2024 Baruch College High School Journalism Program Newsies! Best in NYC Public H.S. Journalism Winners!
Audio/Video
Judge: Vera Haller
Vera Haller is a professor at Baruch College, where she chairs the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions. She also is an active freelance journalist, covering New York City news as well as foreign stories. Among the news outlets where she publishes are PRX’s The World, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Thomson Reuters Foundation. Before joining the faculty at Baruch, Haller worked as a reporter and/or editor at Newsday, Reuters, CNN and The Associated Press.
First Place Citywide:
“What’s Cooking At FLHS: Culinary Program Creates Future Generation of Chefs” Francis Lewis High School
This video report is well reported and well written. It includes interesting visuals and the topic – an in-depth look at the school’s new culinary program – is newsworthy. The student reporters did a very good job including a range of sources – other students, the program director and a school administrator, who all added different perspectives to the story. The “b-roll” — visuals of the culinary program in operation — was crisp and steady and the editing held the whole story together. Excellent job.
Second Place Citywide:
“Episode 01: SAG-AFTRA and the Future of Media”
Stuyvesant High School
This podcast episode is engaging and well researched. The students deeply examined the impact of advancing technology on the arts using the writers’ and actors’ strike as a news peg. The host did an excellent job interviewing the guest, a music appreciation teacher at Stuyvesant who is also a member of SAG. The podcast included interesting descriptions of how students used AI technology to create a rap song about Stuyvesant, providing insightful and concrete examples of how this technology will transform the industry. The overall production was very professional.
Honorable Mention Citywide:
Townsend Harris’ 2023 College Video Townsend Harris High School
This video montage celebrating the college acceptances of the school’s seniors deserves an honorable mention. Creative videography and masterful editing captured the joy of the students’ accomplishments.
Remarks for the Category:
As a journalist who has included multimedia in her reporting, it is exciting to see high school students using video and audio in their news coverage. My advice is to continue to find those stories that lend themselves to the eye and to the ear, and to always seek to draw your audiences into your stories with strong visuals and interesting voices.
Features
Judges: Alexa Capeloto and Emily Johnson
Alexa Capeloto is an associate professor of journalism and media at John Jay College/CUNY. She earned her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and has worked as a reporter and editor at The Glendale News-Press, The Detroit Free Press and The San Diego Union-Tribune, eventually serving as the Union-Tribune’s enterprise editor. Since joining the John Jay faculty in 2009, she has published several legal, scholarly and journalistic articles related to Freedom of Information laws, paying particular attention to the intersection of privatization and the public’s right to know.
Emily H. Johnson, a professor of journalism at Baruch College, is an independent multimedia journalist who has reported in East Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and New York. Her body of work includes photography, radio, video, and writing. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (CUNY) in 2010. She currently lives in Brooklyn but continues to report abroad.
Features, Citywide First Place Winner:
Townsend Harris High School, The Classic. “A year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, few Harrisites aware of program making condoms, sexual health resources available to students” by Lauren Hamlin, Veronica Kuzma, Maria Mattei, Niharika Ojha, Irene Skandalakis, and Ewa Stasiewicz.
This deeply reported piece is a fantastic example of how to take a timely national issue and examine how it impacts your own community. Explicitly framing students’ lack of access and awareness when it comes to the school’s sexual health resources against the backdrop of the fall of Roe vs. Wade demonstrates great news sense, lending high stakes to the story. Highlights include a clear and compelling nut graph and a rich selection of quotes and background research—not to mention dogged shoe-leather reporting in tracking down the school’s required health resources room. The student journalists behind this story deserve major congratulations on their achievement.
Features, Citywide Second Place Winner:
Francis Lewis High School, Francis Lewis News. “The Digital World In the Space of Learning” by Alexandra Baron and Aisha Saeed.
An engaging anecdotal lede draws the reader into this story, which delves into what has become a common problem in high schools around the country in this digital era. This story looks at the particular cell phone policy at Francis Lewis, how teachers are implementing it, and how students are evading it. A nice cross-section of quotes provides the different perspectives, and the citing of a study linking cell phone use to diminished academic performance gives the story real-world resonance. Well done.
