During the State Student Journalism Competition Finals on March 16, PSPA recognized the following publications with the 2026 Clyde F. Lytle All-State Awards:

Literary Magazine: Jabberwocky (Strath Haven)
Newspaper: The Panther Press (Strath Haven)
Online News Publication: The Panther Press (Strath Haven)
Yearbook: Campus (Kiski Area)
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The Clyde F. Lytle All-State Award was named in 2012 for PSPA’s first president, Clyde F. Lytle, professor at The Keystone Normal School, now known as Kutztown University.  One of the buildings on the Kutztown campus is named for Dr. Lytle.  He became the first president of PSPA in December of 1925.  In addition to his work in education, he is known for his collection of inspirational verse "Leaves of Gold" which remains in print today.

The path to these annual All-State Awards begins with a critique submission. In addition to receiving feedback from experts, submitted publications automatically become part of a statewide contest. During the critique process, each publication is ranked gold, silver, or bronze according to critique rubric scoring. All publications earning an overall gold award are sent on to a new judge, and gold-ranked publications compete against other gold-ranked publications to determine the Clyde F. Lytle All-State winner.  Learn more about critique scoring here.

On Monday, March 16, student journalists from across the Commonwealth gathered at Penn State University for the annual PSPA Student Journalism Competition State Finals. We’re excited to share a selection of those results with you below, with additional winners to be announced as individual contests conclude. Please click each contest name to see the winning entry.

STUDENT JOURNALISM CONTEST RESULTS AS OF MARCH 17

1Y - Yearbook Caption Writing: Adrian Pacifico (Altoona Area)
2Y - Yearbook Copy Writing: Clara Eckhart (Danville Area)
3Y - Yearbook Sports Writing: Alexandra Myers (Conestoga)
4Y - Yearbook Spread Design: Angel Parada-Viera (Berwick Area)
5N - Newspaper News Writing: Lilyana Ellis (Neshaminy)
6N - Newspaper Feature Writing: Fiona Seale (Strath Haven)
7N - Newspaper Sports Writing: Ryan Hartman (Neshaminy)
8E - Editorial Cartoon: Mattie Baker (Altoona Area)
9E - Editorial Writing: Alice Ravert (Montoursville Area)
10L - Literary Magazine Poetry: Kailyn Magalich (Kiski Area)
11L - Literary Magazine Artwork: Eric Bernard (Dover Area)
12B - Broadcast Writing: Sara Brosius (McDowell)

Each winner in attendance received a certificate. Certificates for winners who were not in attendance to receive their awards in-person will be mailed to the winners' schools.

STUDENT JOURNALISM CONTEST DIGITAL SUBMISSIONS
Six contest categories remain, and students competing in those contests have until Monday, March 23 at noon to finalize their edits and submit their finished products for judging. Please visit this link for submission. Those contest categories are as follows:

13YP - Yearbook Photography
14NP - Newspaper Photography
15BF - Broadcast Feature Package
15BN - Broadcast News Package
16POD - Podcast

We're just one month away from Finals! Here's everything you need to know:
LINK: 2026 PSPA Student Journalism Contest Finals

The master document linked above is organized in Google Docs by tabs. All documents are contained within and can be accessed by following the steps below. While all documents are separated by tabs, all documents within may be downloaded or printed together.

• Accessing Tabs: Click the Show tabs & outlines icon (document symbol) in the top-left corner to open the navigation panel. Then, you can access individual pages by clicking the links in the Table of Contents, clicking the links in the tabs menu, or scrolling through each document and clicking the name of the next page to advance.
• Rubrics: While you can scroll through each of our 16 rubrics, you can also navigate directly to a particular rubric by opening the outline underneath the Rubrics tab. Simply click the three dots next to Rubrics, and select "Show outline."
  
  

Please share this link/doc with your students. If you have any questions regarding the contests, please contact Paul Fantaski (PSPA Contest Chair) at [email protected]. For any Penn State-related questions, please contact Emily Clevenger at [email protected].

Minor details about the day's itinerary are subject to change; however, any/all changes will be reflected in the Google Doc linked above, so be sure to refer to it for the most up-to-date information.

We can't wait to see you in Happy Valley!

Pennsylvania School Press Association's 2024 Student Journalism Competition Finals took place on Wednesday, April 3 at Penn State University's main campus.

Students who previously qualified at regional events participated in a press conference with Sarah Higgins, Penn State University's Assistant Athletics Director, who spoke about her career path and her work in creative content and branding. Students then competed in writing, design, photography, and video categories based on the themes of the conference. 

The afternoon featured roudtables with Penn State University students in the Bellisario College of Communications, as well as a presentation by Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Ashlie Crosson. Student representatives shared information about the campaign for New Voices legislation in Pennsylvania. 

The following publications were recognized as the Clyde F. Lytle All-State Awards:
Literary Magazine: Winchster Thurston School | Plaid Literary Magazine
Yearbook: Kiski Area High School | Campus
Newspaper: Conestoga High School | The Spoke
Website: Strath Haven High School | The Panther Press

​The 2024 Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year, Ben Shapiro of Conestoga High School shared remarks about his path in journalism, and the 2024 Journalism Teacher of the Year Mr. David Weikert accepted a certificate of recognition.

The following students earned first place ranking in their their categories at the 2024 Student Journalism Competitions. Click each student journalist's name to see the winning entry. 

