MINNEAPOLIS — Competition was intense in the expanded 2018 Individual Awards sponsored by the National Scholastic Press Association.
In 2018, the number of categories increased from six to 10 with the introduction of new Digital Story of the Year, Social Justice Reporting, Portfolio of the Year and Best Use of Social Media competitions. In all, the number of finalists recognized expanded from 280 to 425.
A new Middle School category allowed sixth, seventh and eighth grade journalists to compete against each other for Design of the Year, Story of the Year and Photo of the Year honors.
“The new and updated categories, especially the digital journalism competitions, reflect the ever-changing world of scholastic journalism,” Gary Lundgren, associate director, said. “We worked with an advisory committee that met in Minneapolis for two days and helped us revise the awards from top to bottom.”
Both the finalists and the winners will be recognized at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, Nov. 1-4, 2018 in Chicago. The top winners in each category will receive plaques and the finalists will receive certificates.
The finalists in the following categories have been announced: