For the first time, PSPA offered summer critiques to online news publications in 2018. Participants were scored on content/coverage, breaking news, writing, design/navigation, interactivity, and rich media. All participating publications received a detailed critique from judges with commendations and suggested areas for improvement.

Congratulations to the following publications for their 2018 rankings: 

GOLD
The Friar's Lantern, Malvern Preparatory School

SILVER
Tidelines, Pottsville Area High School
The Panther Press, Saegertown Junior-Senior High School
The Lions DIgest, State College Area High School

PSPA critiques are completed by experts from across the country. Member publications interested in receiving a critique must submit a completed form along with the publication submission. ​

In addition to receiving feedback from experts, submitted publications automatically become part of a statewide contest. In the first level of scoring, publications receive a scorebook with a bronze mark, silver mark, or gold mark. All publications earning an overall gold will be sent on to a new judge where publications compete against other gold award publications to determine which publications will receive the coveted annual Clyde F. Lytle All-State Keystone Award.

Learn more about how to submit your publication for a critique here.

On April 19, the Pennsylvania Press Club shared results from their annual high school communications contest. "We were very pleased to receive more than 100 entries in this year’s contest and entries in multiple categories," contest organizers Kay Stephens and R. Thomas Berner stated. 

​PSPA is grateful to the Pennsylvania Press Club for organizing programs that recognize the hard work of our student journalists. Congratulations to our PSPA member schools who earned recognition in this contest.

Big Spring High School

BEST NEWSCAST: RADIO OR TV
1st place to Big Spring High School -- Adam McKeehan, Jamie Yaukey, Emily Parrish, Ava Mowery, Ishmael Kirkwood and Hannah Custer

Eastern Lebanon County High School

YEARBOOK LAYOUT
1st place for Haille Kern of Eastern Lebanon County High School for 2016 Election Spread.
2nd place for Sarah Yermalovich, Eastern Lebanon County HS for “Sports Showstopper”

YEARBOOK PHOTO
1st place to Haille Kern, Eastern Lebanon County High School for “Homecoming”
3rd place to Sarah Yermalovich, Eastern Lebanon County High School for “Pumped Up”
Honorable Mention to Haille Kern, Eastern Lebanon County High School for “Unstoppable”

YEARBOOK COPYWRITING
1st place to Sarah Yermalovich, Eastern Lebanon County High School for “Fast and Furious”

Emmaus High School

FEATURE
2nd place to Lily Day, Will Newbegin and Cathryn Seibert of Emmaus High School for “Send(ing) nudes: the duality of sexting”
3rd place to Julia Popule of Emmaus High School for “Dancer reaches for the barre”

REVIEWS
1st place to Will Newbegin, Emmaus High School, for “Migos keep it consistent with culture.”
2nd place to Ryan Bassett, Emmaus High School, for “Baby Driver worth seeing and hearing”

CARTOONING
1st place to Angeline Stein, Emmaus High School, Emmaus for “Emotional politics -- Trump”
Honorable mention to: Kaylee Ruiz, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pa. for “Statue of Liberty”

DOUBLE-TRUCK LAYOUT
Honorable mention to Cathryn Seibert of Emmaus High School for “Send(ing) nudes: the duality of sexting”

Freedom Area High School

OPINION
1st place to Kayla Eaton of Freedom Area High School, Freedom, for “Equal pay is just common cents”

Malvern Preparatory School

EDITORIAL
1st place to Editorial Board, Malvern Preparatory School for “Shifting the Conversation”
2nd place to Editorial Board, Malvern Preparatory School, for “Fraternity means more than its reputation”

OPINION
Honorable mention to Eric McLaughlin of Malvern Preparatory School, for “Addressing the security protocol on campus”

NEWS
Honorable mention to Kyle Leonard, Malvern Preparatory School for “Armenia service trip canceled”

FEATURE
1st place to Alex Haylock, Michael Harrington, Dan Malloy, Liam McKnight and Billy Corcoran of Malvern Preparatory School for “When the Vapor Clears”
Honorable mention to Alex Haylock of Malvern Preparatory School for “Keeping up with Kaloso”