1Y | Yearbook Caption Writing | Charlotte Horetsky | Strath Haven HS
2Y | Yearbook Copy Writing | Claudia Caruso | Perkiomen Valley HS
3Y | Yearbook Sports | Olivia McMinn | Altoona Area HS
4Y  | Yearbook Spread Design | Norah Carver | North East HS
5N | Newspaper News Writing | Alexis Behrens | Southern Lehigh HS
6N | Newspaper Feature Writing | Gabe Meyers | Emmaus HS
7N | Newspaper Sports Writing | Andrew Woods | Blackhawk HS
8E | Editorial Cartoon | Molly Kuhar | Lake-Lehman Jr./Sr. High​
9E | Editorial Writing | Laila Warrick | Franklin Learning Center
10L | Literary Magazine Poetry | Haley Zeller | Kiski Area HS
11L | Literary Magazine Artwork | Leah Gonzalez-Diaz | Strath Haven HS
12B | Broadcast News Writing | Sarah Brosius | McDowell HS
13YP | Yearbook Photography |  Brennan Moore | Kiski Area
14NP | Newspaper Photography | Ruby Morris | North Allegheny
15BF | Broadcast Feature | Katie Heimbach and Jared Reinhard | Palmerton Area
15BN | Broadcast News | Kaitlyn Over, Jacob Zambito, and Nora Reiner | Northeastern
16BL | Blog | Makenzie Closson | Altoona Area
17POD | Podcast | Elsa Hoderewski | Parkland

Photography contestants took so many excellent photos, we've also compiled the "best of" SJC Finals:

• The Best of Yearbook Photography (13YP)
• The Best of Newspaper Photography (14NP)

PSPA is grateful to our hosts at Penn State University and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications for the organizational and on-site support.

In January 2019, Sen. Andy Dinniman (D, 19th District) agreed to draft and sponsor what has since become Senate Bill 806, the “Free School Media Act,” making Pennsylvania one of 10 states with pending New Voices legislation.  Fourteen states have already passed similar legislation,  protecting the rights of student journalists and their advisers. 

The bill is currently being discussed in the Senate Education Committee, on which Dinniman serves as Minority Chair. In January 2020, Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D, Chester/Montgomery) has agreed in principle to draft and sponsor New Voices legislation in the House of Representatives.

For the bill to become law, it must be taken up by and make it out of committees and pass floor votes in both houses of Congress before it would be sent to the governor’s desk.

PSPA has endorsed this bill, and we are excited to see its progress. Although progress is being made, we need your help, student journalists and advisers!

A few ways to help:

• Contact your legislators in the House and Senate, and ask for their support for New Voices. Not comfortable writing your own letter or pressed for time? No worries. We’ve got your back!
  • Simply make a copy of THIS FORM LETTER 
  • Edit the highlighted text with your specific information. Click HERE to find your legislators.
• Legislators love to hear from engaged students! Encourage your students to write and send similar letters.
• Share THIS LETTER with your students—written by Pennsylvania students for Pennsylvania students seeking New Voices support.
• Connect with us on social media!
  • Twitter: @PaVoices 
  • Instagram: @newvoicespa
• Visit us online: www.newvoicespa.com
• Join us and learn other ways to get involved with Pennsylvania’s New Voices movement! Email us at [email protected].

Pennsylvania School Press Association's 2019 Student Journalism Competition Finals took place on Wednesday, March 27 at Penn State University's main campus.

Students who previously qualified at regional events participated in a press conference about operations at the Penn State Creamery with Professor and Food Service Department Head Dr. Robert Roberts and Creamery Director of Sales and Marketing Mr. James Brown. Students then competed in writing, design, photography, and video categories based on the themes of the conference. 

The afternoon featured a panel on progress towards New Voices legislation in Pennsylvania with Penn State Bellisario School of Communications Professor Cindy Simmons, Student Press Law Center Director of Engagement Diana Mitsu-Klos, Freedom Area High School journalism adviser Aaron Fitzpatrick, Conestoga High School adviser Cyndi Hyatt, and student journalists from the staffs of the FHS Press and the Conestoga Spoke— Claudia Huggins, Cole Skuse, Justin Huang, Avery Maslowsky, and Audrey Kim
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Congratulations to the following students for winning their categories at the 2019 Student Journalism Competitions. Results in the photography and video categories will be announced after the submission date.

1Y | Yearbook Caption Writing | Jeff Hudak | Northeastern HS
2Y | Yearbook Copywriting | Cole Skuse | Freedom Area HS
3Y | Yearbook Sports | Celia Chickerella | Kiski Area HS
4Y  | Yearbook Spread Design | Abby Tabachini | Northeastern HS
5N | News Story Writing | Claudia Huggins | Freedom Area HS
6N | News Feature Writing | Maddi Collins | Bellefonte Area HS
7N | Newspaper Sports Writing | Jake Wiener | Parkland HS
8E | Editorial Cartoon | Kaylee Ruiz | Emmaus HS
9E | Editorial Writing | Ronald Rohlsen | Emmaus HS
10L | Literary Magazine Poetry | Peyton Dempsey | North Allegheny HS
11L | Literary Magazine Artwork | Kierra Shreffler | Kiski Area HS
12B | Broadcast News Writing | Tory Abbott | Bellefonte Area HS
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13YP | Yearbook Photography | Regan Gross | Northeastern HS
14NP | News Photography | Isabelle Southard | McDowell HS
15V | Broadcast News Video | TBA
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PSPA is grateful to our hosts at Penn State University for the organizational and on-site support, especially to Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications Dean Marie Hardin, Assistant Dean Jamey Perry, Assistant Teaching Professor John Beale, and Manager of Recruitment Emily Clevenger.