The Yearbooking Report Podcast

It's halfway through the school year but not too late to try some new creative design ideas with your yearbooking effort. Get ready for a LOT of them with insights from Jostens Creative Design Manager Rick Brooks. What's hot and trendy, how has the pandemic affected design, what are some new cool cover treatments, and much more - you'll be taking notes on what's popular with design for this year and next year!

In a year of continued challenges, covering people and getting student reactions to news happening around them can be two big keys to a successful yearbooking effort. Yearbooks are always about telling stories, and this episode of TYR features great ideas and insights from veteran adviser Mitch Eden from Kirkwood HS in Missouri. Hear how his staff reports on Kirkwood students with their thoughts and feelings on a host of topics, both hard news and softer features. It's time to "timestamp" this school year, one like no other, and telling stories in the yearbook and elsewhere is the way to do it. Plus get some other ways to tell those stories beyond the pages of your book.

Now that school is rolling everywhere, has your yearbook staff come up with a new theme for this year's edition? Maybe you've never tried to develop a theme before?

Listen to a great conversation with veteran adviser Jess Hunziker from Castle Rock, CO as she describes the steps in really working a theme on the inside of the book, why coming up with a unique local theme may be the best of all, and other great ideas and advice for any yearbook adviser and staff. 

In yet another challenging school year, here is some inspiration for all - and a reminder that yearbooking is all about the stories...

Welcome back to a new school year, and probably another challenging start to a school year. Many yearbook advisers and staffs struggled last year - will it happen again? How to avoid this?

 

The start of Season 4 of the Report features adviser Emily Hockenberry from Towanda, PA. Last year Emily was a rookie adviser who took on the challenge of not only yearbooking but leading in a pandemic. And she and her staff nailed it with perhaps the best overall book in school history. 

 

Listen to this episode as Emily details how they did it - with more writing, better photos, good page design, no fear of pushing the kids, and the key to everything - STORIES. Have a pad and pen ready for tons of notes, ideas and inspiration - it's a great start to another great yearbooking year. No matter your situation, rookie or veteran, you can DO THIS!

To wrap up the most challenging school year EVER and the third season of the Report, TYR did something new: we talked to three excellent yearbook student editors about how they dealt with this year, the difficulties they faced, what they learned from it, and some advice for next year's yearbook staffs. The round robin conversation shows the resilience of young people and how they all created terrific yearbooks this year. Enjoy their ideas and views!

As we approach the final weeks of this school year (YAY, finally!) this is a great time for yearbook advisers and staffs to begin some advance preparation for next year's effort. What to do? What to handle? HOW? 

Listen for some great advice and ideas from award winning adviser Ava Butzu from Grand Blanc HS in Michigan. Better have a pad and pen for note taking, along with interesting opinions and views on yearbooking and education for 2021. Great conversation.

And stay tuned for a great FREE service for teachers and students everywhere no matter where you are or who you work with. Did you know this is available to you?

We're back - and in this episode we're looking back but also looking forward with repeat guest Erika Lin Payne. Erika appeared last August in our episode about leading a staff remotely from 2,000 miles away which she's been doing since BEFORE the Virus That Shall Not Be Named showed up. After seven months of this situation this school year, what has she learned about yearbooking and education in general? What does the future hold? Listen for some interesting thoughts and observations - and a special treat at the end, what makes for an authentic taco recipe? NO BEEF?? See if you agree...

As yearbook staffs navigate this very challenging school year, what are the technology tools that keep Jostens schools ahead? And how did they come about? Listen to a fascinating interview with Jostens Product Director John Dalke as we talk some tech, find out more about some great yearbooking tools and look to the future. 

It's a new year but the same problems - how to make a great yearbook during a crazy pandemic? In this episode we talk with a true award-winning yearbooking legend, Jostens Ambassador and retired adviser Margaret Sorrows. The conversation goes from tips on great yearbook making and motivating kids to do good work to dealing with stress in this insane year, with some valuable adviser for newer advisers as well. Grab a good beverage and get some terrific advice and inspiration from Margaret!

Whew, what a year. Many folks are essentially stumbling into the holiday break. This month Scott has a special edition filled with tips, ideas, advice and more for yearbook advisers right now and some just for educators anywhere. Is your school or yearbook staff considering these ideas? 

How can teachers get re-motivated? How can struggling students get rewarded? How can you possibly finish the yearbook this year? 

Sit back, relax, grab a beverage and enjoy the listening. This crazy year 2020 can't end soon enough - and we'll get back to our regular programming in mid January!