April 27, 2026
Our past three editions
April 6, 2026 Food pantry • CDC • Artemis II
March 30, 2026 TSA • Local politics • ‘Project Hail Mary’
March 16, 2026 Gas prices • AI chatbots • March Madness
THE LEAD
Recognize World Press Freedom Day as a newsroom
Mark 33rd annual celebration with discussion of press freedoms
In 1993 the UN General Assembly proclaimed World Press Freedom Day as a reminder to governments of their commitment to press freedom. Now, more than 30 years later, May 3 is still recognized as a day to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and evaluate the state of the media around the world.
What you can do —
Take some time to discuss and reflect as a class on the state of press freedom and what it means for journalism. This discussion can be hyperlocal or zoom out to consider the whole planet. Consider having students research the state of the media in different countries and see what trends they see. This Quill & Scroll chapter activity is a good place to start.
Noteworthy
Human infrastructure continues to interfere with migratory bird paths
Look at local bird species, efforts to protect
Every year, millions of migratory birds head north along flyways, many of them between March and June. These flyways have existed for millennia, but human structures are interfering with the birds’ flight path as the light emanating from windows and outdoor lights confuses their instinctual navigation abilities.
Birds rely on specialized cells that can sense Earth’s magnetic field and visual cues from the moon and stars to navigate. But artificial lights throw a wrench in that system. An estimated one billion birds die every year from window collisions, Scientific American reported.
There is a growing movement to maintain natural darkness and mitigate light pollution to help the birds.
What you can do —
Depending where you live, there may be a local group advocating for turning off outdoor lights during bird migration season. If so, talk to them about the local implications of light pollution. Check to see what bird types migrate through your area. There are online tools that show the scope and scale of bird migration that could be used in your reporting.
There may be other bird-related conservation groups in your community you can talk to about other efforts like nest building or environment maintenance.
What’s viral
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ set for release May 1
Compare the two films in a review, cover sequels
Almost exactly 20 years after “The Devil Wears Prada” took to the big screen, the stars are back for the sequel. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blundt, much like the first in the franchise.
The movie will follow Miranda Priestly, played by Streep, as she moves through her career through the decline of traditional magazine publishing, Variety reported. It also may incorporate plot points from the book sequel which was released in 2013, People reported.
What you can do —
It is not often that a movie gets a reprise two decades later with the same cast — the release of the movie is a unique opportunity to compare the two in a review. See how the films play off each other? Does the second movie live up to the first?
There also could be an interesting angle regarding sequels and remakes of pop culture classics. See what already existing shows or movies are remakes of past productions and compare the two. Also, keep an eye out for upcoming releases that are based on past media.
100 years of Quill & Scroll
Thank you for celebrating with us in Minneapolis
Earlier this month Quill & Scroll turned 100 and we celebrated in Minneapolis at the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. Thank you to all who joined us!
Former executive director Dick Johns spoke at the celebration and reflected on the legacy of the organization. We also displayed a wide variety of items from the archive to give attendees a sense of the history of Quill & Scroll. These resources will be uploaded and made available online this summer, but in the meantime here are some remarks from past leaders and a brief timeline.
IT’S AN HONOR
It’s always membership season
You still have time!
Banquet coming soon? Order now so you don’t have to ship it overnightWhile you’re ordering, don’t forget to include any cords and other Quill and Scroll materials and memorabilia.
We haven’t changed the ordering process from last year. For those wanting to ditch the paper version, you just need to select the form based on how you would like to pay. We have one version for credit card and another version for check or purchase order. (We’ve added buttons for ease of finding these.) As usual, credit card payments are charged $4.49 per order for processing.
If your initiation is the week of April 20 or before, now is the time to order! Please note that we will be out of the office the week of April 13 for the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention so please allow extra time for processing,
Take advantage of our advisers-only resource area
Quill and Scroll has expanded its advisers-only area, which includes bellringers and lesson plans for advisers who have initiated members within the past school year.
Advisers, if you inducted members in the 2025-26 school year, check your email (and your spam!) for a message from [email protected]. That email should contain your login information. Please be sure to accept cookies when you log in! If you have trouble, you can contact us at [email protected]. If you have inducted members this school year, we update access every few weeks, so keep an eye on your email.
Members-only area highlight
Student media staff appreciation day
NSPA and Quill and Scroll offer the sweatshirt “Journalism Matters Now More than Ever,” but what does it mean? Why does journalism matter? Why is it more important than any time in recent history to make sure we cover our local communities? (Hint: many cuts to local journalism have occurred nationwide.) This is intended to be a starter discussion that could be continued.
Student scholarship applications due May 8
The deadline for Quill & Scroll’s student scholarships is coming quickly. Don’t miss your chance to apply.
