WV Teen Zine After School Program

Final Report – Feb. 28, 2009

The Zine is on its way to being the first on-line magazine written by Morgan County Youth for Morgan County residence! The Zine is really starting to take off. Currently, the Zine has a staff of six committed youth editors (youth leaders) that are working hard to educate the community about what is going on in the lives of young people as well as providing a youth perspective on events in Morgan County. In addition to the six editors, each editor has created a 4-7 person team of associate writers and reporters, who are responsible for contributing articles and information to their section. The sections included on the Zine so far, include sports, reviews, arts, clubs & organizations, fashion, and this is Morgan County. The Zine is also seeking to branch off. The team has made efforts to connect with Paw Paw, a much smaller town in the county, in order to provide a larger coverage area to the community.

To prepare the editors with the responsibility of creating the Zine, they have been trained by professionals and experts in the community. The students have participated in four train-the-trainer workshops, which covered the topics of webpage management, using digital media, civic engagement and learning how to create a pages that make the webpage appealing to the community. Guest speakers were also invited to attend Zine meetings to talk with the editors about specific topics. For instance, a reporter from the local newspaper, the Morgan Messenger talked with the group about establishing a code of ethics as well as describing her experiences as a reporter to the group.

The program has received tremendous support from the community and Morgan County Schools, in particular Berkeley Springs High School. With the school’s support and assistance, the group was able to travel to Washington, DC’s Newseum, which is a museum devoted entirely to the history of journalism. The high school continues to allow the crew access to their computer lab and opportunities to meet and work on the Zine. Just recently, the Vice Principal created two additional meeting times for the Zine crew to work on the project during school hours. We are also receiving requests from community members who want to talk to the staff. For instance, the editor of the Morgan Messenger wants to talk to the leaders about interviewing and a local graphic designer wants to assist them with designing a logo for their webpage.

In addition to the developing their technology and writing skills, the main focus for the upcoming months will be on promoting the site more within the community. To get the word out to the community about the great work on the webpage, the Zine is sponsoring a Youth Film Festival on May 22, 2009 for youth ages 10-19! With the assistance of the Prevention Resource Center’s Community Development Specialist, who also is an Independent Film Maker, the group has promoted the festival in the classrooms at Berkeley Springs High School, Warm Springs Middle School, the Boys and Girls Club, the Morgan Arts Council and the West Virginia University Extension Office. And they have plans to reach out to Paw Paw and various other church groups and community organizations. The teen staff also plans to have an information booth about the Zine at the Morgan County Fair in August 2009.

Additional Questions:

Has the grant made a difference in the quality of services or effectiveness? If so in what ways?

The funds provided by the grant definitely increased the quality of service the students are able to provide to the community. Not only do they have access to high quality equipment but they also have built a rapport with the community members that have come into the Zine meetings, which has given them a point of contact to go to when gathering information on a particular topic. For instance, there is a group in our community that is working on building a skate park in Berkeley Springs and one of our editors was able to get informed and be invited to key meetings because her contact was a presenter for one of the Zine workshop. As a result, this editor took the initiative to attend a county commission meeting and a community meeting that discussed the future of the skate park. The editor’s mother also attended the meetings and made the comment that she herself “…had never been to a county commission meeting until her daughter took her there.”

If not what obstacles limited your work?

My biggest obstacle is time and access to students. For instance, originally, I wanted to have the students go on three field trips but I was only able to take them on one. This was part due to the time it takes for the school to approve trips, snow days and the amount of time I had to use the funds. However, the group just changed gears and instead of going on more field trips, the funds are being used to help promote the Zine in the community. The teen staff will be able to showcase their talents that they learned through the Zine workshops but at the same time promote their online webpage through the Youth Film Festival.

What impact did the grant have on the population served?

The grant has provided the youth leaders with the opportunity to look outside of the high school walls and experience new people and places that he or she would not have otherwise experienced. The youth leaders got to meet reporters, film makers, community leaders, and artists and they got to visit Washington, DC’s Newseum, which emphasized the importance that journalism has on society.

According to the participant survey, the editors felt that their leadership skills had gotten stronger and their knowledge on webpage design had expanded while working on the Zine. They also felt that the adult mentors really wanted them to succeed and the majority of them planned to return to the program next year.

During the course of the project, did anything happen that was different from what you expected? How will the lessons you learned change your future thinking, performance or services?

I did not expect it to take three months to recruit students but in the beginning of the school year, many students are involved in sports and other extracurricular activities. Many teens that we surveyed were interested in being a part of the Zine but did not have a lot of time during or after school to meet. So, we decided to start with a small group and have it grow gradually. So we started with six editors (youth leaders) and they are responsible for deciding who they want to add to their team.

I think being flexible was the most valuable lesson learned. After learning how busy students really are, we were able to change the program’s structure in order to allow more student contribution. This was accomplished by allowing students to submit articles, reports, materials via email or in person to the editors. This gave students flexibility to work on their articles when it was most convenient for them.

