We got The Beat, starting next week
December 15, 2009
By Warren Kagarise
Get The Beat, a new page in The Issaquah Press by teens, for teens and about teens.Look for news — like what you would see on Page A1 — and almost as many features as the App Store: entertainment pieces, how-to guides, a reader poll and more.
The Beat will replace the schools page the fourth week of the month. Look for the first edition in the Dec. 23 paper.
Content from the section will also be featured at www.issaquahpress.com.
Who says teens don’t tweet? Despite stats to the contrary, The Beat crew will take to Twitter @issaquahbeat — a blank canvas where Eastside teens can swap ideas and talk trends.
Tiffany Xu, a Skyline High School junior, spearheaded the teens-only idea and brought the plan to Editor Kathleen R. Merrill several months ago.
Merrill described the concept as “a mini-newspaper for teens.”
“We tried to really mirror the newspaper” — with a twist, she said. “We want it to be edgy, cool and hip, because that’s what teens are.”
University-run journalism and leadership workshops inspired Xu to put the training to use in a newspaper section run by Issaquah School District students. By developing The Beat, Xu wants to counter the image of teens as apathetic and disconnected. So far, so good, she said.
“I was very surprised by the response I received from my peers when I said I was starting this program,” Xu said.
Students at the three Issaquah district high schools clamored to write for The Beat. In the end, Xu and Merrill selected eight teens to contribute to the inaugural issue. Xu is editor of the page; Merrill will oversee the teen crew.
A $1,000 grant from the Seattle office of Youth Venture — a nonprofit set up to encourage teens to contribute to their communities — will pay for the December and January editions of The Beat. After that, Xu and her team need grant and sponsor dollars to keep the section. The Press offered the page at a discount.
“This is my baby and I really want to see it happen and be sustainable,” Xu said. “I’m going to work really hard to find that funding.”
Contribute by e-mailing editor@isspress.com.
Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
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Wow! This sounds really exciting! I can’t wait to pick up a copy
Good luck everyone!