12 students, two advisers, and an entire year’s worth of work made its way to the airport last Wednesday as journalism students prepared to attend the 2012 National Scholastic Press Association conference in Seattle.
These students represented the staff of the yearbook, news magazine, and online newspaper production classes, as well as the broadcast crew in charge of Lovejoy News Network (LNN)’s Daily and Weekly Update. Each of these productions were entered in a contest for best of show, and both yearbook and broadcast were recognized, with the 2010-2011 yearbook placing third and the Daily Update bringing home fourth place.
In the yearbook competition, there were three categories, based on how many pages the yearbook is. Last year’s yearbook placed third in the medium sized category.
“I was really excited and proud [to win the award],” junior and yearbook staff member Kate Hessong said. “We put a lot of time and effort into it last year and it is really exciting to be able to say that you won something for your work.”
The award was especially gratifying to yearbook adviser Mary Woodruff because it was her first year to teach yearbook in several years.
“I am particularly proud of that award because the 2011 book was produced in a year of transition,” Woodruff said. “I had not done a yearbook in three or four years and the staff did an amazing job despite all the changes.”
The honor helped the yearbook staff by providing them with a tangible reminder of the high quality of their work.
“Yearbook kids have to be extremely dedicated for the long haul and willing to produce something without a lot of accolades along the way,” Woodruff said. “It was a nice validation of the quality of the yearbook that we put out. “
Broadcast entered into their competition a compilation of several of their best video stories. Unlike the yearbook competition, the broadcast entries were not separated into categories based on size of school or length of the product. As a result, LNN’s Weekly Update was up against schools with broadcast programs several times larger than theirs.
“All the schools in Seattle brought their best work and were judged against everybody else’s best work,” broadcast teacher Brian Higgins said. “And considering we got fourth place against schools that have thousands of more students than us, it’s a great start.”
The broadcast program is still relatively new at the high school, and this award
“Building any program at a school takes time,” Higgins said. “And after replacing a well-liked teacher and implementing new procedures, new ideas, and a new structure, its gratifying to see these kids recognized for their work.”
These awards were reassuring to the staff and advisers of the journalism department, but both the yearbook and broadcast teams are not complacent, and have high hopes for next year.
“Next year, the juniors will move up to the producer positions that the seniors are holding,” freshman and LNN technical producer Garrison Clough said. “I am hoping by next year we can work out all the little bugs and issues of the shows and make it look even better. Hopefully in competition next year we can get an even higher place.”
