About
HISTORY:
What began as Elkhart High School’s only student publication eventually evolved into two when EHS split into two high schools: The Pennant at Elkhart Central and Genesis at Elkhart Memorial. But with the merger of these high schools in 2020, the publications followed suit, calling the online publication Pennant/Genesis. However, with the merger process complete for the 2021-22 school year, the publication honors its original 1908 title: The PENNANT.
The PENNANT Online can be found at ehsnewsmagazine.org
Going back in history, though, The PENNANT Online has experienced a significant number of facelifts over time–just to keep up with the times! Beginning as The Pennant in 1908 when still a part of Elkhart High School, located downtown, the publication was produced once a month. Over time, it transformed into The Pennant Weekly. In 1966, the publication took on the name of Blazer Pennant when the school moved from downtown Elkhart to its location at 1 Blazer Blvd. Over time, it transformed from a weekly newspaper back to a monthly publication. In 1993, however, it moved from a newspaper format to that of a newsmagazine. More recently, the publication was able to incorporate color on the cover and several inside pages. However, the greatest advancement in its storied history occurred in 2019: The Blazer Pennant went online. In 2020, the word “Blazer” was dropped from the title to reflect the school merging process. With the school merger complete for the 2021-22 school year, however, the student publication will simply be called The PENNANT Online.
Joining Elkhart High School-East in 2020 was Elkhart-West’s Genesis, which began in 1972. Unlike The Pennant, Genesis began as a newsmagazine and continued along that path without interruption for 46 years. It also moved from a traditional black-and-white publication to color. Two years ago, however, Genesis made the incredible leap to go online in anticipation of the school merger. With COVID-19 impacting both programs this year, however, it was decided to take another gigantic leap for mankind: uniting forces a year ahead of schedule.
Thus, students from both campuses published from their respective buildings on this one unified website for the remainder of the COVID-19 year. In 2021-22, however, they are under one roof–and are entirely unified. As always, the aim is to have students publish a constant stream of articles that can be accessed on this website, as well as numerous “flipbooks” that replicate a traditional newsmagazine-style format. Not only will this enable readers to retain the feel of the hard-copy publication, but it will also enable the students on staff the opportunity to learn layout-and-design techniques with such programs as InDesign and PhotoShop–two programs that are still widely used even within the online publishing world.
However, going online also means that we can offer even more than what can fit within the confines of a monthly issue. Thus, additional articles and photographs will be published in a timely manner throughout each month and be readily accessible through this website–providing readers with more opportunities to visit our site continuously.
MISSION STATEMENT:
Students producing this publication follow the Student Journalist’s Code of Ethics, which not only means that they will aim to provide fair and unbiased reporting but also that they will refrain from obscenity, libel, and conduct deliberately leading to disruption within the school. That said, Opinion articles should reflect the opinion of the writer, which may or may not be the same as that of others on staff, their peers, or the administration. The Pennant Online also welcomes Letters to the Editor, even if it is not flattering to the publication. However, it reserves the right to edit for length, inappropriate language, and any legal issues, such as libel.
The PENNANT Online is an elective credit-course offered at Elkhart High School. It has this mission: teaching all stages of journalism to its students–from interviewing, writing, and editing to layout, design, and photography. It even offers opportunities to hone one’s marketing skills through advertising, the proceeds from which go toward production costs, including the annual website fee for SNO Sites.