By Sophia Lashmar, year 10
Sitting in what was once a dormitory for LGB’s boarders, we are reminded of LGB’s long and illustrious history as we have the opportunity to discuss with Ms. Kretzmeier, the original supervisor for the LGB Express, about the paper’s journey over the past decade.
Ten years ago, in March 2012, the first edition of LGB’s very own student-run newspaper was launched. The paper started out as the founding editor, Catherine Jay’s, CAS project. It was both Catherine and Ms. Kretzmeier’s second year at the school when the editor and supervisor embarked on a new adventure.
But how did the newspaper come to exist? Mrs. Kretzmeier explains that it was “a lot of logistics – Catherine conceived the idea and we started having planning meetings early on, and it took about 6 months for it to get up and running.” She goes on to explain that while the first edition arrived in March, they had started work on the paper in September and that it “was a lot of work, meetings and finding the right people for all the different positions”. In terms of the design of the Express website, several people proposed layouts and logos, but Ms. Kretzmeier herself made the original logo design, which has since been changed. In the time leading up to the release of the first issue, “we staffed the editorial positions and had lots and lots and LOTS of planning meetings”. In amongst the flurry of activity, Catherine Jay, the founding editor, had plans of her own to “pique people’s interest”.
Catherine “wanted to do a big teaser publicity campaign before the first edition, and so we went to the Secondary Principal’s office and had them make some silly poses with some props and took some pictures. Then, without any comment or explanation, we put those pictures all over the campus”. Students were immediately intrigued to see pictures of the school principal, Michael Featherstone (Dr. Hughes’ predecessor), and the Director-General, Nick Tate, fighting with giant pencils plastered all over the school. The initial surprise of seeing two figures of authority playing like children sparked an interest and curiosity, and this curiosity was met with the following release of the LGB Express. According to Ms. Kretzmeier, “the overall reception was overwhelmingly positive”. The students and staff appreciated having a paper to read about campus news, fundraisers, trips, clubs, competitions, sports teams, activities, restaurant recommendations, clandestine reports such as LGB Undercover, the Dear Dolly advice columns, and even published “New Music Mondays” for when you had to buy each individual song on a miniature iPod or a brick-like iPhone.
What makes the LGB Express special and worth reading? Ms. Kretzmeier believes that “the articles that focus on the unique aspects of the school and really highlight what makes us such a special place are what makes the LGB Express strong”. Kingsley Taveau, one of the founding editors of the Express is of the same opinion, ”the distinguishing quality between the great and the OK articles was how the pieces tied to the school.” When asked about her favourite articles over the years, Ms. Kretzmeier says she “did like some of the undercover pieces as they were really provocative. I do like the fun, gossipy ones, and we’ve really toyed with what to include, what not to, and what works, what’s interesting, and really the fun, gossipy pieces are the ones that get people to the paper and then you hope they stay and read the other things. That’s your clickbait and then you try to get the students into the other stuff.”
It cannot go without saying that The Express has also had its fair share of struggles. Ms. Kretzmeier explains that the main issues have been “leadership, and just trying to get the word out, and getting the students to take the time to go to the site and read the articles. It’s really been a challenge. If it were actually on paper it would be easier, because it would be right there. We’ve tried to make an app because then at least people could get it on their phones and get an update and it would eliminate the steps of going to the website. Readership has always been the hardest. It’s always a struggle to get students to read it.”
Speaking of issues with readership, one surefire way to increase it would be to print it, although this requires budget, the problem being that there isn’t one. The choice to make it an online paper was “partly environmental and partly budget, as [the Express] had zero budget and it’s not a one-time cost, it’s a weekly, year-long commitment”. A printed newspaper also creates other concerns such as how it would be distributed, the potential litter that would be generated, and whether it would be recycled. However, a printed paper would be an ideal way to increase readership following The Express’s 10th anniversary.
The Express has a history of talented, dedicated, and congenial editors and writers who work tirelessly to ensure the paper is at its best and to continually release it each week, without fail. Whilst working hard, the Express staff has also had its fair share of fun. According to Ms. Kretzmeier, the team “used to have matching sweatshirts and would try to wear them on the same day, and take goofy group photos” which brought a real sense of camaraderie to the paper. “We used to have meetings over lunch when we used to have a shared lunch period. Once a week, we’d all get together and bring our lunches and we’d have nice long meetings and that was a nice experience, it wasn’t rushed.”
One of Ms. Kretzmeier’s favourite aspects of being involved with the Express has been “working with the different editors and having a different kind of relationship with them. Any time you can work with students outside the classroom doing something else, getting to know them as people is really great.” She would like to see the writers and editors getting to know each other, and thinks “it would be nice if we could adapt Learning Commons to where one period a week could be for the The Express to get together as a team.”
What does the future hold for The Express? Ms. Kretzmeier believes the Express should find “a way to be more of a presence on a school campus.” She wishes that “we could get more people to read it and [that] there was time for students to write really good articles about the school”, with writers dedicated to different clubs, sports teams, columns, and sections, “ to get all the activities covered, but it’s a time issue and a lot of work. Ten years on, it’s still a work in progress, but we try.”
With ten years of experience under its belt, The LGB Express can, and will, step into the future with new developments and hopefully a few more readers!
