Kyle Phillips

We’ve just blocked AI-training crawlers across all SNO sites using our Cloudflare name servers, and the results are already noticeable. Server load has dropped by roughly 20–30%, which means faster, more stable websites. This move also protects your content from being scraped for model training.

When local news declines, student journalists step up despite challenges They are increasingly filling the news deserts left behind by the decline of local news outlets, but are facing similar challenges such as shrinking budgets, censorship pressures, and the difficulty of...

When local news declines, student journalists step up despite challenges sno.buzz/42ATshC

Editorial: Cell phone policies aren’t for the better Texas House Bill 1481, which keeps students from using personal communication devices on school property during the school day, has sparked significant debate – especially with students and guardians....

Reminder that SNO now requires captions and attributions for any images, graphics, drawings, etc. included in @bestofsno.bsky.social submissions. This piece from ENO offers a great example of captions that make graphics more accessible to those w/screen readers: eaglenationonline.com/70063/showca...

The Atlantic Announces Free Digital Subscriptions for All U.S. Public High Schools None

The Atlantic Announces Free Digital Subscriptions for All U.S. Public High Schools

Reminder: We've updated @bestofsno.bsky.social guidelines this year and now require a caption AND attribution for any images, graphics, drawings, etc. used in the story. Make sure to double check that you have those so your story is eligible for publication!

We are encouraged that the Alexandria City School Board is considering a stronger student media policy today, and we urge them to adopt a policy that protects and encourages student voices. https://loom.ly/1qzTCeg

Something I wrote is on the AP wire. That's pretty cool.
Also, @bestofsno.bsky.social opens on Monday!

Schools closed when these students were in 8th grade. Their 12th grade NAEP scores aren’t pretty. In National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered in early 2024, high school seniors posted historically low math and reading scores.

Studies show students who work at a school news publication score HIGHER on English, math, social studies and science. But student news publications have been declining nationally. Maybe an investment in scholastic journalism could help reverse this trend?
www.chalkbeat.org/2025/09/09/n...

The link to the interview video doesn't work in the newsletter. You can access that interview here: youtu.be/klY29ufrx3Y

Help your student staff stay smart about images! From support strategies to exclusive Reuters photos, we’ve got you covered. sno.buzz/copyright

Screenshot of the guardian profile on Threads

Screenshot of guardian posts on threads

Millions of followers ≠ engagement. @theguardian.com has 1.4m followers on Threads with almost no engagement. On Bluesky, links can get 3–4x more clicks than likes.

The real question isn’t “how many followers do you have?” but “what kind of engagement do you get?”

SNO Resources to Start the Year Right | SNO Sites The start of a new academic year is always busy, but you don’t have to go it alone. Whether you’re troubleshooting your site, teaching journalism fundamentals, or looking for inspiration, SNO has…

We’ve rounded up all the SNO Resources to help you and your students succeed—from support guides and webinars to curriculum, design inspiration, and more.

The SNO Report: New Tools and Updates for 2025–26 | SNO Sites Welcome Back! Hello and welcome back! Whether you’re advising a student newsroom or leading a college publication, we know the first weeks are a whirlwind of setting up, remembering passwords,…

🚀 The new school year is here—and so is the latest SNO Report!
Check out our 2025–26 tools, features, and updates designed to make your newsroom even stronger.
👉

UPDATE: Student journalists have published a story on the ongoing lawsuit, calling it a victory for the student press. lhsbudget.com/news/2025/08...

Alongside a court order acknowledging adviser protections, editors received written assurance the district would not restrain them or their adviser.

But pivoting to AI is not a business strategy. Telling journalists they must use AI is not a business strategy. Partnering with AI companies is a business move, but becoming reliant on revenue from tech giants who are creating a machine that duplicates the work you’ve already created is not a smart or sustainable business move, and therefore it is not a smart business strategy. It is true that AI is changing the internet and is threatening journalists and media outlets. But the only AI-related business strategy that makes any sense whatsoever is one where media companies and journalists go to great pains to show their audiences that they are human beings, and that the work they are doing is worth supporting because it is human work that is vital to their audiences.