Features, Citywide Third Place Winner:
High School for Math, Science, and Engineering, The Echo. “Campus Chronicles: A Conversation with CCNY’s President, Dr. Boudreau” by Orlena Fella, Md Islam, Raymon Morillo and Zoe Otto.
The excellent writing and scene-setting in this profile are what elevate it from a simple profile to a richly painted portrait. There’s a real voice evident here, which is always an asset in a piece of feature writing, and the details and playful anecdotes are a great example of the “show, don’t tell” principle. By the end, the reader gets a strong sense of who this college president is and what impact he’s had in the community he leads.
Features, New Newspapers First Place Winner:
High School for Math, Science, and Engineering, The Echo, “Campus Chronicles: A Conversation with CCNY’s President, Dr. Boudreau,” by Orlena Fella, Md Islam, Raymon Morillo and Zoe Otto
This “conversation” is a nuanced portrait of a college leader that skillfully weaves together quotes, description, background information and even a funny surprise in the second to last paragraph. The reader finishes the piece with a strong sense of the subject and his significance to the community that encompasses the high school. It’s also just a fun read, thanks to the candid, personal tone throughout.
Features, New Newspapers Second Place Winner:
Queens School of Inquiry, QSInquirer, “Students and Staff Speak Out on AP Classes,” by Atchijah Ravinathen
This piece pulls together many voices around the issue of AP classes. The writer has a knack for knowing what information to give the reader and in what order. Background information helps explain the purpose of AP courses both nationwide and at this school, and quotes from differing perspectives provide a layered look at how (and whether) the courses actually serve their intended purpose. Hyperlinks help provide context as well. This feels like it took a lot of reporting, and the effort pays off.
Features, New Newspapers Third Place Winner:
Forest Hills High School, The Beacon, “A Bittersweet Goodbye to Ms. Klemas, Hills’ Co-Librarian,” by Athena Vishudanand and Salma Baksh
The headline gives a good sense of what this is: a heartfelt, thoroughly reported farewell to a departing librarian. It has the hallmarks of a strong profile: detailed description, well-chosen quotes from the subject and from others, background information, and acknowledgment of challenges as well as successes. The journalists show respect to Ms. Klemas through the work they did here, including the smart choice of giving her the final word in the kicker.
Remarks for the Category:
We often say features answer the “how” and “why” questions, delving deeper into newsy subjects so that readers can fully grasp their significance. These stories impressively showcased a range of newsworthy people and topics, and we commend all who submitted. Going forward, it’s good to remember that while feature stories are perhaps more creative than news stories, they must still adhere to high journalistic standards. That means more facts and fewer opinions or generalizations, interviewees representing a diversity of perspectives, reliable and relevant background research, and clear, engaging writing built with specific nouns and vivid verbs versus adjectives and adverbs. Resist the urge to become a cheerleader for your topic, or to tie things up with a moral at the end. Let the hard-earned reported elements tell the story all the way through. It takes more work, but it pays off with readers. Congratulations again to everyone for their fine work.
Illustration/Comic/Cartoon
Judge Jeremy Nguyen
Jeremy Nguyen has been contributing regularly to The New Yorker since 2017. He has provided illustrations and cartoons to Netflix, HBO, Hermés, Bottega Veneta, The Strand Bookstore, and is author of the book Can I Pet Your Dog?. He teaches at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Illustration/Comic/Cartoon Citywide First Place Winner:
“Worm on a String” by Anna Bukhman, Midwood High School
To make a series of comic strips that have a strong voice can be difficult to accomplish for even a professional cartoonist, yet Anna Bukhman’s ‘Worm of a String’ already shows a fully formed cartoonist with something to say. It’s a breath of fresh air to see humor flow so confidently, passionately, and consistently onto the page. Fabulously illustrated, very funny, great job!
