Known to former journalism teacher Howard Spanogle as the “guru of modern journalistic writing” and to director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Cheryl Pell as the “godfather of scholastic journalism,” Bobby Hawthorne is redefining journalism for the next generation.
Mr. Hawthorne directed the Texas Scholastic Press Association for 20 years, but now dedicates his time to writing articles and teaching others about the art of writing an article through classes and nation-wide conferences.
He has also published one of the most well-known journalism textbooks The Radical Write.
Mr. Hawthorne came to Santa Barbara on Oct. 27 and spoke to Journalism and Yearbook classes from five different schools, including Laguna Blanca, in the Elings Performing Arts Center at Dos Pueblos High School.
Sophomore Grace Woolf was pleasantly surprised when she heard Hawthorne speak. “I was expecting the conference to be a guy lecturing us, looking at slides, taking notes, and for it to be kind of boring, but I had a great time. I thought he was really funny, and he really knew how to engage a crowd.”
Hawthorne’s message is that the story is as important as the facts and sometimes you have to go with something random, for it to lead to the most interesting story.
“I had seen Bobby Hawthorne before, so I was expecting it to be exactly how it was. He’s very charismatic and funny so I was excited to see him again. I hadn’t heard all of his stories before, and it was a lot more personalized this time because he was visiting Santa Barbara in a smaller setting,” said senior Morgan Raith.
“I learned that good journalism isn’t just trying to tell what you’re assigned – it’s going out of the box. By asking the most obvious questions, you can find the most interesting things.”
The newspaper industry is starting to die out, as most news has gone digital.
Mr. Hawthorne’s mission is to teach students about “good” journalism and the way to attract an audience to their newspaper by telling a story that people will care about and not just spitting out facts.
“Life is like a war . . . worry about the 30 seconds when everything went to hell and back.”
