By Zella Milfred for The Lance
For the first time in its history, The Lance won top journalism awards from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA). Our Writing for the Media class submitted work into their High School Better Newspaper Contest, and is thrilled to announce that we placed in every category that we participated in. The Lance finished second place for the General Excellence award, and was additionally awarded with first place for individual Feature Story and second place for individual Editorial Writing.
This annual competition receives entries from schools all across the state, so winning an award at this level is certainly something to be proud of. “I knew the kids wrote well, I knew the paper looked nice but I had no idea we would get three awards! I was excited for the kids!” said Donna Kennedy, who has advised The Lance for 12 years. The General Excellence competition recognizes the excellence of a newspaper as a whole. It judges on quality of writing, depth of news coverage, relevance of editorial page, and the overall appearance in layout and design of the newspaper. In submitting, the class was especially excited to show off their new sports cover on the back, which provides an additional entry for our readers.
The individual feature story submitted by Editor-in-Chief Zella Milfred (11) is about LHS alum Savion Castro now a member of the Madison School Board. Judges called it a “very interesting profile” and “well done”. This story shined a spotlight on a La Follette graduate, who is now using what he learned in high school to better our community and help youth find their democratic voice.
The individual editorial submitted by Assistant Editor Tziah McNair (11) was about the existence of white privilege. In this story she delves into today’s racism and the white privilege that exists in employment, law enforcement, sports, and everyday life. Judges commented that this was an “excellent topic” that incorporated “clear, compelling writing”.
Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Student Honors Luncheon scheduled for March 20th in Pewaukee was postponed, so awards will be sent in the mail.
To create a successful publication it takes the hard work of every single reporter. Hitting strict deadlines can be stressful, but is vital in completing an issue, and teaches important time management skills to staff. We learn how to plan, interview, research, write, edit, and publish articles in many different topics to ensure that there is a student voice here at LHS. Our focus on current events teaches us to be mindful of the world around us.
Our class is filled with many discussions, maybe sometimes a little too much chit chat, which truly brings us together as a family. Our success in these awards reflects the dedication and creativity that exists in our workspace. We hope that The Lance continues to receive the resources and support that it needs from the school to continue investigating, writing, and publishing quality work for many more years to come. Congratulations everyone!
To view the original article as it appears in the June 2020 publication of The Lance, please visit: https://lafollette.madison.k12.wi.us/files/lafollette/uploads/may_june_2020_lance_newspaper.pdf