John D'Souza
Online Portfolio
About John
My high school journalism career has been much shorter than most of my peers; I joined WBN in the 2023-24 school year and am currently in my 2nd year with the program (2024-25). Taking journalism as a class last year for the first time, I instantly fell in love. In two short years, I've had the opportunity to try all things journalism. Although writing articles and recording podcasts are my favorites, getting experience in so many different ways has equipped me for life as a journalist and leader beyond high school.
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As the Editor-in-Chief of the Wilsonville Broadcast Network for the 2024-2025 school year, I strive to uphold our program's mission of "telling the stories of Wilsonville High School" through "accurate, interesting, and informative" content by prioritizing equitable coverage of all Wilsonville-affiliated news and events.
Leadership is the most powerful lesson I've learned through journalism. Over the last two years, my vision for WBN is centered on servant leadership that empowers my peers and program to succeed long after I graduate.
Check out how my commitments to diversity & equity, responsibility & ethics, marketing & engagement, and leadership have impacted my community and our program below!
Commitment to Diversity
"To seek the truth and report it, journalists have to include diverse points of view and interests to capture the full story. In high school journalism, diversity is more than just demographics; it's the voices of every sport, club, performing art, social class, background, and race. Diversity is the lifeblood of successful journalism."
"As a rookie journalist in my junior year, I accomplished my goal of giving a 'voice to underrepresented groups' by publishing content and seeking stories that went under the radar in Wilsonville High School discourse. As Editor-in-Chief, diverse and equitable coverage is at the forefront of my vision for WBN by including all voices from every club, grade, race, and background."
Diversity is important both in the stories we write and in our classroom standards. Here are some ways I've promoted diversity through media and in-class leadership.
Academic Philosophy
With this article, my goal was to get students to think about how they learn and why they're learning what they're learning. The most influential people in history didn't just go through the motions; they questioned the narrative, challenged old ideas, and brought bold insight to the people around them. I think that as students, we should be bringing those same persepectives and interests to our every day academic lives. Key lesson: "Be curious."
Underrepresented Voices
This is just one of many stories I've written covering the Wilsonville High School music department. An already underrepresented group at Wilsonville, even within the music department, all three music branches - band, choir, and orchestra - aren't covered equally. Orchestra often gets left behind, despite often being the most successful group of the three. This article is short and sweet, but gives a balanced overview of each program and and outlook to how their school year will play out.
John's diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives
At least 2 interviewees per article: In accordance with SNO standards, WBN requires interviews with at least two people to be published. This ensures a variety of opinion and prevents stories from being one-sided.
"Do Not Interview" List: I implemented this in December, 2024 to encourage staff writers to interview beyond friend groups and common interviewees. Staff writers would often interview the same people for each of their stories. But the opinions of a handful of people don't accurately represent the entire student body, so it's important we listen to the voices of more than a select few.
Paw Print diversity by amplifying underrepresented groups: Highlighting underrepresented groups and stories in all of our media is critical to my goals of diverse and equitable coverage. With managing editor Avery and my team of section editors, we decided to highlight cheer and music: two groups that don't often get the spotlight. The cheer article was WBN's first-ever cheer feature, and we wanted to showcase their success story and put it front and center, in line with our commitment to balanced coverage.
This is the front page of Volume 9, Issue 1 of the Paw Print. Featuring cheer and music, our editorial team's bold decision to underscore the quiet successes of our school was a powerful way to start the print season, and affirms our team's commitment to amplify underrepresented groups and continue our program's mission to provide "accurate, informative, and interesting" content for our audience (WBN mission statement, 2024).
Commitment to Responsible and Ethical Journalism
"The Wilsonville Broadcast Network is committed to telling accurate stories that reflect the experiences of the Wilsonville High School student body. As Editor-in-Chief, I've implemented and upheld standards and initiatives in our classroom and interview process to ensure quality publications."
Accountability and ethics are essential for any journalist's success. My initiatives aim to help my peers hold themselves accountable and practice good ethics both in the classroom and out in the field.
