Top scholastic newspapers & specialty magazines announced

NSPA Pacemaker competition names 60 finalists as ‘the best of the best’

Nov. 5, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS — Honoring the nation’s best, National Scholastic Press Association has named 60 scholastic student newspapers, newsmagazines and specialty magazines as finalists in its prestigious Pacemaker competition.

Middle School/Junior High Newspaper/Newsmagazine

High School Newspaper/Newsmagazine

Specialty magazines

NSPA Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners announced for the first time at the NSPA Awards Ceremony 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. Convention registration is required to attend the online ceremony. 

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award,” Executive Director Laura Widmer said. “NSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best.”

The NSPA Pacemaker award has a rich tradition and the association started presenting the award to high school newspapers a few years after the organization was founded in 1921. Throughout the years, yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs were added to the competition.

The 60 Pacemaker finalists represent 19 states and the United Kingdom. California set the pace with 13 finalists, followed by Texas with 11 and Missouri with seven.

Of the 60 newspapers, newsmagazines and specialty magazines recognized as finalists, 24 will earn Pacemakers.

In all, 190 student news and specialty publications from 30 states entered the Pacemaker competition, representing a slight drop from the previous year.

Three teams of three judges devoted worked remotely judging and studing every entry discussing its strengths and weaknesses. 

In the first round of the competition, the publications competed against those of similar types — tabloid newspaper, broadsheet newspaper, newsmagazine, specialty magazine and junior high/middle school.

Insights and observations from the judges about the Pacemaker winning publications will be posted after the Pacemaker winners are announced along with the names and professional bios of the judges. 

In addition to demonstrating excellence in key areas including coverage, writing, editing, design and photography, the winning newspapers took risks and served as a strong voice for its student audience. 

“With the pandemic closing schools across the country, many of the papers submitted for the competition were produced with student journalists working from their homes,” Lundgren said.  “The high-quality journalism these publications provided, against all odds, is remarkable.” 

In this competition, only the print news product was judged. A separate NSPA 2020 Online Pacemaker competition recognized 28 online news sites in April. Several schools earned Pacemaker honors for both their print and online products.

Finalists are alphabetical by state.

WATCH
the finalists announcement, on Nov. 5, 2020.

Pacemaker Award finalists for this fall
Broadcast • Newspaper/Newsmagazine/Specialty Magazine

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

NSPA Awards page

NSPA Awards archive

The Town Crier
Paul Revere Middle School
Los Angeles, California
Editor: Staff
Adviser: Eric Wechsler

The Sequoyah Scribe
John Sevier Middle School
Kingsport, Tennessee
Editor: Meredith Mooney
Adviser: David Flanary

The Scroll
The American School in London (Middle School)
London, England
Editor: Staff
Adviser: Colin Bridgewater

CS Press
Cactus Shadows High School
Cave Creek, Arizona
Editors: Avianna Hoppes, Logan McDade
Advisers: Robert Adamson, Lori Hart

El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Editors: Hannah Lee, Anish Vasudevan
Adviser: Julia Satterthwaite

The Granite Bay Gazette
Granite Bay High School
Granite Bay, California
Editor: Staff
Adviser: Karl Grubaugh

The Campanile
Palo Alto Senior High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors: Annie Chen, Miranda Li, Lucy Nemerov, Frida Rivera, Jaures Yip
Advisers: Rod Satterthwaite, Esther Wojcicki

Verde
Palo Alto Senior High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors: Alex Feng, Emma Donelly-Higgins, Rachel Lit
Adviser: Paul Kandell

The Octagon
Sacramento Country Day School
Sacramento, California
Editors: Larkin Barnard-Bahn, Jackson Crawford, Anna Frankel, Héloïse Schep
Adviser: Paul Bauman

Bear Witness
Branham High School
San Jose, California
Editors: Julianne Alvares, Elizabeth Posey
Adviser: Fitzgerald Vo 

Winged Post
The Harker School
San Jose, California
Editors: Eric Fang, Gloria Zhang
Adviser: Ellen Austin

The Nueva Current
The Nueva School
San Mateo, California
Editors: Willow Taylor Chiang Yang
Adviser: LiAnn Yim

The Saratoga Falcon
Saratoga High School
Saratoga, California
Editors: Connie Liang, Anishi Patel, Ananya Vadlakonda, Jeffrey Xu
Adviser: Mike Tyler

The Chronicle
Harvard-Westlake School
Studio City, California
Editors: Tammer Bagdasarian, Lindsay Wu
Advisers: Jim Burns, Max Tash

The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
Editors: Kayla Lee, Pilar Sims
Adviser: Ron Goins

Elevate Magazine
Regis Jesuit High School
Aurora, Colorado
Editors: Sophia Marcinek, Maddie Proctor, Hunter Sullivan
Advisers: Nicole Arduini, Adam Dawkins

The Pack
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Editor: India Turner
Adviser: Ben Reed

Devil’s Advocate
Stanton College Preparatory School
Jacksonville, Florida
Editor: Tatyana Esquilin
Adviser: Larry Knight

The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Editors: Brianna Fisher, Zoe Gordon, Dara Rosen, Leni Steinhardt
Adviser: Melissa Falkowski

Red & Black
Hillsborough High School
Tampa, Florida
Editor: Marin Fehl
Adviser: Joe Humphrey

