Embedded Files
Journalism has changed a lot, even in the few years that I've been a journalist. More than ever before, the world looks first to the internet, not print, for its news and information. It creates challenges for a publication like the USJ, which was born in the print age and remains at heart a newsmagazine. But it also creates opportunities for us to react more nimbly to news, reach more readers, and use the the distinctive look and language of sites like Instagram and TikTok to make reporting more relevant to younger people. That's why I've made it a commitment as a leader at the USJ to modernize and streamline my publication's online presence and to use the web and social media to complement and enhance our publication.
MINI SOCIAL MEDIA STORIES
MINI SOCIAL MEDIA STORIES
To grab people's attention on social media, you often need vivid writing and photography that is eye-catching and summarizes the event on first glance. I have published many social media stories over my time at Creek, when an event can be captured especially well in short form. See below for some of my favorites from throughout high school (for TikTok posts, please see the Broadcast Journalism tab).
I love creating mini-features. Here, I highlighted a freshman who played flute in Jazz Band—an unusual instrument for the style.
When the 2024 solar eclipse brought the entire school out onto the quad, I jumped at the opportunity to create a mini-story about it.
This was a great opportunity for me to experiment with a short, grabby lede, and I got good quotes from the coach to flesh it out.
Ethnic Fest is a beloved tradition at my school. I not only covered the event, but I also tried some of the tasty international delicacies!
Football is always fun to cover, yet low light makes the games challenging to photograph. I was proud of this post.
When police blocked a nearby parking lot due to criminal activity, I rushed to cover this story and post updates.
This was my first Instagram story, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much engagement it got from students.
For this Instagram post on Jazz Band, I featured the rhythm section, who rarely get solos or special attention.
Everyone loves the Spotify Wrapped release, which arrives each December, when users get an accounting of what they listened to the most in the past year. In 2022, during my freshman year, we decided to jump on the trend by tracking total views and ranking our most-viewed stories and top section for the past calendar year. As a new reporter with a strong interest in graphic design (and as a music fan who enjoys Spotify Wrapped), I was excited to do this story. I compiled the data for USJ views and did the graphic design for these posts, which appeared on our Instagram page. Later, I repeated the project before winter break of my junior year.
BREAKING NEWS
BREAKING NEWS
The most revolutionary advantage of online journalism is the ability to transmit breaking news far more quickly than would be possible in print. I've taken advantage of this method to blast quick bites of news out to my school community.
This is a sentimental story to me because it was my first-ever news story. I was hanging out with my sister, Carly Philpott, then the Editor-in-Chief, when the announcement crackled over the loudspeaker. We made eye contact briefly, she gave me a nod, and I, an eager freshman reporter, shot up and ran into the hallway to find administrators to interview. After a little while, I found the principal wandering with his walkie talkie and a crowd of stranded students. I quoted them both and had the story published within two hours. The beauty of digital media!
This time, one of our biggest classroom buildings was stunned at the end of the school day with a fire alarm. Throngs of students evacuated and walked away from the school, but I walked towards it. As the fire engine pulled into the drop-off lane, I pulled out my phone and took a photo of a firefighter rushing to respond to the emergency. For this story, I quoted an administrator who was displaced from her everyday schedule to direct traffic away from the parking lot to keep kids safe, and a student who was late to climbing club because of the emergency.
SNOW DAY GRAPHICS: During sophomore year, as Managing Editor and leader of our social media page, I created a template for snow days and delayed starts to be posted on Instagram stories to quickly and clearly announce the news. This also made it easier for the editor posting the announcement to alter the text and colors. I used a palette of four colors to make the post visually appealing and added a bit of holly jolly cheer with snowflakes.
INSTAGRAM REDESIGN
INSTAGRAM REDESIGN
At the beginning of my senior year, I worked with our social media managers to redesign and refine our Instagram post template, to focus more on the photos and less on the text. We designed our template with inspiration from The New York Times Instagram account. The template naturally makes our posts more visually striking, engaging, and colorful. We also changed the aspect ratio from 1:1 to 3:4 to modernize and fit Instagram's 2025 update.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
To make sure we have equal participation from the whole staff, I worked with my advisors to create posting requirements that integrate Instagram and TikTok work into staff members' cycle requirements. Along with the stories they publish each quarter, they also have to create more digestible, 1-3 quote "minis" that tell the little stories in our world. Shown at right is the information sheet explaining the new requirements.
Besides making social media stories a regular part of the workload, we also required staffers to attend Creek events—whether sports games, concerts, or club activities. This enabled us to cover more diverse stories and perspectives across campus—a much closer integration between our publication and the Creek community.
Words of Recommendation
Words of Recommendation
"I’ve worked alongside Peter since our freshman year, and in that time I’ve seen him grow into an exceptional leader, particularly in the areas of web and social media. As co-editor-in-chief, Peter played a central role in redesigning both our website and Instagram presence to better reflect the professionalism and identity of our publication. He approached the redesign with a clear strategic vision, focusing on cohesive branding, improved navigation, and stronger visual storytelling. Peter was thoughtful about audience engagement, implementing changes that made our content more accessible and compelling while maintaining high journalistic standards. Beyond his creativeness, he demonstrated strong leadership by guiding our staff through the transition, encouraging collaboration, and remaining open to feedback while confidently making final decisions when needed. Working with Peter is both motivating and reassuring—he balances big-picture thinking with attention to detail, and he consistently elevates the quality of our work. His leadership in digital media has had a lasting impact on our publication’s growth and credibility." —Izzy Krauss, USJ Co-Editor-in-Chief
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