Updated two-week news cycle: Each staff writer is on a two-week news cycle, with built-in days for news pitch, interviewing, and story drafting and publishing. Stories used to be due on Fridays; this year, I moved the due date to Wednesday/Thursday (depending on how the block schedule played out). Staff writers would often wait until Friday to interview and write their entire story. With the earlier due date, this gives me time to send the stories for the WBN weekly email, and gives our managing editor breathing room to edit and publish all our stories by the end of the week. The revamped news cycle keeps our site up-to-date with the latest stories while easing stress for both staff writers and editors.
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Weekly site content - editors/guests publish on off-weeks: Since all staff writers publish biweekly, something has to be published in each section on the off-weeks to earn one section of the Continuous Coverage SNO badge. To achieve this, I encourage section editors to publish on those off-weeks. This resulted in the quick completion of "Sustained Coverage," one step forward in our program's quest for a 2025 Distinguished SNO Site badge.
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Airheads of glory & late story penalties: This may seem simple, but prior to this year, students would just receive full credit for their content coverage as long as they linked a story in the Google Classroom assignment. To incentivize on-time stories, my advisor and I give Airheads to students who submitted their story on time during our together time in the beginning of class. A tradition dubbed 'Airheads of glory,' this gives public recognition to staff writers for doing the right thing. Furthermore, late stories no longer receive full credit; 5 point deduction for each week the story is submitted after the due date.
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Interviewing: Asking the real questions: After reading Interviewing: The Oregon Method over the summer as per my advisor's recommendation, my appreciation and love for journalism only increased. Specifically, with the interview process. I wanted to share the content I read with the rest of the class, so I took the most important pieces I learned about effective interviewing and presented my work to the class in the beginning of the school year. I explained the importance of interviewing, why good interviewing matters, and how journalists can practice ethics through a robust interview process.
Here is our most current news cycle (as of Feb 12th, 2025). Staff writers are always on a two-week news cycle; the new earlier story due date promotes stronger discipline from staff writers and puts ease on section editors to revise their staff writers' stories, managing editor Avery to publish stories, and for me to send Logan content for the Top Stories email.
Part of the Continuous Coverage SNO badge is earning 'Sustained Coverage,' which means publishing content for 4 consecutive weeks in 4 different coverage sections. Our WBN staff coverage model allowed us to complete this within the first two months of the school year.
One of the first slideshows I made this school year. I took the most important parts of the book and consolidated them into a simple top-5 presentation for staff writers. This presentation now lives in our WBN Google Classroom, where students can refer to it when wanted or needed.
Commitment to Marketing & Engagement
"Journalists have a responsibility to promote their content and increase accessibility for their audience. In a high school setting, media and journalism isn't at the forefront of school discourse. So, we have to work to promote our mission of telling the stories of Wilsonville High School. Work in engagement is ongoing and ever-changing; I've implemented new ways and refreshed WBN's vision of outreach to better connect with our audience."
Outreach & Accessibility: Greater Wilsonville Community
Top Stories weekly email: This school year, I started the weekly "Top Stories" WBN email that is sent to all Wilsonville High School families each Friday. I send our social media manager the top stories we've published, and she sends the email with links to all our content: online, Spanish-translated, video, and audio.
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Our website isn't viewed as much as I think it should be; part of that is because most students don't know it exists. The Top Stories emails were created to publicize and promote our website, increase engagement with our content, and make our website more accessible for Wilsonville families.
Heading of the WBN Top Stories email, sent each Friday afternoon. A photo of our program is always featured at the top in some way; here is our class at the 2024 OJEA Fall Media Day.
Below the featured photo is information about WBN's sports broadcast program; we include this information in every email. For free, anyone can watch Wilsonville sports broadcasts with commentary and announcing by Wilsonville students. Sports broadcasting is one of many ways WBN makes an impact in the wider community.
