Shine news

This past week I made a speech telling a room full of people at our second annual ‘Shine Alumni’ event how excited I was about students who enter the Shine Awards.

And it’s true: that energy and inventiveness is inspiring. I want to share what I told the people that room, in the hope it inspires a new school year to do just the same to create a media project this coming year.

Looking out of the window today, the leaves are yellow, Halloween and bonfire night has been and gone, and we’re into the second half of the Autumn Term. Amid such a busy time of year I’m hoping your school media projects are hitting their stride. What did you decide to do? A full magazine focussing on student life this year? A series of pieces focussing on local issues? Maybe a podcast about the school football team?

As a massive fan of students’ emerging creativity, I can’t wait to find out what they’re writing about. When we judge the Awards, we find students always look forward, beyond what the media are covering today, telling us ‘what’s next’ and what the future holds.

Almost exactly a year ago, the San Francisco-based technology company OpenAI launched ChatGPT. In the time since, it’s become the fastest growing consumer software application in history. It’s an amazing invention, yet in the world of education has caused untold headaches. To cite the most obvious example, we know from our conversations with teachers, not least those on our committee, that it’s very difficult to tell the difference between AI generated homework submissions from students who’ve truly strived. That’s depressing!

At the Shine School Media Awards, our competition is founded on originality. We love discovering tomorrow’s talent: the young voices who will shape the journalism and creative industries of the future.

Sometimes the best way of finding common ground with others is by telling them how we feel. A school magazine, podcast or newspaper can be a forum in the Roman sense: a print or digital ‘town square’ where students are truly heard. It’s a unique opportunity to bring their stories to life.

I recall a winning entry from two years ago by student writer Hilary Hanslin whose piece, “Don’t touch my hair” caused a sensation with the Shine School Media Award judges, winning Best writer for a non-fiction piece.

Faced with a complicated, shocking global news story, how do reporters give an accurate account of events in such a way that stunned readers can both understand what’s happening in real time and reach a judgment about who’s to blame?

The Autumn Term is zinging along – hello October! What was once a blank canvas is getting filled in. So it can be with your students’ media project. But first… coffee… then… where to begin?

We’ve seen a recent trend in entries which focus on documenting the everyday life of a school. Topics such as exam stress or peer pressure have begun to become more pertinent now the drama of the pandemic has faded leaving day to day experiences front and centre.