Ryan Firle of Francis Howell North High School has been chosen as the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy High School Journalism Award winner in the print category. Doug Belden of the St. Paul Pioneer Press judged the entries. Comments from the judge are below:
“Well-written profile of a doctor facing the death of two young patients from cancer in two days. Very effective weaving of pieces of a poem into the text of the story. Gives insight into the struggles of seriously ill children through the eyes of one who works closely with them.”
The RFK High School Journalism Awards, co-sponsored by NSPA with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, honor outstanding coverage of the problems of the disadvantaged.
Entries may have included accounts of the lifestyles, challenges and potentials of the disadvantaged in the United States and around the world, including insights into the causes, conditions and remedies of their plight and critical analyses of public policies, programs, attitudes and private endeavors relevant to their lives.
Firle will be flown to Washington, D.C. in the spring to attend an awards ceremony honoring student and professional work. A prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the winning student’s school to be used for student journalism programs. Firle will also be recognized at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Phoenix in April.