The Booster Redux, Newspaper
Pittsburg High School
Each year, the National Scholastic Press Association recognizes excellence in student media with scholastic journalism’s preeminent award, the Pacemaker. Pacemakers are awarded in each category of publication — online, newspaper, yearbook, magazine and broadcast.
Entries are judged by teams of professionals based on the following criteria: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.
NSPA contacted Emily Smith, adviser of 2015 Pacemaker recipient The Booster Redux for a Q&A. The Booster Redux is the student-run newspaper of Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Booster Redux won a Pacemaker in the broadsheet, eight or fewer pages category.
NSPA also heard from the publication’s editor, Alli Baden.
NSPA: Tell us a little bit about the editors and staff of your Pacemaker-winning publication.
Emily Smith, adviser: The staff members are a diverse group of students, ranging not only in age but also race and economic status. They are involved in multiple activities ranging from AP classes to drama and athletics. We work hard to balance their time on staff with other commitments.
NSPA: What were the goals going into last year and how did you ensure those goals were met?
Alli Baden, editor: Going into last year, one of our main goals was to provide not just strong stories and design, but to also incorporate interesting graphics and photos, not just posed shots. We created a more structured system for the deadlines so we could review pages early and decide where we could make something more interesting to our readers.
NSPA: How did the staff ensure the quality of the publication?
ES: They challenged themselves to write content relevant and interesting to their peers. They have worked hard to establish trust with the student body so they could tell their stories. They truly focused on writing good stories and balancing that with strong photography and clean design.
NSPA: Is there any one issue, story, photo, package, etc. that stood out during the year?
ES: The students were proud of their November issue. After attending the fall convention, they decided to restructure some things and revamp some stories and design and the issue was popular with the student body and the staff felt like it was a success.
NSPA: Tell us about a hardship or obstacle you felt your staff overcame.
ES: That staff had an increased number of younger and inexperienced students compared to normal, but they took it in stride and welcome the newbies and taught them their expectations and set the bar high. Everyone worked together to achieve that standard and it paid off.
AB: After we printed our December issue — which contained two in-depth stories, one about the exchange of nude photos and the other on the harmful approaches of cutting weight for wrestling — we were confronted by our administration and town’s police department. They asked for our interviews to uncover the identities of our anonymous sources. We then had to contact the Student Press Law Center to confirm our rights as student reporters. But through all these troubles, both of these stories were rewarded with national recognitions.
NSPA: What qualities or moments will you remember the most about this Pacemaker-winning staff?
ES: Their work ethic and teamwork. They were a close-knit staff who worked well together and made the year fun.
AB: One of the most memorable moments about this staff was when we were at the NSPA/JEA awards ceremony in Orlando. We were anxiously awaiting the results of the Pacemaker award and as our name hadn’t been called, we figured we did not receive an award. Our publication was the third to last Pacemaker recipient so when we heard The Booster Redux being called, we lost all composure and dignity as we proceeded to squeal like first graders and ran to the front of the ballroom to accept the Pacemaker award.
NSPA: What does the Pacemaker mean to you and your staff?
ES: It’s a milestone for the program. It’s the first award of that nature in our school history. It’s recognition for their hard work and perseverance. While the award is nice, working toward the standards required of a Pacemaker is a good way to measure progress and growth, so it is a standard we will work to maintain. I think it was a good motivator for my staff and hopefully we will try to continue to perform at this level.
AB: The Pacemaker is a distinction of excellence and a constant reminder of our loyalty and investment to our publication.