This is the most important section of the email: WBN's top stories! Each week, I select the top stories from each section for WBN social media manager Logan Stelle to post. We give equal love to our multimedia content, including published videos and podcasts both on the site and WBN YouTube account. In this week's email, we promoted our most recent print edition, and provided a link to the digital copy available under the 'Paw Print Archives' section on our website. (Paw Print Archives)
Stats don't lie! Here is the view count data on our website through SNO Analytics; x-axis is the date, y-axis is # of views. Each arrow points to a Friday where we sent the Top Stories email. Evidently, Top Stories emails result in considerable spikes in site viewership.
Paw Print distribution to the Wilsonville Public Library: To boost greater Wilsonville area engagement and get community members excited about our work, we've started sending a newspaper package to the Wilsonville Public Library! This expands our audience with increased accessibility, and allows our community insight into the news and events at Wilsonville High School, lining up with our program's mission to "tell the stories of Wilsonville High School."
Copies of the Paw Print (V9I2) at the Wilsonville Public Library for anyone to pick up! At WBN, we aim to make our content as accessible as possible. Through the Top Stories email and by bringing the newspaper to a thriving community center, we are expanding our audience and promoting the stories of Wilsonville High School. Furthermore, the copies represent less than half of the original amount of newspapers that were brought to the library; in less than a week, more than half of the stack was taken and read! Photo taken by John D'Souza.
Engagement: Community Voice & Feedback
Get it out there > Media is consumed >
Receive feedback > Make it better > Repeat
Listen to your audience after they listen to you: I think the cycle of content > self-reflection and feedback > modify is so important, especially in a high school setting. It's important for us, as reporters in a school community, to be sharing and publishing content that engages the school body and advocates for their right to accurate, interesting, and informative news in all forms of media. When we publish content, listening to suggestions about how to make us better is critical for our growth and success as individuals and as a program. It's not about doing everything that others tell us to do—listening to feedback is about understanding how the community is receiving our content, and how we can better fulfill the WBN mission and meet personal journalistic goals by listening to the voices we serve.
97070 Show feedback: One of the first things I did when the school year started was garner feedback from Life class (homeroom) teachers about our Show episodes, also called "Life class videos." I was aware that many teachers don't show their class the weekly videos, so I wanted to find out how we could make our content more engaging and informative. 97070 Show host Dena Kaufman and I drafted some questions, made a small list of teachers to talk to, and asked them about their unfiltered thoughts about the Show. We've used their feedback this year to make the videos better in production, editing, content, and presentation.
Compiled on a Google Doc, Dena and I selected 4 Life class teachers—each teaching a different grade—and drafted questions to ask them and guide our conversation about Show feedback. We always asked those 4 questions in that order, and wrote their responses, suggestions, and feedback below.
These are the responses from each teacher, (mostly) in order of the 4 questions we drafted. This feedback was invaluable, and has played a critical role in our revamp of the 97070 Show.
97070 Show revamp: Production, Editing, Content, Presentation: As stated above, the feedback we received played a large role in how we publish the Show episodes:
Production
Shorter is always better. If the videos are too long, students lose interest, which is what happened often last year. This year, videos are often no longer than 3 minutes, and the information is quick and to-the-point.
Editing
One of the more common suggestions we received were audio fixes. This year, we use professional-grade audio mics: Rhode Wireless PROs. This has enhanced the Show's overall product, and gives the Show producers experience with professional audio equipment.
Content
We produce more feature content and highlight multiple different areas of our school. In the beginning of the year, our multimedia director, Chase Crouch, sent an email to all WVHS staff, expressing our desire to highlight all areas of Wilsonville High School. We continue to receive emails and information about school and sports-related fundraisers, events, award-winners, and general information that we use in the Show episodes.
Presentation
The Show producers wanted to change it up some more this year. Episodes are shot in different areas of our school: In front of lockers, on a balcony, outside the WBN classroom, in the Performing Arts Center, and even outside (during fall, when the leaves were pretty). This makes the videos more engaging and more fun to edit!
Questions/Comments/Concerns section in Paw Print: This year I brought the contact box back to the Paw Print, and I hope it continues after I graduate. The feedback outlet is critical to any journalist, especially in a high school setting. Student should feel welcomed to provide feedback to the journalists representing their voices, and the contact box is a critical part of that. The image below is what it looks like.
