Differentiating between Blair publications

Blair is home to a variety of publications, ranging from print newspapers to video production. Joining a publication is a great way for Blazers to meet new people and share their work with others! Due to the diversity of Blair's publications, it's not hard to find a publication that closely aligns with various interests, from photography to art and design. 

Silver Quill

For those more interested in creative work such as visual art and poetry, Silver Quill – Blair's literary arts magazine – provides its members with the opportunity to both look at other people's work and submit personal work. No previous experience is necessary when joining as experienced members gladly guide new members, teaching them necessary skills like how to use editing software. During most meetings, club members focus on reviewing submissions together because most SilverQuill submissions come from those who are not in the club. 

Senior Edwige Ghembesalu is the Editor-in-Chief of Silver Quill, and her favorite part about Silver Quill is seeing the publication's growing diversity. "It's the tendency that students who are white, get those opportunities to integrate into publications… even Silver Quill used to be mainly white CAP kids…I really like seeing more diverse pieces [now]," she says. 

The publication meets every Wednesday during lunch in room 136 with teacher sponsor Ms. Mathews. If interested in having art or literary work published, creative pieces can be submitted to silverquillmag@gmail.com. 

Blair Network Communications

On the other hand, those who enjoy videography or podcasting more will find that Blair Network Communications (BNC) will fit their interests better. BNC is one of the only video productions at Blair, aside from SCO Video. They produce the daily news show InfoFlow. Their team consists of around 65 people split between two classes, including script-writers, videographers and news anchors. 

They have many different departments. The studio team records the show, the news anchors host the show, the script-writers prepare the script, and the director manages the publication as a whole. Other teams make podcasts, run social media, and upload works to the website. 

An extension of BNC is Silver Line. They make longer videos such as documentaries or short films and these projects usually last for around a quarter. 

BNC covers an assortment of topics through their podcasts and documentaries. Members have some freedom to cover what they are interested in. 

Senior Samantha Levy, part of BNC's executive team, has been a part of the production since she was a sophomore and she enjoys the tight-knit community for its connections. "It's definitely different this year, but in the past, it was a good social scene. I really liked covering sports and I've been able to pilot a lot of things this year," she says.

Silver Chips Online and Silver Chips Print

Silver Chips Online (SCO) and Silver Chips Print are Blair's newspapers. SCO is the online newspaper while Silver Chips Print is the print newspaper. These two publications include more elements of written journalism than other Blair publications. They both have art and photography teams as well. 

Silver Chips Print has longer cycles which usually range from 5 to 6 weeks whereas Silver Chips Online has cycles that last for around 2 to 3 weeks. 

Additionally, Silver Chips Print tends to be more interdependent. Senior Marijke Friedman, an Editor-in-Chief of Silver Chips Print, emphasizes the importance of teamwork when working on their print newspaper. "We are all putting together one physical copy of a paper that comes out at a certain time, so…it's important that your [part] does come together, because it affects everyone else if your story isn't finished," she says. On the other hand, Silver Chips Online is more flexible as stories can be posted independently from one another. 

Silver Chips Print has a Spanish writing staff that works on the Spanish portion of the newspaper, "La Esquina Latina." SCO currently does not have an independent Spanish section; however, they do have their own video production team called SCO Video. 

SCO and Silver Chips Print both are classes that Blazers can take.

SilverQuest and Silverlogue 

Other Blair publications include SilverQuest and Silverlogue. These two publications publish annually rather than periodically. 

SilverQuest is the annual Blair Magnet literary magazine. They record the events of the year for the Magnet program. At the beginning of the year, they meet up as a club and think of article ideas together. They then work on these articles throughout the year. 

Aside from writing teams, SilverQuest has art teams to create drawings for the cover page and for the articles. Senior Jocelyn Hao, an article editor for SilverQuest, helps to edit articles and communicate with writers. "We include important things such as the annual STEM Arts Night and…[we also] reach out to the past year's seniors and see how they are doing in college. We do both fun and serious topics. It's just overall something to finish off the year with,” Hao says. 

Similarly, Silverlogue, Blair's annual yearbook publication, is a cumulation of the events of each school year. They compile pictures and record memories of each school year into a yearbook. The 2021 to 2022 theme for Silverlogue is "Breaking Through." Order this year's yearbook on their website. 

Blair's publications cover a variety of interests and operate very differently from each other. Some are more fast-paced while others are more relaxed. Blazers can find one that best fits both their current workload and their interests.