2020 Digital Story of the Year finalists
Nov. 3, 2020
National Scholastic Press Association announces the finalists in its 2020 Digital of the Year competition —
Winners in this and all Individual Award categories, as well as the NSPA Pacemaker Awards in broadcast, specialty magazine and newspaper/newsmagazine, will be announced online at 1 p.m. Central Saturday, Nov. 21, as part of the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, presented virtually Nov. 19-21.
To view the awards presentation, register for the convention at orlando.journalismconvention.org by 11:59 p.m. Central Nov. 13.
Finalists listed below are alphabetical by state.
Individual Award finalists
Broadcast • Cartoon • Design
Digital Story • Photo • Portfolio • Story
Social Justice Reporting • Local Climate Change Reporting
Best Use of Social Media • COVID-19 Coverage
Middle School
Pacemaker Award finalists for this fall
Broadcast • Newspaper/Newsmagazine/Specialty Magazine
Multimedia News Story
When a Tower Falls:
The Bay Area grapples with power outages, wildfires, and high winds
Brianna Cheng, Zachary Khouri, Miki Nguyen, Auva Soheili, Maddy Ting
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California
Birthright
Staff
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Taking on Tallahassee:
Teachers rally in state capitol to demand funding for public education
Staff
The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Peaceful Naperville rally continues to Aurora police station, turns violent
Katie Dalton, Maggie Dalton, Amisha Sethi
Central Times
Naperville Central High School
Naperville, Illinois
Fighting for change:
Examining the combative culture at West High
Alex Carlon, Joe Goodman
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
School district budget cuts campus to the bone
Ahmed Ahmed, Alyxander Beeten, Charli Gisi, Joshua Mercado, David Paleracio
Southwest Shadow
Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Las Vegas, Nevada
The Fight for Wellness
Staff
The Lamp Online
Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Flemington, New Jersey
The COVID-19 Blame Game
Logan Schiciano
Tower
The Masters School
Dobb’s Ferry, New York
Denton Veterans Initiative Provides Hope for Homeless
Sarah Crowder, Jaclyn Harris
The Talon News
Argyle High School
Argyle, Texas
Casting ballots: the politics of voting
Aaron Boehmer
Wingspan
Liberty High School
Frisco, Texas
Multimedia Feature Story
Just one bite could kill
Saya Deshpande, Kiana George
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, Calfornia
Completing the circle:
Restorative justice at San Quentin
Audrey Hettleman, Eislyn Snyder
The Redwood Bark
Redwood High School
Larkspur, Calfornia
Emmie Boylan:
Living with spina bifida
Bess Frerichs
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Cash-strapped in the Valley
Ben Hobbs, Izze Lentfer, Raabia Qureshi, Rachel Sarff, Jenna Weyforth
BVNWnews
Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas
More Than A Lipstick Mark — Hamburger Mary’s Impact
Riley Atkinson
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Power of We:
Immigration and Louisville youth
Staff
On the Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
Life After
Emily Hood
FHNtoday
Francis Howell North High School
St. Charles, Missouri
Utterly Overassessed
Staff
Southwest Shadow
Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Las Vegas, Nevada
Immersed In The Unknown
McKenzie Canton, Brinley Koenig
The Rider Online
Legacy High School
Mansfield, Texas
Queen Bee
Rebekah Ford
The Rider Online
Legacy High School
Mansfield, Texas
Multimedia Sports Story
Training life vs. Teenage life
Allison Raisner
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California
Switching sides
Justine Ha, Vivian Jiang, Neysa Singh, Anish Vasudevan
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
53rd Classic City Championship package
Owen Donnelly, Gretchen Hinger, Luna Reichert
Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Knights Stun Bison in Regional Championship
Ryan Barich, Nolan Hamilton, Rick Lytle, Adam Ryerson, Jacob Siciliano
ProspectorNow
Prospect High School
Mount Prospect, Illinois
The Power of Family
Olivia Berry, Megan Cablk
The North Star
Naperville North High School
Naperville, Illinois
In the Face of Adversity
Payton Schield, June Sun, Katie de Waard
The North Star
Naperville North High School
Naperville, Illinois
Beneath the jersey:
The 20-year history of sports uniforms at West
Joe Goodman, Natalie Katz
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Remembering the Knight at the Bank
Staff
Knight Errant
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Female Football Player Breaks New Ground
Connor Del Carmen, Lexie Diekroeger
The Messenger
Marquette High School
Chesterfield, Missouri
Prosper knocks out The Woodlands from playoffs, wins Regional Semifinals
Ana Arredondo, Maggie Hale
Eagle Nation Online
Prosper High School