SPORTS
2nd place to Garrett Hallinan and Kyle Leonard, Malvern Preparatory School, for “Talking Concussions at Malvern”
3rd place to Garrett Hallinan, Malvern Preparatory School for  “The Return of O’Shaan Allison”

NEWS OR FEATURE PHOTO
Honorable Mention to Alex Haylock of Malvern Preparatory School for “Malvern celebrates Christmas Break”

SPORTS PHOTO
Honorable Mention to Steve O’Meara, Malvern Preparatory School, West Chester, for “Football Begins Inter-AC”

GRAPHICS/PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
1st place to Chase Bennett for Malvern Preparatory School for “When the vapor clears”
2nd place to Chase Bennett and Ethan Rowley of Malvern Preparatory School for “Freshman Survey 2017”

SINGLE PAGE LAYOUT
3rd place to Chase Bennett, Malvern Preparatory School for “The Return of O’Shaan Allison” 
Honorable mention to Chase Bennett, Malvern Preparatory School...for January 2018 front page “Building” ​

Saegertown Jr. Sr. High School

EDITORIAL
Honorable mention to Livia Van Cise at Saegertown Junior-Senior High School, for “Bring back senior release”

OPINION
2nd place to Kaity Gage of Saegertown Junior-Senior High School, Meadville, “What it’s like to live with a concussion”
3rd place to Hannah Nicholson, Saegertown Junior Senior High School, for “Should college visit days count toward total student absences?”

FEATURE
3rd place to Kassie Boyd and Kantz Braeden of Saegertown Jr.-Sr. High School for “Saegertown teacher first woman to compete...”

SPORTS
Honorable mention to Bailey Kozalla, Saegertown Junior-Senior High School, for  “Arrows fly in Pennsylvania archery season”

COLUMNS/BLOGS
1st place to Paula Stachuletz, Saegertown Junior-Senior High School, for “Stachuletz Stories”

CARTOONING
3rd place to Morgan Radwick, Saegertown Junior-Senior High School, Saegertown, Pa., for “Dress Code”


Full contest results available at the linked file below. 

First place winners in each category move on to the National Federation of Press Women's High School Communications Contest for another round of competition.  Those contest results should be available at the end of May. 

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

Students who previously qualified at regional events participated in a press conference with Miss Pennsylvania USA Katie Schreckengast, then competed in writing, design, photography, and video categories based on the themes of the conference. 

The afternoon featured a question-and-answer session with Penn State alumnus Kevin Cirilli, Chief Washington Correspondent at Bloomberg News, who joined students via videoconference from the White House. Emily Kohlman, a current Penn State student double-majoring in journalism and Russian, discussed her international journalism experiences.

Congratulations to the following students for winning their categories at the 2018 Student Journalism Competitions. Results in the photography and video categories will be announced after the submission date.

• Yearbook Photography - Kaylee Sheidegg - Central York HS
• Newspaper Photography - Kaycee Orwig - North Allegheny HS
• Yearbook Caption Writing - Madeline Sulava - Kiski Area HS
• Yearbook Story Writing - Tabitha Nowak - Emmaus HS
• Yearbook Sports Writing - Sarah Yermalovich - ELCO HS
• Yearbook Spread Design - Abby Tabachini - Northeastern HS
• News Story Writing - Rachel DeCesaris - Freedom Area HS
• News Feature Writing - Hillary Twiford - Saegertown HS
• News Sports Writing - Ben Pagani - Blackhawk HS
• Editorial Cartoon - Paula Stachuletz - Saegertown HS
• Editorial Writing - Ethan Woodfill - Avonworth HS
• Lit Mag Poetry - Riley Smith - North Allegheny HS
• Lit Mag Artwork - Otavio Albuquerque - Emmaus HS
• Broadcast Writing - Eddie Fitzgerald - Bellefonte Area HS
• Carry-In Feature Package Video - Laurie Esposito - Central York HS
  

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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 and Manager of Recruitment Emily Clevenger.

Pennsylvania School Press Association is proud to announce that Conestoga High School senior Ian Ong is the 2018 Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year.

