News
TAYLOR: Former News-Herald editor blogging for schools
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
By David Komer
Twitter: @DavidKomer_NH
Twitter: @DavidKomer_NH
TAYLOR — Want to know what’s happening in the school district? Bookmark “Talking Taylor Schools.”
The blog is the brainchild of former News-Herald Managing Editor Karl Ziomek, who has been hired by the school district as an hourly part-time communications consultant.
Promoting positive news, Ziomek hopes to spotlight some of the everyday activities and events going on in the district to keep parents, students and prospective district families informed.
Although the district prints a quarterly update, the immediacy of having a news vehicle that can be updated by the minute on the Internet with far-reaching accessibility made it a perfect idea, Ziomek said.
“When I sat down with (Supt.) Diane Allen and (Assistant Supt.) Teresa Winnie, to discuss some issues, the blog was the one thing they grabbed a hold of right off the bat,” he said. “We wanted to get the good news out there in the cheapest way possible.
“I am not looking for the negative — we can let (someone else) write that and we can handle it on our own. I am not trying to spin what they are giving me. They are giving me things that are positive.”
The blog, talkingtaylorschools.blogspot.com, is linked to theNewsHerald.com’s blog listing and a link eventually will be placed on school websites within the district.
There, searchers can find listings of upcoming workshops or events, photos of third-graders from Blair Moody Elementary visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts, pictures of Eureka Heights students visiting Toledo’s Imagination Station or Truman High School Principal Tommie Saylor’s weekly update.
Ziomek said his approach is like that of a community newspaper — one he should know well.
A 35-year veteran of newspapers, Ziomek was at The News-Herald for more than 31 years, with 30 in some type of editorial capacity. He spent 21 years as managing editor and as an executive editor in the chain and presided over a nearly 20-year streak in which the paper was named Newspaper of the Year by the Michigan Press Association, something no other publication can claim, regardless of class.
Ziomek’s work on the board of the Taylor Reading Corps is how he met Allen.
“I loved his ideas and formed a partnership,” she said. “He knows how media works and he is going to help us get the positive message out. The Taylor schools have a wonderful story to tell. We need to let people know how good we are. Karl will help us with that.” The blog fits Allen’s current focus on revitalizing the district and appealing to the roughly 3,000 students who live in the district and attend school elsewhere.
Ziomek also will be available to help the district in public relations matters, as well as possibly setting up two more blogs for the district, one for Allen and another for sub-varsity sports.
“Taylor is one of those districts that has not told its story as well as it could have and it is not alone,” Ziomek said. “Plenty of districts are doing the same thing. I’ve always been a proponent that any classroom is worth its weight in positive stories. All you have to do is walk into a school and you’ll run into a story worth telling.”
The blog is the brainchild of former News-Herald Managing Editor Karl Ziomek, who has been hired by the school district as an hourly part-time communications consultant.
Promoting positive news, Ziomek hopes to spotlight some of the everyday activities and events going on in the district to keep parents, students and prospective district families informed.
Although the district prints a quarterly update, the immediacy of having a news vehicle that can be updated by the minute on the Internet with far-reaching accessibility made it a perfect idea, Ziomek said.
“When I sat down with (Supt.) Diane Allen and (Assistant Supt.) Teresa Winnie, to discuss some issues, the blog was the one thing they grabbed a hold of right off the bat,” he said. “We wanted to get the good news out there in the cheapest way possible.
“I am not looking for the negative — we can let (someone else) write that and we can handle it on our own. I am not trying to spin what they are giving me. They are giving me things that are positive.”
The blog, talkingtaylorschools.blogspot.com, is linked to theNewsHerald.com’s blog listing and a link eventually will be placed on school websites within the district.
There, searchers can find listings of upcoming workshops or events, photos of third-graders from Blair Moody Elementary visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts, pictures of Eureka Heights students visiting Toledo’s Imagination Station or Truman High School Principal Tommie Saylor’s weekly update.
Ziomek said his approach is like that of a community newspaper — one he should know well.
A 35-year veteran of newspapers, Ziomek was at The News-Herald for more than 31 years, with 30 in some type of editorial capacity. He spent 21 years as managing editor and as an executive editor in the chain and presided over a nearly 20-year streak in which the paper was named Newspaper of the Year by the Michigan Press Association, something no other publication can claim, regardless of class.
Ziomek’s work on the board of the Taylor Reading Corps is how he met Allen.
“I loved his ideas and formed a partnership,” she said. “He knows how media works and he is going to help us get the positive message out. The Taylor schools have a wonderful story to tell. We need to let people know how good we are. Karl will help us with that.” The blog fits Allen’s current focus on revitalizing the district and appealing to the roughly 3,000 students who live in the district and attend school elsewhere.
Ziomek also will be available to help the district in public relations matters, as well as possibly setting up two more blogs for the district, one for Allen and another for sub-varsity sports.
“Taylor is one of those districts that has not told its story as well as it could have and it is not alone,” Ziomek said. “Plenty of districts are doing the same thing. I’ve always been a proponent that any classroom is worth its weight in positive stories. All you have to do is walk into a school and you’ll run into a story worth telling.”
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