Since the 1960s, The Blaze has been a source of news for all things Redmond High School (RHS).

But putting out the paper is not easy. It takes a lot of time and — more importantly — money.

It is the latter (or lack thereof) that has members of the student publication working to figure out a way to keep the paper going as it no longer receives funding from the school.

This is the second year in a row the Blaze has not been funded and RHS senior Claire Perry, the Blaze’s editor in chief, said due to their lack of funding, they had to go without the first two issues of the newspaper last year — their fall and winter issues. The Blaze comes out four times a year.

UNSTABLE STRUCTURE

In addition to the lack of funding, the Blaze has also faced some structural inconsistencies as it has gone back and forth from being a class students can receive credit for and be graded on, to an after-school club (currently, the Blaze is a club).

Senior Maddy Bennett, opinion editor for the Blaze, added that because the newspaper is a club and students are not being graded on their work, another barrier they face is time. Asking students to do more work on top of their regular schoolwork is a big ask, especially if they are not receiving any sort of credit for it.

The Blaze has also seen a number of advisers since Perry and Bennett joined their freshman year. When Perry and Bennett joined, Jennifer Mauck had been the long-time adviser, but she left at the end of their sophomore year.

“It was unfortunate timing,” Perry said about Mauck leaving and the program losing its funding the same year.

Another teacher took over the program Perry and Bennett’s junior year but she left the school and so Perry asked English teacher Katie Badger to be their adviser, which she agreed to.

“It’s been a lot of change,” Badger said about what the Blaze staff has been through the last few years.

However, she said, the students have worked hard to keep it going despite these disruptions.

“You’re running your own business in a way,” Badger said, pointing out that on top of the editorial work the students put in, they have also had to figure out how to make money in order to have their work printed for distribution.

Perry said it costs about $350 for them to publish one issue of the Blaze, which typically runs 16 pages. This gives them 1,000 copies.

SENIOR SPECIAL

While the Blaze is typically printed in black and white, there is one issue that comes out in color: the senior issue.

Bennett said this is their most important issue of the year.

Perry agreed, saying it comes out at the end of the school year in tandem with the yearbook and features much senior-centric content such as a map listing the colleges and universities students will be attending.

“It’s a fun issue for all the seniors,” she said, adding that many seniors end up holding on to the issue as a keepsake of their high school experience.

Perry said for last year’s senior issue, they received funding from the RHS PTSA.

ADS HELP

Another way the Blaze has raised money to print has been through advertising. Perry said last year as editor in chief, she did most of the work in selling ads. This year, she said she would like to have the paper’s five section editors involved in the selling ads, as well.

The businesses they try to target for advertising are those that would do well with promoting to teens.

For example, Perry said, they have sold ads to driving schools, the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, DigiPen Institute of Technology and University of Washington, Bothell. The Blaze has also received business from people and businesses from people who had learned about the paper’s plight and bought ad space to support their cause. One person even advertised their Whistler vacation rental home, Perry said.

Ad space in the Blaze ranges from $30-$350, depending on the size of the ad. Inserts are $90. For more information, call (425) 698-0184 or email s-clperry@lwsd.org or kbadger@lwsd.org.

A NOTED ABSENCE

Perry said they considered publishing online, but they weren’t sure if there would be enough interest.

Bennett pointed out that one of the last things high school students will want handed to them at the end of the week is one more thing to read — and something that is not even required reading.

While it may be difficult to get students to read the Blaze, Perry and Bennett said they were approached many times last year about the paper’s absence in the first half of the year.

“They notice when it’s gone,” Bennett said.