By Karen Gutierrez
The Cincinnati Enquirer

High school journalists and teachers are invited to swap ideas and learn skills at what may be the region's first high school journalism conference.

The March 27 event is the brainchild of two students, April Yee of Cincinnati Country Day School and Lisa Halverstadt of Mother of Mercy High School. They met while competing in the journalism category of the Enquirer's Golden Galaxy awards.

The two instantly found common ground in their craft. High school journalists juggle all sorts of challenges: late nights putting together papers, classmates who miss deadlines, school officials who censor content.

In addition, some high schools don't offer journalism as a class, while others have teachers who know little about the subject.

"It's kind of hard to just learn from a textbook," says Halverstadt.

The conference will be 1-5 p.m. at Cincinnati Country Day in Indian Hill. The cost is $5 for students and free for teachers.

Staff members of the Enquirer, Cincinnati Magazine, the Cincinnati Post and other media will lead workshops on interviewing, writing, graphic design and more.

"It's such a good way to come up with ideas," says Yee, a senior at Cincinnati Country Day. "And it's really fun and liberating to meet other students who go through the same troubles as you do."

To register, go to www.journalismconference.tk/ or e-mail journalismconference@hotmail.com.

Email kgutierrez@enquirer.com.