DVE-News/TV reporters visit the Delaware Valley High School Journalism Program

On a very cold morning in March, the DVE-News/TV reporters set out to interview the Delaware Valley High School Journalism program and the DelAware journalists. They were met by Sophia in the 11/12 office. They headed straight to the journalism classroom, where they were met by Mrs. Leslie Lordi and the DelAware team of journalists.

Peyton took the lead and began the interview. She discovered that the DelAware has been in existence since the 1950s. When asked if the team and she ever argue about articles, Mrs. Lordi said that they don’t disagree but have respectful conversations about the topic at hand. Peyton asked what her favorite article that was ever written. Mrs. Lordi said it was the article about the Milford Gems. The story was about getting back into the swing of things in Milford during the heart of the quarantine.

Rocco was next and asked about how many students are involved in the newspaper this year and was told that it’s 15 students. There are about 52 students in the Journalism I class. Mrs. Lordi has been teaching the Journalism I class for 13 years. She did go to college for journalism.

Eva asked how the newspaper had changed since its beginning. The newspaper name changed from the Deltonian to the DelAware and made it more interesting for young readers. They also changed the color scheme of the newspaper. Mrs. Lordi’s favorite part of the journalism program is the kids. When asked if there were any restrictions on the articles placed in the newspaper, they said not really. However, they do avoid controversial topics, but they will speak with their administrators if there is a questionable topic.

Ruchit was up next and asked what challenges there were to start up the newspaper and was told it is about start up money. If a student has difficulty staying focused on a story, their advice is to put it down for a bit and come back to it.

Corey found out that the students meet to work on the DelAware every school day for an hour and can also add 30 minutes lunch time towards their work. They can also bring their laptops home to work on their story. Mrs. Lordi claimed that the journalists rarely have a hard time coming up with topics for stories.

Addison discovered that sophomores (10th grade) can sign up for Journalism 1 course but must be referred by Mrs. Lordi to become staff on the DelAware. The DelAware can accept 25 journalists in a year. The newspaper is available online at dvhsnews.org. Journalists are given 10 to 15 papers each to distribute among the community in which they live. Each school in the district receives numerous copies as well.

The DVE-News/TV reporters were then given the opportunity to speak with the DelAware journalists one on one and saw the work they were doing. It was an excellent opportunity for all the journalists. Thank you Mrs. Lordi and the journalism team at the DelAware!