father’s footsteps might be where I belong. Instead of dreading the thought of “turning into my parents,” I have found myself running headfirst into my father’s wake. My father, Tim Cowlishaw, a well respected journalist of The Dallas Morning News and nine year panelist…

Seniors of The Sidekick continue on in journalism field

Mary Whitfill Features Editor As the newspaper wraps up another year of deadlines, ink and breaking news, seniors of The Sidekick look tentatively ahead at what promises to be a bright future. Be it home-state moves or cross country hauls, graduating newspaper staff members are optimistic about the mysteries tomorrow will bring. The Sidekick focuses on helping students acquire the basic skills of journalism and reporting, but also help to instill lessons that will stick with students for the rest of their lives. The ideas of ethics, morals, open communication, curiosity and honesty are all ones that can be applied to multiple facets of everyday life. “My three years on staff have taught me a…

Journalist’s experience inspires students

Key note speaker Laura Ling shares about her experience being held captive in North Korea and the importance of journalism in the world. Photo by Aditi Shrikant. Crossing the border into hostile North Korea is not something anyone would expect a sane person to do. Then again, Laura Ling is not a sane person: she’s a journalist. Today in Anaheim, Ling and her sister Lisa attended the JEA/NSPA National Hight School Journalism convention and  shared their journalistic experiences with newspaper and yearbook students from across the nation, including some of our own Sidekick staff. In her speech, Laura talked about a terrifying time in her life, when, on assignment in China, she wandered across the…

Students pursue interests at National High School Journalism Convention sessions

Thomas Hair Staff Writer Journalism is an incredibly diverse field, with numerous specialities ranging from television broadcasting to web page designing. At the 2011 JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention from Thursday April 14 to Saturday April, journalism students from all over the nation have the opportunity to attend a wide range of sessions covering every possible branch of journalism. The convention is being held at the Marriot Hotel in Anaheim, California. Today, hundreds of students checked into the hotel in preparation for the initiation of the sessions on Friday. Among this throng of aspiring journalists are the students from Coppell High School. Members of The Sidekick Newspaper, KCBY, and the Round Up Yearbook…

Editorial: Journalism alive and well

 “Journalism is dead.” Ever since the conception of the Internet, the sentiment has been building upon itself: why have print newspapers when everything is on the Web? Why bother continuing with journalism if it is just going to die off within the next ten years?  Anyone claiming this is oh, so wrong. Journalism still is – and will continue to be – the massive, thriving beast of society, no matter what changes are hurled its way. Granted, it is true that print journalism will someday be non-existent. It is a simple fact of life that we all must face; papers viewed on a website or on a Kindle will someday outshine those made with trees…

Flushing my career down the toilet

Ellen Cameron Staff Writer My career as a high school journalist is being flushed down the toilet. Like, literally, my work from this year, that I worked hard to procrastinate on, was flushed down the toilet of the girl’s room in Freshmen hall last week. It was rather unexpected, to say the least. I had gone to the restroom anf found a stack of Sidekicks on the coutner. Weird, but ignorable. Until I realized there was a trail of newspapers scattered on the floor leading to a particular stall. If it had been a horror movie, a dead body would have on the bathroom floor, ly

What I learned at Dallas Morning News Day

Rebecca Neumann Staff Writer On Wednesday, I traveled with seven other newspaper students to SMU in Dallas where we all attended Dallas Morning News Day. The event consisted of two sessions where we were able to choose different seminars to attend. The journalists who spoke at the seminars were extremely inspiring. Coming home, I felt like I now had all of the tools to become a successful journalist, even if I haven’t decided whether or not I will always want to pursue it. Jean-Jacques Taylor, a sports columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and his colleagues from the sports world gave the room of budding journalists, innumerable journalism tips. I learned three very important lessons…