Here is a screenshot of V9 I2—the bottom left corner of page 2, under the Editorial. Below the QR codes (which also promote and boost engagement) is my contact information. I intend to include these in each edition of the paper this year.
John's Leadership
Leadership isn't a title—it's a characteristic
"I believe that quality leadership values dignity, displays humility, and empowers others through service. I strive to create a culture of inclusivity and growth—not just in WBN, but in life and academics beyond high school journalism. I've been blessed with mentors, experiences, and opportunities that have formed me as a leader. I strive to use my skills and share the lessons I've learned with others so we can be good and do good together."
Class Agendas
I begin most classes with an agenda slideshow. They range from print pitches to daily agendas to just general information. They're nothing fancy; just short, quick, and to-the-point. I've learned that the visual aspect of slideshows helps, versus just me talking. Here are links to a few of the slideshows I've made and presented this year.
Click the image to view the full slideshow presentation!
Classroom Tradition: Swags-giving
On the last day before Thanksgiving break, our class hosts a banquet-style potluck. We take time as a class to recognize our collective journalistic achievements; each editor presents individual awards to staff journalists for their articles, photography, podcasts, video content, broadcasting talents, and more. One of our biggest celebrations of the school year, Swags-giving has become a staple of WBN with fun slideshow animations, creative awards, and the fundamental celebration of our work as journalists.
Classroom Tradition: Appreciation Friday
A tradition started by my advisor John Fitzgerald well before my time in WBN, we take time in class, on the last day of the school week, to appreciate a person, place, or thing. Each individual has the chance to share; an appreciation can be many things, one thing, or nothing at all! It's a simple way for individuals to recap our week and show appreciation for the work we all do.
A screenshot from my advisor Mr. Fitzgerald's daily class slides. This tradition is a great way for us to reflect on the week and express gratitude for a person, place, or thing.
Classroom Tradition: Story of the Week
This year, “Story of the Week" is new. On the first day of the week, I choose a story published in the previous week; during class time, allot 5 minutes for everyone to read the article. Then, we reconvene and share what we like about the story and what stood out. I wanted Story of the Week to be a place where we can recognize individuals for their hard work and create a greater sense of belonging in our class community.
Editor's Roundtable: OJEA Fall Media Day
I hosted an 'Editor's Roundtable' discussion at the 2024 OJEA Fall Media Day. I started the session by explaining WBN's model with a slideshow presentation, and then opened up the floor for group discussions, and for other editors to share how they do things at their schools. I gained presenting and leadership skills, and the session gave all of us who attended insight to how others run their media programs.
John D'Souza and the WBN editorial team having a news cycle meeting outside the WBN classroom. These meetings are also great bonding experiences, and a way for us to talk and destress. (Photo taken by John Fitzgerald.)
Click the image to view the full slideshow presentation!
Editorial Meetings
End of each news cycle: to recap what went well/what to improve, and brainstorm stories for the next cycle.
Print cycle meetings: we hold a meeting before the in-class print pitch, and then hold any additional meetings that become more frequent closer to the publish date.
These meetings allow each of us—Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Section Editors—to collaborate, grow our leadership skills, and ensure equitable and quality coverage.
Effective communication
The goal with all my presentations is communication. Making sure WBN staff know the how and why of everything we do in class is essential to a healthy program. The print pitch Doc is an example of that; it centralizes all print information for InDesign-ers to refer to throughout the print formatting process.
Click on the Google Doc image to see the full Print Pitch document, including stories, InDesign rules, and page assignments.
Click the slideshow image to see our critiquing process!
Click on the Google Doc image to see the full notes from our critiquing discussion!
In-Class Print Critique
After each newspaper edition is published, we hold an in-class critiquing session. After dividing into groups, we discuss what we loved, what stood out, and what could be improved in each coverage section. I remember disliking print critiques last year because of how disengaging and uncoordinated they were. This year, however, critiquing is a student-driven process led by me; each student has the chance to speak their thoughts. This newfound openness to collaborative discussion and constructive criticism has been critical to our success in each successive print edition and in establishing a celebration culture in our program.