Illustration/Comic/Cartoon, Citywide Second Place Winner:
“BC2M Comes to Edison: Fighting Mental Health Stigma” by Sabiqur Liza, Thomas Edison CTE High school.
This series on mental health pairs well with the article. The color palette unites them all and there is a beautiful craft to the imagery themselves. The compositions are balanced, and the combination of text and image makes them a wonderful campaign for an important message. Well done!
Illustration/Comic/Cartoon, Honorable Mention:
“X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, gets an F from students” by Zerlina Yauj, Townsend Harris High School
Effective and communicative image of the article’s message. Great editorial choices and drawn well.
Remarks for the Category:
Editorial cartooning is changing. Journalism faces all sorts of challenges, and it is unfortunate that cartooning and illustration should be preserved not removed. The students display a passion for illustrated work and prove its necessity to the future of the medium. It’s my honor to see that this generation has a passion for creating images and are ready to look after it, cultivate it, and move it forward.
National/World News with a Local Lens
Judge: Lonnie Isabel
Lonnie Isabel has been a reporter, editor, and journalism professor, much of it in New York. He is currently a writer and press freedom advocate in Oklahoma. Lonnie was a deputy managing editor of Newsday, where he led coverage of several presidential campaigns, the second Iraq war, the Sept. 11th terrorists’ attacks, and other major stories. He has taught journalism at CUNY and Columbia Journalism School, and continues to edit and teach journalism, most recently in Liberia.
National/World News with a Local Lens Citywide First Place Winner
Townsend Harris High School reporters Isabel Jagsaran, Carina Fucich, and Sadeea Morshed for a meticulously reported and skillfully crafted takeout on a national issue that played out at the school, after a student staged a pro-Palestinian protest, claimed falsely that he had been expelled, and launched a huge debate over the war, free speech and students’ rights to protest. The reporters, mining student social media posts, finding a tape of a teacher taking a strong political stand in support of Israel in a class, and interviewing students, administrators, and teachers, took a subject that was in hot debate around the country and wove together a fair, balanced, nuanced, and contextual look at how the drama unfolded in the school’s very corridors and classrooms.
National/World News with a Local Lens, Citywide Second Place Winner
Stuyvesant High School reporters Cathleen Xi, Suyeon Ryu, Hifza Kaleem, Ada Gordon for a valuable and closely researched piece on what the Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action could mean for the future of students at the elite high school, itself a subject of debate over the racial composition of its students, now about 70 percent Asian. The suit that overturned affirmative action was brought on behalf on Asian college students. The reporters wrote with sensitivity to this, and persuaded students of multiple races to speak freely about their own place in the debate and what it meant to their futures. Of note, was the analytic tone that the writers struck to show the history of affirmative action and the reach of the court’s decision.
National/World News with a Local Lens, New Newspaper First Place Winner
Bronx River High School reporters Myess Hammouri and Jomayra Amparo for a story that explored both sides of the national debate over Artificial Intelligence in the classroom by focusing on an AI program that helped in the editing of the newspaper and by talking with teachers and students about their experiences and fears of the developing technology.
Remarks for the Category:
The winners in this category this year have produced the most impressive stories yet, since I have been a judge. They are close to professional quality. In fact, it was difficult to separate the top two citywide entries. The new school category was well represented, and the top story was the best of several quality entries. Great Work!
Opinion
Judge: Amy Zimmer
Amy Zimmer is the Bureau Chief for Chalkbeat New York. She is an award-winning journalist who previously covered education for the New York news site DNAinfo. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Metro newspaper, and City Limits, among other outlets. Her book, “Meet Miss Subways,” focused on one of the nation’s first integrated beauty contests. Amy received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Yale and has a master’s in journalism from New York University. She got her start in journalism writing for The Beacon, the student newspaper at Forest Hills High School in Queens.