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Download Forms (these are Word .docs):

2009 Rules Regulations Sheet

MC Youth Film Fest Flier Final

MC Film Festival Entry Sheet

Project Expenses		Actual Expenses		Difference
	Expense		Expense		Expense
Lexar Jump Drive	28	Lexar Jump Drive	18.5	Lexar Jump Drive	9.5
Lexar Jump Drive	28	Lexar Jump Drive	18.5	Lexar Jump Drive	9.5
Panasonic Video Camera	450	Panasonic Video Camera	429.95	Panasonic Video Camera	20.05
Panasonic Video Camera	450	Panasonic Video Camera	429.95	Panasonic Video Camera	20.05
Adobe Illustrator	625	Adobe Illustrator	589	Adobe Illustrator	36
Sony Voice Recorder	75	Sony Voice Recorder	59.95	Sony Voice Recorder	15.05
Sony Voice Recorder	75	Sony Voice Recorder	59.95	Sony Voice Recorder	15.05
Nikon Dig. Cameral	535	Nikon Dig. Cameral	469.95	Nikon Dig. Cameral	65.05
Nikon Dig. Cameral	535	Nikon Dig. Cameral	469.95	Nikon Dig. Cameral	65.05
Shipping	0.0E+01	Shipping	11.85	Shipping	-11.85
External Hard drive 1TB	0.0E+01	External Hard drive 1TB	144.68	External Hard drive 1TB	-144.68
Tri-pods (2)	166	Tri-pods (2)	62.2	Tri-pods (2)	103.8
Mini DV Tapes (20 tapes) 2.50/ tape	0.0E+01	Mini DV Tapes (20 tapes) 2.50/ tape	44	Mini DV Tapes (20 tapes) 2.50/ tape	-44
Camera Cases (4) 20/ case	0.0E+01	Camera Cases (4) 20/ case	110.16	Camera Cases (4) 20/ case	-110.16
Cleaning Kits (2) $10/ kit	16	Cleaning Kits (2) $10/ kit	11.9	Cleaning Kits (2) $10/ kit	4.1
Microphone; wireless	0.0E+01	Microphone; wireless	138.8	Microphone; wireless	-138.8
Three (3) Technology related Field Trips	980	Three (3) Technology related Field Trips	480	Three (3) Technology related Field Trips	500
Six (6) Workshop Trainer Fees	900	Six (6) Workshop Trainer Fees	613.75	Six (6) Workshop Trainer Fees	286.25
Promotional Materials	0.0E+01	Film Festival Materials	299.85	Promotional Materials	-299.85
		Snacks	36.42
Total Project Expense	4863	Total Actual Expense	4499.31	Total Difference	400.11
Total Budget Granted	4500	Remaining Budget	0.69
Difference	363

PRESS RELEASES

WV Zine Crew Visits Newseum in Washington, DC

On December 18, 2008 Morgan County youth from the WV Teen Zine took a field trip to the Newseum in Washington, DC. The Newseum is a history of journalism museum that combines five centuries of news history with modern technology and hands-on exhibits.

By exploring the featured exhibit, “G-Men and Journalists: Top News Stories of the FBI’s First Century”, the Zine crew examined how the FBI’s efforts to fight crime effects popular culture. In addition, the other galleries provided the Zine crew the opportunity to see the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs as well as the opportunity to learn more about the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the extraordinary challenges that faced the journalists in the field.

Practice makes perfect. The crew was also able to hone their interviewing skills by appearing in and reporting on their own mock news events. By the end of the day, students had a better understanding of news and journalism and how important it is to our daily lives.

If you are a local teen or adult who is interested in learning more about how to get involved with the WV Zine or someone who is looking for more information about the site, please contact the Morgan County Partnership at 304-258-7807 or megan@morganpartnership.org.

Morgan County Students Create WV Zine Website

Thanks to a grant provided by the WV Alliance, the Morgan County Partnership and Morgan County Schools, a group of dedicated youth reporters and editors have come together for the creation of an on-line magazine called WV Zine. For months, students from Morgan County have been diligently working on a webpage that provides both school and community news and current events.

The program is offered after school and provides the youth an opportunity to interact with and learn from experts in the community. The teen staff has participated in 6 train-the-trainer workshops to develop their technology and journalism skills. As a result, the youth leaders have learned from local reporters, filmmakers, community leaders, and artists.

Zine staff also took a trip to Washington, DC’s Newseum, which is a museum that emphasizes the importance that journalism has on society. By utilizing a youth-driven format and technology based learning to address Morgan County needs, the WV Zine program is able to promote positive youth development, provide mentor leadership, increase civic engagement and offer locally based internet learning experiences.

According to a mid-year participant survey, the youth leaders in the program felt that their leadership skills have strengthened since working on the Zine. They also felt that the adult mentors really wanted them to succeed and the majority of them planned to return to the program next year.

For more information about the program, contact Megan Hauser, the Community Educator with the Morgan County Partnership at 304-258-7807 or visit www.wvzine.net.

BSHS Youth Film Festival On May 22, 2009

Morgan County is hosting its first annual Youth Film Festival on May 22, 2009 at Berkeley Springs High School’s Auditorium. The event is sponsored by the WV Zine, in collaboration with the Morgan County Partnership.

WV Zine is an on-line magazine created by the youth of Morgan County for the residents of Morgan County. The Zine uses technology-based learning to promote positive youth development, mentor leadership, and at the same time increases the youth’s civic engagement and community awareness.

In recent months, the Zine staff has been developing their technical skills in video media by working with a local independent filmmaker, Shamus Cleveland. Shamus has presented workshops on utilizing digital media and movie making.

As a result of what they have learned, the teen staff wants to promote the cinematic arts and hopes to encourage local youth filmmakers to take advantage of this great opportunity to exhibit their work to the community.

Cost to submit a film is free and is open to Morgan County youth ages 10-19. Categories include public service announcement, short documentary and short movie. The first 15 applicants will receive a free “Morgan County Film Festival” T-Shirt.

For more information and to get your entry form, contact Megan at the Morgan County Partnership at 304-258-7807 or download the forms at www.wvzine.net.