See what other scholastic journalists are writing about and, just as important, see how
they are writing about it. Then apply those lessons to your
publication or broadcast. These are the 2006 winners of National
Scholastic Press Association’s online Pacemaker award:
The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, Calif.
Students
in the Web journalism class publish this site, combining their own work
with that of the student newspaper, magazine, and broadcast staffs.
With substantive news content, engaging photography, intelligent
opinions, and colorful features attractively displayed, this
Pacemaker-winning site is definitely worth a look…just like it was
when it won in 2005….
The Feather, Fresno Christian High School
Fresno, Calif.
This site is well-organized, easy to navigate and loaded with
detail. Content seems fresh, with many stories posted in the last
few days when I visited.
Silver Chips Online, Montgomery Blair High School
Silver Spring, Md.
The
writing struck me on this site when I first discovered it in 2004. The
first two feature stories I read drew me in with their leads and kept
me reading with interesting quotes, smooth transitions, and, most
impressive, credible trend data to broaden the focus and substantiate
the story. One story was about unlicensed teen drivers; the other
talked maturely about sleep-deprived students chugging Jolt and trying
other tricks to make it through school. And the news staff doesn’t miss
a thing, relating the stories behind mid-period fire alarms and holes
in the floor of a portable building.
For information about NSPA’s Pacemaker awards and to see
galleries of winners in other categories — including newspaper,
yearbook, Picture of the Year, and best-of-show from
the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press
Association conventions — go to the contest and awards section of NSPA’s website.