The Muse
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida
Editors: Becca Boss, Kate McNamara
Adviser: Carly Gates

Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Editor: Elena Gilbertson Hall
Adviser: David Ragsdale

U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Editors: Nikhil Patel, Abigail Slimmon
Adviser: Logan Aimone

HiLite
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana
Editor: Da-Hyun Hong
Adviser: Jim Streisel

Harbinger
Zionsville Community High School
Zionsville, Indiana
Editor: Ethan Moore
Adviser: Lauren Wagner

The Little Hawk
Iowa City High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Editors: Mira Bohannan Kumar, Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos
Adviser: Jonathan Rogers

The Express
Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas
Editor: Ethan Knauth
Adviser: Jim McCrossen

The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Editors: Caroline Chisolm, Carolyn Popper, Lila Tulp
Adviser: Dow Tate

The JagWire
Mill Valley High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Editors: Hannah Chern, Tatum Elliott
Adviser: Kathy Hill Habiger

The Lion’s Roar
Newton South High School
Newton, Massachusetts
Editors: Jennifer Wang, Dina Zeldin
Adviser: Ashley Chapman

The Harbinger
Algonquin Regional High School
Northborough, Massachusetts
Editors: Catherine Hayden, Gabriela Paz-Soldan
Advisers: Lindsay Coppens, Michelle Sheppard

The Communicator Magazine
Community High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editors: Atticus Dewey, Isaac McKenna, Camryn Tirico, Tai Tworek
Adviser: Tracy Anderson

The Focus
Midland High School
Midland, Michigan
Editor: Jenna Spencer
Adviser: Jim Woehrle

Echo
St. Louis Park High School
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Editors: Marta Hill, Isabel Kjaer
Adviser: Lori Keekley

The Messenger
Marquette High School
Chesterfield, Missouri
Editors: Kavya Jain, Marta Mieze
Adviser: Emily Jorgensen

The Globe
Clayton High School
Clayton, Missouri
Editors: Grace Snelling, Lila Taylor
Adviser: Erin Sucher-O’Grady

Central Focus
Francis Howell Central High School
Cottleville, Missouri
Editor: Kayla Reyes
Adviser: Matthew Schott

Le Journal
Notre Dame de Sion High School
Kansas City, Missouri
Editors: Kamryn Rogers, Ava Stoltz
Adviser: Alison Long

The Kirkwood Call
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood, Missouri
Editors: Megan Cleveland, Charlotte Heinrich, Emma Lingo, Maddie Meyers
Adviser: Mitch Eden

North Star
Francis Howell North High School
St. Charles, Missouri
Editor: Gracie Bowman
Adviser: Aaron Manfull

Spark
Lakota East High School
Liberty Township, Ohio
Editors: Rebecca Breland, Alexandra Fernholz, Anna Mullins
Adviser: Dean Hume

Tribal Tribune
Wando High School
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Editors: Eva Chillura, Ted Fairchild
Adviser: Tamela Watkins

The Dispatch
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas
Editors: Peter Dang, Marisa Salzar
Adviser: Michael Reeves

The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Editors: Kristen Tibbetts, Janssen Transier
Adviser: Dave Winter

The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Editor: Anthony Cesario
Adviser: Chase Wofford

Eagle Edition
Episcopal School of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Editors: Emily Delgado, Victoria Willox, Evelyn Zhao
Adviser: Ana Rosenthal

The ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editor: Sam Ahmed
Adviser: Ray Westbrook

The Marquee
Marcus High School
Flower Mound, Texas
Editor: Sam Thornfelt
Adviser: LaJuana Hale

Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas
Editors: Izzy Andrews, Mia Fares, Sophia Lima, Leila Pulaski
Advisers: Chuy Benitez, David Nathan, Shelley Stein

The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas
Editors: Delaynie Keeney, Alex Norton, Delia Tuttlebee
Adviser: Charla Harris

Tiger Times
Texas High School
Texarkana, Texas
Editors: Addison Cross, Anna Grace Jones, Molly Kyles
Advisers: Rebecca Potter, Clint Smith

tjTODAY
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, Virginia
Editors: Justin Chang, Irina Lee, Grace Mak
Adviser: Erinn Harris

The A-Blast
Annandale High School
Annandale, Virginia
Editors: Suad Mohamed, Manny Precht
Adviser: Alan Weintraut

The Highlander
McLean High School
McLean, Virginia
Editors: Nicholas Lohman, Dasha Makarishcheva, Ava Rotondo
Adviser: Lindsay Benedict

The Puma Press
University Prep
Seattle, Washington
Editors: Bea Cappio, Olivia Poolos
Adviser: Scott Collins

C Magazine
Palo Alto Senior High School
Palo Alto, California
Editors: Ellie Fitton, Ashley Guo, Chloe Laursen, Hazel Shah
Adviser: Brian Wilson

On the Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
Editor: Ysa Leon
Adviser: Liz Palmer

The KHS Journalism Partnership
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood, Missouri
Editors: Megan Cleveland, Charlotte Heinrich, Emma Lingo, Maddie Meyers
Adviser: Mitch Eden

Focus Magazine
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editors: Alam Alidina, Sai Thirunagari
Adviser: Ray Westbrook

Scientific Marksman
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Editors: Ishan Gupta, James Shiao
Adviser: Bonnie Flint