Welcome to the 2025-2026 School Year!

Good afternoon everyone. My name is Luke Fann and I am the Editor-in-Chief of The City Voice, City High/Middle School’s own student newspaper. What that means is we are by students, for students. Even so, readers from all across the world have read our website!

Why Should I Join the Newspaper?

During the 2024-2025 news cycle, we had a turbulent but rewarding time at The City Voice. Behind the scenes, the paper was facing many issues that we still face now. But with an amazing team of editors and writers (which can include you!), we can make this the best year yet. We are currently a small, passionate team who loves journalism. But we’d love it if we became a large, passionate team in time. Journalism can seem daunting, but it shouldn’t be. If you write for us and feel stress or fatigue, let us know. Writer’s block and burnout are real, and we care about you more than getting another article out.

The newspaper is also the perfect way to earn CAS hours! Creativity hours may not seem like the most pressing type to get more of, but especially for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders, a couple hours every week will ensure you never fall behind. For everyone else, getting ahead is always best. And it’s never too early to make your college application or resume that bit shinier. For anyone going into writing-intensive fields like the humanities, being on staff of your school newspaper is great experience

Who Can Join?

The short answer is everybody! We welcome anyone from any walk of life with any beliefs (excluding hateful and discriminatory ones). We especially welcome middle school students. I got my start in 7th grade and it only took one year to become an editor! Starting early gives you more experience and more opportunities later down the road. We have memberships to multiple media competitions which many of our talented staff (and I) have won.

You are the perfect addition to our team. As I said before, no matter your background or the path you forge, there are stories worth sharing in your life. Your interests are interesting! We want you to impress us with your writing. This newspaper was created with the vision of allowing writers to talk about their passions, no matter what they may be. And I intend to keep it that way. We are a uniquely formatted paper that no other student paper (I’ve found) is like. While it is important to do “traditional” news reporting, that doesn’t mean you can’t still break the mold.

What’s the Newspaper Like?

Our paper is a very inclusive and tight-knit group of passionate people who want to collaborate to make a real difference in our community (and further).

Interacting with people 1-on-1 or as part of a team can be tricky. The City Voice wants to welcome you to go out of your comfort zone by working as a group on stories, going out and interviewing people, but never making you feel bad. As a club, you only do what you want to do. But the newspaper has made me and many others into better public speakers, better listeners, and given us many other great life skills.

Because the paper is digital, readers from dozens of countries have read stories by our authors! And because of our aforementioned memberships with press organizations, our authors are also recognized nationally for their work. We also have a weekly newsletter that goes out to all City students (you probably got here that way).

But most of all, we like to have fun. The news can be sad and awful sometimes, so reporting on the good in this world can be very rewarding. But not everything is about journalism. We like to kick back and have a break sometimes. By the end of the marking period, we will hopefully be able to host a party (think pizza) for those who wrote for us thus far. Don’t quote me on this, though, because we’re still ironing out details (however do consider writing an article for the opportunity to go to a party).

If You Want to Join…

…come on by! We meet every Thursday from 2:45-3:15 to start a new edition and finalize last week’s for publication. The editors (including me) are always available to chat to, and you can send me or our faculty advisor Mr. Beckwith an email at the addresses below. Hope to see you there!

Email Editor-in-Chief Luke Fann: fann-l@students.grps.org

Email Faculty Advisor Philip Beckwith: beckwithp@students.grps.org

LUKE FANN

Editor-in-Chief at The City Voice | fann-l@students.grps.org

Editor-in-Chief Luke Fann is a junior at City and freelances for Rapid Growth Media's Voices of Youth program. He also attends Michigan State University's MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop, receiving the Sparty Award in Journalistic Storytelling and the Art of Storytelling. Additionally, he recieved an Award of Excellence in the Level Up: Leadership for Media program in 2025 and earned an honorable mention for his piece on AI and LLMs at the 2024 MIPA Spring Awards.

Luke began writing in 7th grade and became an editor by the following year. By his sophomore year, he was Managing Editor and then Editor-in-Chief. As for writing, he focuses on business and technology news, taking a deeper dive into topics rather than focusing solely on breaking news. He also covers personal interests, and his weekly editorials offer unique takes on timely issues.

If you're interested in writing for The City Voice, especially as a middle schooler or Underclassman, reach out to Luke or attend a meeting. Journalism is a great way to express your passions. No matter your background, The City Voice wants to hear your voice.