ditch weekly – Greene Gazette

By Faith Welch

Day Two was fun! Not only did we get our assignments and get to have some amazing lectures; we were able to go out onto campus and exercise the lessons we’ve been learning about and putting them all together to formulate a package. Also…we were able to go to the TV room for the first time and hear ourselves on the mics in the podcast room, which was so much fun!

My group’s assignments consist of:

A video and text package on the “Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds: The Power of Indigenous Language in Contemporary Art” exhibit at the Zuccaire gallery. One of the most interesting things about it was that it was not open to the public yet, so we got a sneak peak into what’s to come soon. Weaving Words, Weaving Worlds isn’t just an art show; it’s a powerful reminder of how language holds culture, memory, and identity. Centered on Indigenous artists working with Algonquian languages spoken across Long Island and the Northeast, the exhibition explores how creative expression can help keep these languages alive.

Our second assignment was to go Stony Brook’s hospital and do a text story on the new announcement about how the Stony Brook University School of Nursing has been selected as a State University of New York (SUNY) Regional Nursing Simulation Center, one of only three in New York State. We spoke with the nurse practitioners, professors, the dean and even students. Through that, we learned that Stony Brook will receive a total of $20.5 million that will be used to create a new simulation center at Stony Brook that includes the latest simulation technologies to help train more nursing students and enhance the overall experience of nursing education.

Our final assignment which is being done tomorrow is a text piece about the Ditch Weekly. The Ditch Weekly is Montauk’s first-ever youth‑run, weekly print newspaper; created and published entirely by middle and high school students from the East End. Launched in summer 2024 by East Hampton High School students Billy Stern, Ellis and Teddy Rattray, and Harry Karoussos, it’s written, edited, produced, and distributed by teens aged 13–17. In an era where digital journalism is so popular, The Ditch Weekly stands out as a rare and enjoyable return to print journalism, powered by the next generation.

After all of the hard work, we went to the TV studio and learned alot of cool things about podcasting, and we got to spend some time in the booth.

Lastly we had a relaxing end to our night as we headed to the LaValle stadium and enjoyed Moana 2 at Stony Brook’s movie night.

By: Emily Soriano

I woke up excited for the day. I brushed my teeth and put on my formal attire to get ready for the day. We walked towards breakfast where I ate some vanilla yogurt and granola. Then we headed to the newsroom to start our third day at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute or High school Journalists with a pep talk.

The pep talk was from the Ditch Weekly, a newspaper created to cover the Hamptons from a different perspective by middle- and high-schoolers. We heard from Billy Stern and Harry Karousos. They explained how the paper was born.

After the pep talk we headed over to the broadcasting room. There we created a prompt of giving news. The Greene team received an experience of being on camera, having a script to read, holding the cameras, controlling the graphics, etc. It was a moment to learn what it’s like to broadcast.

Once we finished the prompt, we headed over to lunch around 12 p.m. We were then ready to head over the WUSB radio station as a group. Frank, Gavin, Shirley, Araya, and I walked around campus and enjoyed the scenery. A wall stood out to me. The wall had many words of reassurance and important powerful messages.

As we entered the radio studio, we saw where the magic was created. We met DJ Drew, who spoke to us about the importance of having a radio station. It was an opportunity to gain knowledge of the beauty of music and the history of it.

At the end of our interviewing with Drew, we began to walk to Mount Hall to meet up with the rest of the group for a field trip! In our matching Greene Team shirts we walked to get on the Wolfie bus to be on our way towards Nassau County for our trip.

We arrived at News12!! It was an unreal experience to see my childhood in front of my eyes. Something that I believed I would only see on television. To learn the fact on how they function, the behind the scenes work and visit where they record was a surreal experience I could have only dreamed about.

After learning about News12, we got on the bus to head back to the school. Once we arrived on campus, we headed towards the dining hall to eat dinner around 5:30 p.m. There I ate tater tots and water for a light dinner. To conclude the day we began to walk towards the dorms. My dorm mates and I took turns showering. Then I went to my bed to rest for the next day ahead.

Day 2

From zero to journalist