YDR Insider

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Posted by YDR Insider Behind the scenes, Community engagement

NewsVroom visits Girl Scouts at the Dover library

Brittany and Emma
York Daily Record/Sunday news journalist Brittany Wilson and her beagle, Emma, pose for a photo at a NewsVroom program at the Dover library Jan. 16.

Last night, Lauren Boyer, Brittany Wilson and I trekked up to the Dover Area Community Library to hang out with Girl Scout Troop #20915 and tell them what all we do here at the Daily Record.

It was awesome.

We browsed through our websites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, blogs and our e-edition at first, to show the sixth- to eighth-grade girls that we’re not just a newspaper. We talked about questions to ask when interviewing subjects. We shared a nifty handout from Brad Jennings on what makes the best photos.

Then we gave the girls an opportunity to dive in: We provided a press release about an mock award won by Brittany’s beagle, Emma, and encouraged them to ask questions. Then, they turned around and wrote a story. We brought along the NewsVroom’s six laptops, iPads and Droid smartphones and encouraged them to take photos and upload them via Twitter.

And while only one of the 10 girls declared plans to become a journalist, it was fun to watch the wheels turn as they got down on the ground to shoot a photo of Emma or put together the five Ws into a cohesive story.

NewsVroom certificates
We designated the Scouts as honorary YDR journalists for their hard work!

The troop leader, Jackie Smith, had said the program might count toward a merit badge the girls had been working on.

Toward the end, after a few of the girls had shared their stories, we handed out certificates declaring the girls to be honorary reporters for the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

Interested in how it all happened? Brittany pulled together some of our tweets and photos as we prepared for and presented the session.

Lauren Boyer, Sarah Chain and Brittany Wilson and Brittany’s dog, Emma, visited the Dover Area Community Library to teach Girl Scout Troop 20915 about journalism and kick-off the NewsVroom’s year with the libraries.

Lauren Boyer, Sarah Chain and Brittany Wilson and Brittany’s dog, Emma, visited the Dover Area Community Library to teach Girl Scout Troop 20915 about journalism and kick-off the NewsVroom’s year with the libraries.

http://storify.com/brittanylion/newsvroom-a-year-with-the-york-county-libraries