Welcome to the land of country music and hot chicken! 

On November 12, Spyglass touched down in Nashville for the 2025 JEA/NSPA National Journalism Convention. 18 staffers flew cross-country to attend the 4-day convention and soak up as much journalism content as possible. 

Over 100 workshops were held, covering a variety of topics from “How to localize a story” to “The ethics of AI in the newsroom.” Of the many workshops held, six of our very own staffers presented at the convention. They covered a spectrum of things, including Tekle S.-J.’s ’27 “How to write a 5-star review,” Valentina V. ’26 and Karalim C.’s ’28 “Co-writing news stories: Six tips on how to effectively share a byline,” and Frances B. ’27, Rebecca L. ’27, and Kristin C.’s ’26 “Data Journalism: How to turn numbers into stories.”

Spyglass staffers also had the chance to meet other high school journalists from across the country and learn about how their newsrooms operate differently from our own. After seeing how other high school newspapers operate, we returned with new ideas and concepts to potentially incorporate into our own newsroom.

Besides the workshops, the convention also held fun activities, such as line dancing and arts and crafts, for the students. The convention was an opportunity for our staff to bond over late-night room snacks and mall trips. Post-convention, the newsroom was buzzing with excitement over the lessons learned and the people we met. The Nashville convention broadened our scope of journalism outside our newsroom and gave us unforgettable memories. 

Hear our staffers reflect on their favorite part of going on the trip here:

Made by Josie S.J. ’27