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John,

A few questions about the teen page:

When is it supposed to debut?

Where will it appear in the paper?

Will it be one full page?

I'm definitely looking forward to it and hope that it will prove to be a long-term success.

Sincerely,

Hardy

It's going to run on the front of the Life section on Thursdays, Hardy, beginning at the start of the school year. It will only be the one full page but we'd love to grow it. We think that having the high school students create it themselves will be the ticket to its success. Thanks for asking.

To add to John's comment, the first issue of the teen page will run Aug. 25. (That also happens to the be first day of school in Guilford County.)

Running in that first issue, we've got a great story from two Grimsley High School students, an excellent illustration from a Weaver student (you'll think one of our pros did it), a review of Nickel Creek's latest CD from a Southern High senior and a profile of UNCW written by another Grimsley student.

And our advice columnists, who hail from Weaver, Ragsdale, Page, Smith, Wesleyan Christian and High Point and Northeast high schools, weigh in on some pretty serious topics.

Upcoming issues will showcase talents from other schools. The stories run from funny to serious.

Amy

John,

I like the prominence you plan to give the teen page by placing it on the front of your "Life" section.

Sorry to badger you with another question, but your mention of Thursdays made me wonder: do you plan for it to appear every Thursday? (If not, how regularly do you plan to print it? Or does that depend on how it goes?)

I also appreciate your open-mindedness to expanding it if things go well.

This definitely has the potential to be a very valuable addition for the News & Record.

I hope it proves to be exactly that!

Sincerely,

Hardy

Amy,

Thanks for providing a preview of what's to come.

I plan to make a post about it on my blog and look very forward to seeing the first edition, as well as being able to follow its development and growth throughout the coming school year.

In my view, the teen page has the potential to serve multiple purposes, such as providing students an opportunity to experience professional journalism and increasing young people's interest in newspapers.

It also may allow adults in our commmunity to gain a better perspective of where students are coming from, through their views and concerns.

I hope the experience of serving as editor of the teen page proves to be rewarding and fun for you.

Also, congratulations on the publication of "The eBay Millionaire" and the positive publicity it is already receiving.

Sincerely,

Hardy

Amy,

In the following sentence, which schools are you referring to when you mention "High Point"?

"And our advice columnists, who hail from Weaver, Ragsdale, Page, Smith, Wesleyan Christian and High Point and Northeast high schools, weigh in on some pretty serious topics."

Just curious.

Sincerely,

Hardy

Not badgering. I appreciate your engagement and support. I'll let Amy answer the High Point question. The page will run every Thursday.

Hardy:

That should have been High Point Wesleyan.

We have teen correspondents from nearly every public high school school in Guilford County, as well as from some of the area's private schools. We also have a few homeschoolers. (Some of the high school options, including GTCC Middle College, are also represented.)

I will say that there is one high school that is not represented with a teen page correspondent. And that's only because I didn't receive any applications from students at that school.

I'll tell you, that was quite disappointing because I visited that school, spoke with the principal, spoke with a class and personally encouraged many students there to apply. But no one ever did. (And I didn't think it was fair to offer a position to someone who didn't apply. That wouldn't be fair to the teens who took the time to apply.)

I won't say in this posting which school I'm talking about because I plan to make another recruting visit there once the school year begins.

One thing I learned from the recruiting process for the teen page: parents and teachers play a big role.

Lots of kids applied on their own initiative. But many of them applied only because a parent or a teacher alerted them to the opportunity and nagged them until they'd sent in an application. (My mom had to do the same thing when I was a teenager. I'd probably stay on deadline better these days if she was still nagging me.)

So, if you're a parent or a teacher reading this blog and you know of a teenager who might be good for the teen page, have them send me an a letter explaining why they want to be a correspondent; a writing, art or photo sample; and a few story ideas. My email address is amyjoyn@bellsouth.net. And if they don't do it the first time you make the suggestion, nag them until they do!

And if you're a parent of one of my teen correspondents, nag them to meet their deadlines!

Amy