{"id":6463,"date":"2018-09-19T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/?p=6463"},"modified":"2018-09-26T11:20:54","modified_gmt":"2018-09-26T16:20:54","slug":"2018-broadcast-pacemaker-finalists-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/2018-broadcast-pacemaker-finalists-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Broadcast Pacemaker finalists announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

NSPA honors 14 broadcast news shows from eight states<\/em><\/h3>\n

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The nation\u2019s top scholastic broadcast news programs were recognized today by the National Scholastic Press Association who announced the 14 finalists in its annual Pacemaker competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pacemaker is the association\u2019s preeminent award,\u201d said Laura Widmer, executive director. \u201cNSPA is honored to recognize the best of the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NSPA Pacemaker award has a rich tradition and started just a few years after the organization was founded in 1921. The Pacemaker was added for broadcasting in 1996 to reflect its growing importance at the high school level.<\/p>\n

Each school entered three programs from the 2017-2018 school year. A team of three judges from College Broadcasters, Inc. viewed each entry discussing its strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n

The judging team praised the overall quality of the entries: \u201cThe Pacemaker-winning entries stood out for their quality, not only in the production, but in the stories being told, the writing, editing and hosting, and the willingness to tackle controversial topics. These were exceptional newscasts start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shows were divided into live and pre-recorded categories. The frequency of the broadcast was also considered with daily shows competing in a category with weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or less-frequently in another.<\/p>\n

The 14 Pacemaker finalists included schools representing eight states. Texas lead with four broadcast programs named as finalists. Overall, four of the finalists produced live broadcasts and six aired daily shows.<\/p>\n

Of the 14 Pacemaker finalists, seven will be named Pacemaker winners. In all, there were 50 entries.<\/p>\n

Insights and observations from the judges about the Pacemaker winning broadcasts will be posted when the Pacemaker winners are announced along with professional bios of the judges.<\/p>\n

Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners will be announced at the JEA\/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention<\/a>, Nov. 1-4, 2018 in Chicago.<\/p>\n

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