Prosper, Texas
Photo Slideshow
Lady Patriots take home CIF title against Palisades Dolphins
Valery Barrera, Valeria Luquin
The Pearl Post
Daniel Pearl Magnet High School
Lake Balboa, California
With upcoming fall production “Cheerleaders Vs. Aliens,” students and makeup artists describe artistry of special effects makeup
Clare Dierckman
HiLite
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana
Sideline spirit
Justice Seay
Ike News
Eisenhower High School
Shelby Township, Michigan
Cherry Hill East suffers a season-ending loss to Atlantic City in the Conference Championship, 61-44
Andrew Maier
Eastside Online
Cherry Hill East High School
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Through the lens of editor Hunter Musi
Hunter Musi
Tribal Tribune
Wando High School
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Denton Protests Spark Debate On Racial Inequality
Alex Daggett
The Talon News
Argyle High School
Argyle, Texas
Student beekeeper
Rae Gray
The Dispatch
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas
Border Brawl Football Game
Staff
The Rider Online
Legacy High School
Mansfield, Texas
Lions defeat Broncos again, 10-7
Elizabeth Chan, Mariana Ramirez, Landry Raymond, Esmeralda Sosa, Branden Svevo
Manestream News
McKinney High School
McKinney, Texas
The Road to State
Elizabeth Chan, Mariana Ramirez, Landry Raymond, Branden Svevo
Manestream News
McKinney High School
McKinney, Texas
Interactive Graphic
Projected attendance boundary enrollment
Cam Medrano, Jordan Del Valle Tonoian
Eye of the Tiger
Roseville High School
Roseville, California
The Legacy of Star Wars
Marvin Fan, Gray Martens
HiLite
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana
Statewide Inclusive Sports
Rhea Acharya, Chloe Sun
HiLite
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana
Maryland COVID-19 Dashboard
Prayag Gordy
Silver Chips
Montgomery Blair High School
Silver Spring, Maryland
State of the Academy 2020
Staff
The Phillipian
Phillips Academy
Andover, Massachuets
The Spread of COVID-19 in Michigan
Mori Ono
The Communicator
Community High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Daniel and Ben’s Food Review: Joe’s Pizza
Daniel Hou, Ben Zhao
The Huron Emery
Huron High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Generations of East Students
Staff
Eastside Online
Cherry Hill East High School
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Knight staff reveals senior superlative winners
Staff
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Coronavirus Timeline
Gabriel Romualdo
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
Podcast
Theatricult Episode 3:
Risks and Responsibilities
Ava Richards, Ruya Yaman
Scot Scoop
Carlmont HIgh School
Belmont, Calfornia
Discussing Teacher Grooming at Tino, Part 1:
The Problem
Ashley Kang, Sanat Singhal
The Prospector
Cupertino High School
Cupertino, Calfornia
Dear RedEye September: Back to school
E.P. Presnell, Mandala Gupta VerWiebe
Manual RedEye
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
This is America. Speak English.
Dedeepya Guthikonda
Edina Zephyrus
Edina High School
Edina, Minnesota
Christmas tree shortage explained
Keegan Gustafson
Knight Errant
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
TKC True Crime:
The LaLaurie house of horrors
Sophie Chappell, Ally Ortmann
The Kirkwood Call
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood, Missouri
Starting the Conversation:
A Collection of Accounts from Experts and Survivors of Suicide Idealization
Thomas Jamison
FHNtoday
Francis Howell North High School
St. Charles, Missouri
Lancers gain insight from life as first generation Americans
Chloe Baker, Juli Mejia
Lancer Feed
Layfayette High School
Wildwood, Missouri
Field Day 2020
Naomi Delkamiller
Marian Network
Marion High School
Omaha, Nebraska
New music podcast gets right to The Point
Tomas Marrero, Stella Shenkman
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Blog
Sincerely, Sumner: Crying is cool
Sumner Wallace
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Reflection: Managing quarantine with an eating disorder
K.C. Ciresi
Manual RedEye
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
The Rheineck Report: Inside a Conversation with …
Mia Rheineck
Knight Errant
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
An Ocean Away
Riley Kerns
Bearing News
Rock Bridge High School
Columbia, Missouri
Why I Chose Not To Play a Sport in College
Kamryn Rogers
Le Journal Live
Notre Dame de Sion High School
Kansas City, Missouri
Off the Beaten Path
Amy Schaffer
Dart News Online
St. Teresa’s Academy
Kansas City, Missouri
Lucy’s Laboratory
Lucy Marco
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Rhodes Traveled
Max Rhodes
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Goodbye Gluten
Ashvita Girish
Wingspan
Liberty High School
Frisco, Texas
Not Like Other Dads
Amber Adams
The Rider Online
Legacy High School
Mansfield, Texas