New Newspaper First Place Winner
Anastacia Vidot’s piece in the Bronx River News, “Finding the right balance in a home filled with tempting food,” takes readers on a journey into the writer’s life as she recounts her complicated relationship with food and her weight. She invites readers in by using vivid language and choosing her details carefully. Though the piece isn’t long, what she shares often speaks volumes — she touches briefly on her parents’ breakup, having to move in with her uncle, and having access to more food than she’d had in months. She charts her evolution with exercise and motivation in a way that felt authentic and hard-earned. The story ends on an uplifting note, and in doing so may inspire her classmates to make healthy choices, too.
New Newspaper Second Place Winner
Rukhmah Nauman’s piece in the QSInquirer, “What does the hijab mean to you?,” is a thoughtful exploration of her own feelings about being a hijabi and also nicely captures the voices of other Muslim classmates who do or do not wear a hijab. Rukhmah succinctly explains the religious underpinnings of the head covering and deftly shows how nuanced and personal the decision to wear a hijab can be for young Muslim women like herself. By incorporating her own views and that of others, her piece feels resonant.
Citywide First Place Winner
Sophia Dasser’s Spectator piece, “Muslim Girls Against Co-Ed Swim Gym,” dives deep into a school issue that is adversely affecting a group of students in consequential ways. As Stuyvesant recently brought back mandatory swimming, it ditched its girls-only swim classes, which is a problem for some Muslim girls concerned about modesty. Sophia explains that Muslim students were not part of the discussions around dropping the single-sex swim classes, and she makes a strong case that their voices should have been included. Sophia writes from her own perspective as a hijabi and also spoke to other students about their experiences. She also asks her fellow students to speak out about this, regardless of whether they are personally affected, hoping her call to action will have an impact on school policy.
Citywide Second Place Winner
Inessa Tchistova’s piece in Columbia Secondary School’s paper on “The other side of grades: Creating personal meaning behind your report card,” offers a thought-provoking look at finding joy for learning and a surprising silver lining for her experience during remote schooling. (She acknowledges that was feasible because she had a safe place to learn.) Her piece speaks directly to her peers in a kind of knowing and conversational way that draws us in and invites readers to respond to her musings. The topic feels timely and relevant. It was also great to see that the paper invited students to react to the essay with a discussion on grades.
Citywide Honorable Mention
In her opinion piece in The Classic, “Busing issues deprive students with IEPs from equal access to the educational opportunities at THHS,” Maisha Rahman makes a case: She is being shut out from certain opportunities at Townsend Harris because of how the city is fulfilling her mandate for a yellow school bus on her Individualized Education Program. She has taken her personal experience to illuminate an injustice that she is experiencing — and she wants things to change so others won’t experience what she’s going through.
General thoughts:
Writing a strong opinion piece can be a challenge. For some kinds of opinion pieces, you need to do legwork and reporting and then figure out how to weave that into whatever case you’re making about a particular issue. Others are rooted in personal experience, and should connect the dots on how an author’s experience speaks to a larger issue.
Opinion pieces should be relevant to your readers. They might have a call to action or offer up solutions — whether it’s a change in policy or changing a reader’s outlook on an issue.
Though opinion pieces don’t have to be rooted in an author’s personal experience, having a personal hook can sometimes make a piece much stronger. And having a distinct style and voice tends to be important in opinion pieces. That’s what can grab your reader’s attention and make the piece feel different than more traditional reporting.
Photojournalism
Judge Adi Talwar
Adi Talwar is an award-winning New York City based photojournalist with a background in design, engineering and art. For over a decade, Adi’s photography has centered around civic issues, communities and individuals. He is a regular contributor to CityLimits.org. Adi has also been published in the Norwood News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, WNYC, MetroFocus, and Gothamist, to name a few. Over the years, Adi has participated in solo and group exhibitions. Adi was a BRIO (Bronx Recognizes its Own) recipient in 2020.
First Place Citywide Winner
Kai Kwo of Curtis High School.
Kai Kwo skillfully used available light and shadow to capture the joy of students coming together for homecoming. Our eyes instinctively gravitate toward the brightest elements in the photograph, then, we journey through the image, taking in expressions and other details. Each time we look at the photograph, we discover more. Kai Kwo’s photograph demonstrates that shadows, just like light, play an important role in capturing the essence of a moment.