Ong has been on the staff of Conestoga’s monthly newspaper, The Spoke, since 2014. This year he serves as Managing Editor, and in previous years he has been the Center Spread Editor and Co-Student Life Editor. One of the judges noted, "Ian worked to shed light on those not normally in the spotlight and worked to bring awareness to his school community."

​The Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year award was named for Dr. Jane Blystone in 2011, and includes a $500 scholarship for the winner. The Pennsylvania scholarship winner moves on to the national JEA SJOY competition. Winners will be announced at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco this April.

PSPA is also proud to celebrate three runners-up in this year's SJOY contest. A judge noted, "These portfolios were difficult because they were so good! Pennsylvania does a great job training tomorrow's journalists, based on these students."

​Daniel Malloy of Malvern Preparatory School currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Friar's Lantern, and has previously served as Investigative Reporter and Arts Editor. Our judge noted, "Dan understands the role of credible journalism and used his publications to bring change to his school."

Kayla Eaton of Freedom Area High School currently serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Shawnee Yearbook and FHS Press, and Social Media Director of the Shawnee Yearbook. Our judges noted, "​Kayla cares about her school community and her publications staffs. Her content decisions as yearbook editor, social media director and newspaper staff member bring information and positive energy to her readers."

Grace Marion of Neshaminy High School is currently in her second year as Editor-in-Chief of my high school's student newspaper, The Playwickian, and previously served as Arts and Entertainment Editor, Graphics Editor, and a Staff Writer. Our judges noted, "Grace has not let roadblocks hinder her desire to inform readers on stories they need and want to know."

The Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year competition standards and rubrics align with the Journalism Education Association's Student Journalist of the Year competition. The annual competition is open to senior student journalists and requires the completion of an online portfolio aligned with JEA's curriculum standards.

​Please visit the JEA SJOY page for information about preparing a portfolio. Sample portfolios from last year's state winners are posted on JEA's site. Portfolios for the 2019 Student Journalist of the Year will be due in early spring 2019.

Pennsylvania School Press Association is now accepting applications for the 2018 Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year. Completed applications are due by March 1, 2018.

The Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year competition standards and rubrics align with the Journalism Education Association's Student Journalist of the Year competition. The annual competition is open to senior student journalists and requires the completion of an online portfolio aligned with JEA's curriculum standards.

​Please visit the JEA SJOY page for information about preparing a portfolio. Sample portfolios from last year's state winners are posted on JEA's site.

The Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year award was named for Dr. Jane Blystone in 2011, and includes a $500 scholarship for the winner. The Pennsylvania scholarship winner moves on to the national JEA SJOY competition.

Please visit our application page at this link for more information.

Student applicants should have the following materials ready to submit at the time of application:

• Adviser, school, and parent/guardian contact information
• Portfolio website
• Resume (PDF format)
• Transcripts, or counselor statement of classes and grades. Student should be a high school senior and should have an overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. (PDF format)
• Three letters of recommendation from those who know the applicant well and understand the impact of the journalistic experience on the student’s life. No letter should exceed two pages in length. (PDF Format.)
• Action photograph of student involved in student journalism and caption for this photograph
• Self-analytical essay: Students should write with passion and make an impact on the judges because this essay functions as the applicant’s one-on-one interview with the judges. Essay should not exceed two pages in length. (PDF or document format)

Congratulations to the following State Finalists for the Pennsylvania School Press Association’s 2017-18 State Journalism Contest held at Temple University on November 8. Each student has earned the right to travel to University Park on March 27, 2018 to vie for the State Championship in his/her respective categories.

NEWSPAPER
News Story Writing - Sarah Trebicka, Southern Lehigh High School
Feature Writing - Saskia Van’t Hof, Southern Lehigh High School
Sports Story Writing - Townsend Colley, Southern Lehigh High School
Editorial Writing - Sarah Jacobson, Southern Lehigh High School

To qualify for the State Finals, students had to place first (or tied for first) in their respective competition categories. Additionally, each category requires a qualifying score to advance, as defined on the PSPA General Rules and Information Sheet.

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