Students of Communications High School are taking their passions and expertise in journalism and media beyond the school’s own award winning newspaper, The Inkblot, and literary magazine by utilizing them in their own independently run publications: Disaster and Criminal.
Disaster Magazine, an online music-based publication led by juniors Stella Feinstein of Asbury Park, Aki Sykes of Tinton Falls and Evie Seetoo of Freehold, highlights recent music releases, song reviews and artist interviews. The idea for the publication was born in Laura Fallon’s Intro to Design class when the three had to develop a digital magazine.
Their first article, released on June 1, 2023, covered the local band Exit 109’s performance at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. With Feinstein writing, Sykes photographing and Seetoo leading the graphic design, a mere six months later, the Disaster team had designed their own merchandise and interviewed artists across the country.
A large part of Disaster’s content centers around local artists and concerts. Seetoo explains the troubles that come with running a music based, interview-heavy magazine.
“We do a lot of emailing and a lot of outreach to try and get interviews with artists, and, sometimes, it can be difficult, communication-wise, for their managers or publicists to get back to us,” Seetoo said. “Or, if we’re waiting on a press pass for a show, a lot of times we will get the answer whether or not we got the pass the day of. A lot is left up to chance.”
Another present magazine curated by CHS students is Criminal Magazine, an online publication run by juniors Isabel Santamaria of Spring Lake Heights and Charlotte Ross of Fair Haven, fostering their love of fashion and “examining culprits of style.”
“Charlotte and I have had this idea since the end of freshman year, and we didn’t get around to it. Sophomore year, we were like ‘okay, we’re doing this,’” Santamaria said.
On July 17, 2023, Ross published the first article, “Guide to Cancer Season,” highlighting the do’s and don’ts for that time frame, the artists and songs to listen to and the movies to watch. Since then, they’ve posted articles pertaining to Coco Chanel, The Eras Tour and Copenhagen Fashion Week.
The return to school and other commitments, however, has not been easy for Criminal Magazine.
“In the summer, we were posting almost every week, now we’re probably doing twice a month or even just a month just because it’s so difficult with school,” Santamaria said.
These publications only seem to be growing and providing experience for these eager students.
“It’s really cool to be able to create something you’re passionate about and see it grow and create opportunities for us. It’s really exciting,” Seetoo said.