Thank you to all who participated in this year’s photojournalism competition. Here’s some feedback:
1. Make Photographs, Not Take Photographs: Be deliberate about what you include in your frame and what you exclude. Fill your frame. Instead of relying on zoom, use your feet.
2. Embrace Experimentation: Get to know your camera well. Experiment with different settings, angles, and compositions. It’s okay to make mistakes.
3. Guidelines Matter: When submitting entries for a competition, adhere closely to the guidelines provided. If unclear, don’t be shy to ask for clarification. This will serve you well in life as a whole.
School/Local Community News
Judge: Jere Hester
Jere Hester is the director of projects and partnerships at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He most recently served as the founding editor-in-chief of The City, an award-winning nonprofit news site that serves New Yorkers through hard-hitting journalism. Prior roles include founding director of the award-winning NY City News Service, New York Daily News city editor, and editor of Downtown Express. His byline has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, CNN, NBC News, and other outlets. Hester, the author of “Raising a Beatle Baby,” is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn.
New Newspaper First Place Winner:
Queens School of Inquiry, “QSI’s Girls’ Bathroom Doesn’t Measure Up,” Justine Barrera, QSInquirer
Reporter Justine Barrera of the QSInquirer lived up to her news outlet’s name by producing a standout story that began with two great questions: Why is the girls’ bathroom at the Queens School of Inquiry dirtier and in worse repair than others in the multi-school campus? And where are the required feminine hygiene products? Her story, complete with interviews and telling pictures, revealed inequities and challenged administrators to make fixes and changes.
New Newspaper Second Place Winner:
Pace High School, “Aging Gym Poses Disadvantage to Student Athletes,” Carolyn Taveras and Ramata Diop, Pacer NYC
The huge rainstorm that slammed the city in late September hit the already battered basement gym at Pace High School hard. Reporters Carolyn Taveras and Ramata Diop shined a spotlight on damaged floors and other woes that have hindered school athletics while pointing out potentially dangerous conditions. The duo’s story put the ball in the administrators court to take action.
Citywide First Place Winner:
Queens School of Inquiry, “QSI’s Girls’ Bathroom Doesn’t Measure Up,” Justine Barrera, QSInquirer
(SEE BLURB ABOVE)
Citywide Second Place Winner:
Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, “Closing of the Library Raises Concerns,” Gillian Acker and Brid Smyth, The Bennett
When administrators at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts announced plans to close the school’s library for a year to create space for test-taking, reporters Gillian Acker and Brid Smyth sprung into action. Their story not only gives voice to student concerns about the loss of library use, but also notes that the school’s move violates state regulations.
Remarks for the Category
The strongest of an impressive crop of entries start with reporters observing what’s happening in their school community — and then following a trail blazed by their own curiosity, along with the experiences of their fellow students and other stakeholders.
Some general suggestions: Interview as many people as possible across the school community. The more you ask, the more you’ll learn — and the better you’ll be able to represent potentially varying viewpoints. Don’t hesitate to keep pushing and digging — when you’re stymied by administrators, that probably means you’re on to something they might rather not see published. And while pointing out problems is one path to getting action, try coupling that with giving voice to proposed solutions.
Overall, it’s great to see so many stories that serve readers by connecting them to their community, while offering information and insight. That’s what good local journalism is all about.
Sports Writing
Judge: Peter Sblendorio
Peter Sblendorio is a sports reporter for the New York Daily News, where has worked since 2015 and covers MLB, the NBA, college basketball and more. Peter previously served as the Daily News’ Senior Film Writer, covering movie releases, festivals and award shows. Peter is a Dallas native and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Sports Writing First Place Winner:
Brooklyn Technical High School, “Boys Cross Country Team Makes History,” Jacob Tobman, The Survey
Through clean writing and detail, Jacob captures the lengths different members of the Brooklyn Tech cross country team went to in this thorough yet easily digestible feature.