National winners in Quill and Scroll contests — such as the Yearbook Excellence Contest or the International Writing, Photography and Multimedia Contest and the Eye on Ivy Editorial Writing Contest — are eligible as seniors to apply for Quill and Scroll scholarships: the Edward J. Nell Memorial, or the George and Ophelia Gallup awards.
The Richard P. Johns award is available to all Quill and Scroll seniors, including those who did not enter contests. The scholarships are awarded for the freshman year only and can be paid in two installments.
All scholarships can be used for tuition, room and board at any college or university. Recipients must major in journalism or a related area of communications. The scholarships are awarded for the freshman year only and are paid through the university or college bursar’s office.
Scholarships amounts can vary. The Quill and Scroll Scholarship Committee will determine the amounts based on the applicants’ qualifications and recommendations
Please see this link to apply.
The 2026 scholarship application will close May 8, 2026.
News Media Evaluation services opens for 2026
Forms are due June 13
The Quill & Scroll News Media Evaluation provides news media staffs a one-of-a-kind assessment of your publication(s) with constructive comments and suggestions for improvement from qualified evaluators. Judges will provide a thorough analysis and rating to schools, and the evaluation exercise and feedback are instructive and developmental.
High schools and junior high/middle schools may enter their multimedia news operations, newspapers, news magazines and/or online news sites until June 13, 2026. Entries and ratings are returned mid September 2026. This service is open to non-member schools as well as member schools.
We offer four types of critiques for varying types of student news media. Learn more and submit today.
2026 YEC open for submissions
Submissions are due Oct. 1
The 2026 Yearbook Excellence Contest is open for entries through the start of October. The cost for each entry is $8. High schools will be divided by size — Class A for 1,000 or more students in grades 9-12, and Class B for 999 or fewer students in grades 9-12. Middle schools are in one “class” category, so advisers do not need to select a class.
The categories vary widely — including many forms of photography, writing and design. There are also submission opportunities for beginning staff members and middle school yearbooks. New this year is the Social media journalist category, designed to recognize excellence in use of social media.
YEC is an all-digital contest. Entries (PDFs of pages and/or JPGs of photos) will be stored online, and publications shared the URLs of those spreads, images or folders containing multiple files on the entry form. Because all work must be in published form, we do not accept Google docs. You may submit PDFs that are uploaded to Google Drive, but not unpublished work written in a Google Doc.
WVM, PSJA award winners announced
Quill & Scroll is proud to announce the winners in the 2026 Writing, Visual, Multimedia contest and the 2026 Private School Journalism Association contest.
More than 150 schools entered the Writing, Visual, Multimedia contest this year with more than 2,200 entries in total. Here are the winning entries.
The Private School Journalism Association contest is a portfolio contest that honors a pattern of excellence across a school year. Here are this year’s winning entries.
School of the New York Times Summer Academy opportunity
The School of the New York Times Summer Academy is one of the nation’s most competitive journalism programs – and Quill and Scroll members get an exclusive discount. ($500 off and refer/bring a friend incentives).
Summer Academy is open to high school students (grades 10-12 and Graduating Seniors based on the grade the student is entering in the Fall 2026 school year). Students must be 15-years old by the first day of their session. Program graduates have been recruited from some of the top journalism schools in the nation. Please see this link for the course catalogue.
All students applying to Summer Academy for the first time are required to complete an online application. Returning students do not need to reapply. As a member school, Quill and Scroll chapter members receive priority enrollment.
To unlock your member benefits and request your Quill & Scroll discount, please click here.
Gloria Shields NSPA Media Workshop
Dallas hosts one of the nation’s largest (and hottest) summer journalism workshops, June 29-July 2.
The temperatures and the ideas will sizzle in Dallas at the Gloria Shields NSPA Media Workshop.
Registration will open on March 2 for the 2026 workshop, set for June 26-July 2 at the Hilton Richardson Dallas.
The registration fee is $140 per student and adviser. The optional Sunday evening bonus class is $20 for those arriving early.
Check the workshop website frequently for updates as workshop plans are finalized. NSPA will send an email when workshop registration and hotel reservations open.
Upcoming Weekly Scroll pause dates
We will publish our final Weekly Scroll May 4. We will resume publishing next fall in early to mid September.
Thank you for understanding.
Just a thought
It was wonderful celebrating Quill and Scroll’s 100th year anniversary with all of you in Minneapolis!
Special thanks to our Centennial Committee: Dick Johns, Jack Kennedy, Judy Hauge and Marta Hill. It was great to hear from Dick during the reception — he’s been with Quill and Scroll for 50 years!
This summer, we will update the site to include photos — including the memorabilia displayed.
It’s been an honor to be part of Quill and Scroll. I would love to hear from you about what you would like us to offer in the near future. If you have ideas or needs that Quill and Scroll may be able to help with, please let me know.
Thank you for all you do to help your Quill and Scroll Chapter be successful. May we all search and embody for the lights of truth, learning, leadership, loyalty, initiative, integrity, judgment and friendship.
— Lori Keekley
