15 publications earn the George H. Gallup award in News Media Evaluation Critique

By Nichole Shaw

Fifteen school publications have been named by judges as George H. Gallup recipients in the 2019 Quill and Scroll News Media Evaluation service. Two of those publications come from Granite Bay High School in California — Granite Bay Today online and the Granite Bay Gazette.

Named for the founder of Quill and Scroll and the Gallup Poll, the award is given only to those publications that achieved and sustained excellence during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Gallup Award recognition is based on extraordinary improvement, exceptional service to the school and community, editorial campaigns, and in-depth reporting on special issues.

International First Place Award recognition went to 23 schools. The International Second Place Award was awarded to 10 schools. The International Honor Award was earned by four schools.

Overall, student publications from 22 states submitted to the evaluation service.

Gallup Award

California

Granite Bay — Granite Bay High School, The Gazette Newspaper, Granite Bay Today

Judge’s comment: “The strengths of the Gazette are coverage and reporting…Leadership is also strong, with a broad array of voices found on section fronts and on op/ed pages. I rarely saw a weak lead and the professionalism of the news writing voices was terrific.”

Los Angeles — Shalhevet High School, Boiling Point

Judge’s comment: “Boiling Point is very thorough with outlining its policies and is transparent in their process as a publication. They have taken every challenge they’ve faced and used intelligence, passion and grit to move past it.”

Georgia

Athens — Clarke Central High School, The Odyssey

Judge’s comment: “The Odyssey visuals are stellar. This is an organized, well-designed publication that uses simple tools to create stunning packages. The graphics and layout could compete with any professional publication.”

Cumming — South Forsyth High School, The Bird Feed

Judge’s comment: “You have a great publication. What is particularly impressive is how strategic your staff approaches development in areas you have identified as deserving particular growth.”

Indiana

Munster — Munster High School, The Crier

Judge’s comment: “The Crier is solidly issue-based, providing a great service for helping students make sense of the world. You show a great deal of compassion for your fellow students and a great deal of courage in addressing tough issues like consent.”

Missouri

Chesterfield — Marquette High School, The Marquette Messenger

Judge’s comment: “The focused energy and enthusiasm your staff brings to the production process lays the foundation for a successful publication that serves as an excellent example for others to follow…Most notable is the depth of your reporting. You use your knowledge of story structure to craft complete and engaging narratives that both inform and pique the reader’s interest.”

Nixa — Nixa High School, Wingspan

Judge’s comment: “Your newsroom is putting out a publication that lives up to the highest standards of scholastic magazine journalism. The variety of issues covered is impressive, and the writing and visual presentation is strong.”

St. Charles — Francis Howell North High School, The North Star

Judge’s comment: “The North Star magazine is impressive. Because of its format, the content is dense, but that reflects the prolific work of the staff.”

Nevada

Las Vegas — Southwest Career and Technical Academy, Southwest Shadow

Judge’s Comment: “The commitment to news is evident everywhere, the confidence to use digital tools is clear, the content is concise and committed to journalistic excellence, and much of the content is professional enough to compete with mainstream media, whether it’s daily newspapers’ sites or broadcast media outlets.”

New Jersey

Hillsdale — Pascack Valley High School, The Smoke Signal

Judge’s comment: “The organization, the use of visual elements and links to content and social media outshines any other student website I’ve seen. The staff does a great job of using different visuals while keeping a simple, consistent, clean design. The writing and editing are at a very high level, as is the technical execution of the website.”

Ohio

Liberty Township — Lakota East High School, Spark

Judge’s comment: “It’s a magazine that is so outstanding that my comments tend to take us into philosophy and ‘what about?’ fantasies.”

Oregon

Tualatin — Tualatin High School, The Wolf

Judge’s comment: “The Wolf is a prime example of superior scholastic journalism…The Tualatin community is lucky to have The
Wolf as an option for local journalism coverage.”

Texas

Austin — McCallum High School, The Shield

Judge’s comment: “This is a very impressive publication. The Shield could compete against professional online and print publications. The exceptional writing, the extensive coverage, the stellar visuals and the comprehensive online presence are incredible.”

Virginia

McLean — McLean High School, The Highlander

Judge’s comment: “A parent, teacher, administrator, even a general McLean community member could pick up this publication and learn something. This is the service journalism is meant to provide. The Highlander delivers.”

International First Place

California

Escondido — Orange Glen High School

Irvine — Irvine High School

Woodland Hills — El Camino Real Charter High School

Florida

Miami – Felix Varela Sr. High School

Georgia

Atlanta – Henry Grady High School

Woodstock – The King’s Academy

Illinois

Lake Zurich – Lake Zurich High School

Indiana

Fishers – Fishers High School

Iowa

Davenport — Davenport West High School

Johnston — Johnston High School

Michigan

Sterling Heights — Stevenson High School

Minnesota

New Hope — Robbinsdale Cooper

Stillwater — Stillwater High School

Missouri

Webster Grovers — Webster Groves High School

Oregon

Portland — Grant High School

Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr — Harriton High School

Haverford — The Haverford School

South Carolina

Fort Mill — Nation Ford High School

Texas

Boerne — Geneva School of Boerne

Prosper — Prosper High School

Virginia

Harrisonburg – Harrisonburg High School

Virginia Beach — Ocean Lakes High School

Wisconsin

Weston — D.C. Everest High School

International Second Place

California

Arcadia — Arcadia High School

Florida

Plantation — American Heritage High School

Sarasota – Riverview High School

Illinois

St. Charles – St. Charles East High School

Indiana

Crown Point — Crown Point High School

Fishers — Hamilton Southeastern High School

Iowa

Cedar Rapids — Washington High School

Massachusetts

Wayland — Wayland High School

Missouri

St. Louis — Ritenour High School

Virginia

Palmyra – Fluvanna County High School

International Honors

Delaware

Wilmington — Padua Academy

Illinois

Mundelein — Mundelein High School

Missouri

St. Louis — Saint Louis-Priory School

Oregon

Wilsonville — Wilsonville High School