Sports Writing Second Place Winner and First Place in the New Newspaper Category
Queens School of Inquiry, “New PSAL rule makes sports more accessible,” Julia Leopando and Kelly Orzuna, Queens School of Inquiry
Julia and Kelly’s reporting puts faces to both sides of a nuanced topic. Objectively weighing the pros and cons of student-athletes competing at different schools raises awareness while allowing readers to consider its context.
Remarks for the Category
Whether they were covering championships or controversies, reporters in this group were at their best when speaking with multiple sources to tell a well-rounded story.
Sports journalism is about so much more than in-game Xs and Os. Finding compelling stories about individual athletes brings a human element to the coverage that really resonates with readers. Putting games or moments into context — by telling us why these games and moments are important — is what makes a reporter a trusted authority.
Anecdotes are a powerful way to open a story and hook readers. Just make sure it’s the right anecdote, as forcing one that doesn’t quite fit can be counterproductive.
Continue to look for stories in unexpected places and keep up the great work.
Best Online Newspaper
Judges: Katie Honan and Gisele Regatão
Katie Honan is a senior reporter at THE CITY, a non-profit news site in New York City, and a co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast. She previously was the City Hall reporter at The Wall Street Journal, covered Queens neighborhoods for DNAinfo, and was a social media and web editor at NBC 4 New York. At THE CITY, her reporting has uncovered previously unknown circumstances surrounding Barry the owl’s death, a change in the city’s treatment of runaway youth, and a plan for the NYPD to use drones to help potential drowning victims. She has won multiple journalism awards, including for her coverage of superstorm Sandy, of the pandemic, and Amazon’s failed bid to move to New York City.
Gisele Regatão is an associate professor of journalism at Baruch College. Before that, she was an executive producer and editor for WNYC and KCRW. In the past years, she has covered Venezuelan migrants in New York, Ecuador and Brazil for The World, produced and directed the fiction podcast series a hit dog will holler, and has reported on several issues, including the cult of Columbus on monuments, the hidden story of a fake art scheme, how campaigns fail to get Latinos to vote and why accents are a taboo in broadcast media.
New Newspaper First Place Winner:
Martin Van Buren High School, The Bee-Hive
For its inaugural issue, The Bee-Hive made the bold move of focusing on a single topic that has been affecting a growing number of teenagers: mental health. The result is an impressive collection of essays and interviews with students that tackle different aspects of the issue, from the role of social media, to the impact of the conflict in Gaza and of breaking news in general. There are several articles specifically looking at mental health in sports, with stories about how athletes deal with it, and winning versus losing. The presentation is also dynamic and fun – it includes photos, illustrations and video.
New Newspaper Second Place Winner:
Queens School of Inquiry, QSInquirer
The QSInquirer stands out for presenting reported stories on a variety of relevant topics, including cell phone policy, AP classes, metal detectors, climate change and cultural reviews. The site makes good use of multimedia with stories like a video feature interviewing students and teachers about how they were affected by the recent floods in New York. Sports fans can check the school’s scores easily on rotating banners on the front page.
Best Online Newspaper Citywide
Brooklyn Tech High School, The Survey
Their site has stories and opinion pieces that are important to students, like a piece about metal detectors and the sad goodbye to long-standing vending machines. They also wrote features about sleep deprivation, the gender gap in the software industry, and problems with ID cards. The opinion pieces were also through, including one about field trips and equity on extracurriculars.
Citywide Second Place Winner
Pace High School, The Pacer
The Pace High School reporters published newsworthy and important stories like water tests conducted at the school, as well as a story reflecting on the lack of diversity within the school’s faculty. The Pacer also published stories about changes to financial aid for those applying to college and features about Valentine’s Day and current movies. The opinion pieces were also interesting and important to students.
Remarks for the Category: We were impressed by the range of topics covered by these publications, and also by the fact that many tackled controversial and hot-button issues. It was particularly fun to see how many sites are presenting multimedia elements with video and audio stories.