Found this @jasonkoebler.bsky.social story about why AI isn’t a viable business model for journalism to be extremely well done and oddly hopeful

www.404media.co/the-medias-p...

Purdue, IU abandon student newspapers, diminishing campus voices | Opinion Purdue ended paper distribution and parking passes for Exponent staff. IU rejected student-approved funding for the Indiana Daily Student.

"Student journalists keep college students informed. Unfortunately, universities are distancing themselves from student newspapers, exacerbating the challenges young people face in finding trustworthy information." https://loom.ly/rObXh38

Misspellings happen, there but for the grace, and so on. But I think people who write down people’s names sometimes underestimate how much people really do not like it when you misspell their names. We’ve all done it! But it’s not like a typo. It’s a factual error. People don’t like it!

We’re thrilled to announce the 2024–2025 SNO Distinguished Sites! These schools have achieved excellence in digital journalism by earning all six badges.

👏 Congratulations to all the honorees!

🔗 Full list: buff.ly/ntGCNPe

#StudentJournalism #SNOSites

🚨 It's Deadline Day! Today is your last chance to submit stories for Best of SNO.
sno.buzz/3Hf8a65

YouTube video by SNO Sites SNO Distinguished Sites and Best of SNO Overview and Tips 2024-2025

(2/2) Those particular badges require 20 weekdays or four consecutive weeks of content to be posted.
For more information about the badges make sure to check out our webinar that we made in the fall: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGi...
Finally, @bestofsno.bsky.social will close at end of day on May 29.

(1/2) On Monday there will be only 20 weekdays remaining until @snosites.bsky.social Distinguished Sites submissions close for the school year.
With that in mind, if you haven't earned the Audience Engagement or Continuous Coverage badge yet you'll want to develop a plan to start on Monday.

Major props to The Standard from The American School in London for being named a SNO Distinguished Site this year! Adviser Louisa Avery picked up their plaque at #NHSJC in Seattle today.

Stop by the SNO booth if you're at the show! #SNODistinguishedSites #StudentPress #NHSJCSeattle

Big news from Seattle!

At the National HS Journalism Convention this weekend, 11 SNO customers were named NSPA Online Pacemaker winners—the highest honor in scholastic journalism! We're proud of these outstanding programs and the work they produce. See list of SNO winners: sno.buzz/25pacemaker

YouTube video by WakeCountySchools 2025-04-08 Board Meeting

Students in Wake County just saved their news sites—by speaking up.

At a school board meeting, they made the case for student journalism. Two days later, the district reversed course.

🎥 Starts at 33:45: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z32O...

U.S. says it is now monitoring immigrants' social media for antisemitism Effective immediately, the government says it will begin screening immigrant social media for activity that officials think indicates support for antisemitism.

As our Student Media Alert warned last week, social media posts — not just websites — may be used to target individuals for their speech. Read our full alert: splc.org/alert

www.npr.org/2025/04/09/g...

⚠️ NEW: The nation's student media groups issue an unprecedented alert warning of threats to student speech and recommending student editors revisit their policies on takedowns and anonymity. Read the alert: splc.org/2025/04/stud...

It's been a while since I've done a Best of SNO stats check.
We've published stories from over 300 schools so far this year, and have had over 12,000 stories submitted! That's very impressive when you consider that schools can only submit four days a week.
Keep 'em coming, SNO Patrol!

At a bbq joint, with a high school student. It's great. SNO customers -- give this one (all of them, actually) a listen with your students.

🏆 31 SNO customer sites have been named NSPA Online Pacemaker Finalists — an incredible recognition of outstanding student journalism!

We’re proud to be part of your journey. Check out the full list of finalists: sno.buzz/woohoo

Congrats to all! 🎉 #NSPA #PacemakerFinalists #StudentJournalism #SNO

A Tribute to Trinkle As Rams fans attend Paoli Baseball games this season, they might notice something new on prominent display. The town of Paoli partnered with Paoli Community Park and Paoli Possibilities and donated a ...

This came across my desk yesterday, and because it has to do with baseball history I immediately thought of @joeposnanski.bsky.social phsmedianews.com/36887/news/a...