LOS ANGELES – For the third year in a row – and the fifth time overall – MTHS been named a First Amendment Press Freedom Award recipient. The FAPFA, as it’s called, and several other awards were presented to members of HBN and the Hawkeye at the JEA/NSPA national convention this past weekend in downtown Los Angeles.
PRESS FREEDOM AWARD
Editor in Chief Paxtyn Merten and HBN Producer Sky Schank accept the FAPFA plaque from JEA Press Rights Commission Chair John Bowen at the opening ceremonies of the JEA/NSPA Convention Thursday, April 14 in Los Angeles.
According to the organizers, the First Amendment Press Freedom Award “recognizes public and private high schools that actively support, teach and protect First Amendment rights and responsibilities of students and teachers, with an emphasis on student-run media where students make all final decisions of content.” This curricular focus and support from school administrators, staff and community members has long been a tradition at MTHS. Additionally, Terrace student media have always met these parameters since the school first opened in the fall of 1960.
MTHS was a charter recipient of the award in 2000, again in 2006 and then in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Representatives from the Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society review applications from across the country and make the final decision following two rounds of in-depth questions and surveys.
BEST OF SHOW
In the NSPA’s Best of Show contest, the Hawkeye’s special edition focusing on the 2016 presidential primaries was honored with an 8th place finish.
ON-SITE WRITE-OFFS
More than 1230 participates took part in the JEA’s on-site write-off competitions at the convention. Students compete in a variety of journalistic areas and are judged against tough national standards – not against one another.
Here’s how this year’s Hawkeye staff fared:
- News Writing – freshman Matthew Hipolito earned an Honorable Mention
- Editorial Writing – freshman Marianne Nacanaynay earned an Honorable Mention
- Literary Magazine Illustration – junior Isaac Otis earned an Honorable Mention
- Newsmagazine Layout – junior Kira Doan earned an Honorable Mention
- Review Writing – junior Ian Moffet earned an Honorable Mention
- Social Media Reporting – junior Stephi Smith and sophomore Vivian Knowka-Keane earned an Honorable Mention
- Broadcast News Writing – junior Sky Schank earned an Excellent (Sky is the producer of HBN and a member of the Hawkeye staff)
Members of the Hawkeye staff proudly display their awards Sunday morning following the JEA Write-Off Awards Ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles.
