For senior Taliyah Cooper, working on The Pirates’ Hook, Riverside High School’s student-led newspaper, has been one of her most meaningful high school experiences.

Her introduction to the paper, though, was not by choice.

When she was a freshman, her guidance counselor enrolled her in “Journalism I – Intro” to fulfill an elective credit. While Cooper had the option to drop it, she said she is glad she didn’t, despite initially feeling unsure about what the class would entail.

“I thought about it for a little bit; I was like, ‘no, I think I’ll keep this class,’ and the rest is history,” she said. “I came back every single year after that, and I absolutely love that class.”

Cooper is now the senior broadcast editor for the newspaper. She produces videos interviewing students about school events or fun topics, like go-to prom dance moves.

She is one of 34 students in the “Journalism I – Newspaper” class who help produce The Pirates’ Hook.

Bryan Christopher, an English and Journalism teacher and the paper’s faculty adviser, said he gives students as much opportunity as possible to make decisions related to the newspaper, including coming up with story ideas and taking their own photographs.

“I think they get good at it by doing it,” he said.

The paper’s coverage areas include sports, culture, news and opinion. The staff produces five print editions each year, which they distribute to every classroom at Riverside High School, and aims to publish articles weekly on the paper’s website.

In June, the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, a Chapel Hill-based statewide organization encouraging excellence in scholastic journalism, presented The Pirates’ Hook with a Tar Heel Award in the online division for its website. According to the association’s website, the award is the highest honor given to select high school student media in North Carolina. This is the first time in its 33-year history that the paper has won the award for its website.

The paper’s first print edition, which centers on Hispanic Heritage Month, was published this month. Most of the paper’s articles are translated to Spanish, with bilingual content typically running alongside English content on the same page. This print edition, however, features a new design, with the first half in English and the back half in Spanish.

Senior editor Sadie Irby said reaching the paper’s target audience of more than 1,800 students and their families is important to the staff.

Riverside High School’s student population is nearly 40% Hispanic, and Christopher said the staff has many bilingual members and students from various classes.

“I take a lot of pride in trying to build a staff that is representative of our student body,” he said.

Irby was initially a cartoonist when she joined the newspaper staff at the beginning of her sophomore year, but she quickly grew motivated to write articles. That same year, her favorite one was published in INDY Week.

The op-ed, written by members of The Pirates’ Hook staff, features recommendations on how Durham Public Schools should use the $18 million grant the district received from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2022. Irby wrote about the district’s need to increase funding for the arts, citing several reasons, including equity issues, inclusion and creativity.

As an editor, Irby helps Christopher decide what stories go in print and online and works to plan deadlines. She said she values every staff member holding one another to high standards and maintaining trust in the newsroom.

“I feel like being in a leadership position, at the end of the day, we’re all relying on each other equally; it’s not one person doing all the heavy lifting,” she said.

Irby said joining a student newspaper can push students out of their comfort zone, but, she said, it helped her find her voice.

Edited by Emi Maerz