MARKETING
& AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
MARKETING
& AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
MARKETING
& AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
MARKETING
& AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
COMMITMENT
TO DIVERSITY
Diversity Presentation at NorCal Media Day
I was selected to represent The Bark at JEA NorCal Media Day and serve as a student speaker. Coordinating the session, I worked with JEA NorCal to pitch, refine and gain approval for the presentation. I taught the session alongside our 2024–25 Editor-in-Chief, and together we shared five ways to diversify coverage in your newsroom. Our seminar was later featured on the JEA NorCal Instagram, highlighting us as student speakers.
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THE FIVE APPROACHES INCLUDE:
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Broader story coverage through intentional planning, tip lines, crowdsourcing and point–counterpoint sections that highlight multiple perspectives.
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More inclusive recruitment by reaching students in freshman English, art rooms, Spanish-for-Spanish-speakers, ELD classes and transfer orientations.
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Community involvement by opening newsroom resources to non-staff students, inviting outside artists and photographers and prioritizing letters to the editor.
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LGBTQ+ inclusion through clear coverage policies, respect for names and pronouns and strong classroom safety standards
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More roles for students by expanding beyond writers and editors to include photographers, videographers, podcast editors, outside opportunities managers and a literary magazine.
^^ SCROLL THROUGH ^^
Advocating to include the arts
At my high school, where academics and athletics dominate the spotlight, the arts often receive less consistent coverage. Over my three years as an editor for The Bark, I have worked to bring arts coverage into our regular news cycle and expand our definition of news value.
1. Making our first non-sports Action cover since 2022
My junior year, I photographed drama students performing under stage lights during the annual Improv Show and advocated for the image to run as our cover. There was some initial uncertainty about whether arts coverage belonged on the front page. I referred to our handbook, which defines our mission as informing, explaining, persuading and entertaining the school community, and argued that the arts meet that standard. The image became our first non-sports action cover since 2022, setting a precedent for a broader definition of news value.
THE IMPACT:
Drama students shared the image on social media, expressing appreciation for the visibility, and the edition was later hung in the drama classroom. By putting the arts at the center of our coverage, we showed that The Bark covers what matters in the moment, without bias or preset ideas of what “deserves” the spotlight.
As shown in the Arts & Entertainment section of my Reporting & Writing category, this section further explores the importance of arts reporting and the methods I use to tell these stories effectively.
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I intentionally bring younger writers into these projects so they learn to report on the arts with the same rigor as any other beat. At The Bark, we use a “bigs and littles” system that pairs seniors with juniors. When I launched Backstage Pass, I invited my two littles to co-byline the story so they could be involved in arts reporting from the start.
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I also think carefully about how these stories are presented. While arts topics may not appeal to everyone, I tell those stories in formats that are widely engaging, including bold photos, candid moments, Instagram reels and short, visual storytelling. Through creating high-quality coverage, I make the arts feel engaging and worth paying attention to, no matter the audience.
Backstage Pass: A student’s day dancing in the Holiday Spectacular
Hadestown cast puts on a “Hell” of a show
Backstage Pass: A student’s day in Hadestown the Musical
EPiC Drama strikes gold with production of "The Farm"
Performance Workshop’s winter concerts kick off the holiday season
Behind the curtains: Performing Arts Academy of Marin’s annual Holiday Spectacular
SEEING PEOPLE, NOT STATISTICS
Upon joining The Bark, I learned how journalism can humanize people who are often reduced to statistics or stereotypes. This work feels especially important within Marin County’s often homogeneous environment, known as the "Marin bubble"" where many perspectives go unseen. These experiences shaped how I approach reporting, with a focus on amplifying voices that are not typically centered.
My samples on Alicia Garza and San Quentin reflect this commitment in practice.
NEWS: San Quentin Prison's marathon documentary screens with panel talk-back
My first published Bark story covered the documentary "26.2 to Life: Inside the San Quentin Prison Marathon," which screened at the Smith Rafael Film Center with a post-screening panel discussion. Reporting on the film introduced me to the men of San Quentin’s 1,000 Mile Club and the way the marathon offers purpose to incarcerated runners.
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To report the story, I reached out directly to Diane Kahn, a founding member of Humans of San Quentin, an organization that shares personal stories from inside the prison to shift public perception. That outreach led to deeper conversations and connections, including meeting Markelle “Markelle the Gazelle” Taylor, the film’s lead subject. Months later, Taylor recognized me at a bake sale and told me about the positive changes in his life since the premiere, handing me his business card for a shoe company he had launched.
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While the AP style and structure of my first story is far from perfect, the content and reporting was strong. Through interviews, photography and on-site reporting at the film premiere, I wrote my very first story in a meaningful way.
Redwood Alum and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza talks accountability
During a class period on The Bark, our class held an hour-long Zoom interview with Alicia Garza, a Redwood High School alum and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. We collaboratively developed questions, led the conversation, then transcribed the interview, selected key quotes and turned it into a packaged story. The coverage made the discussion accessible to our school community and the broader Marin County audience, where voices like hers are not often represented in student media.