The NSPA Pacemaker Fall 2012

THE PACEMAKER
Recognizing excellence in student media since 1927.

JEA/NSPA San Antonio Convention • Nov. 17, 2012

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION
Logan Aimone, Executive Director

This presentation is available at slideshare.net/loganaimone
and permission is given for educational use.

Wednesday, November 14, 12

INTRODUCTION
The Pacemaker is the highest honor
in scholastic journalism. For decades, it has
recognized trend-setters and go-getters, effort
and enterprise, achievement and talent.

Today, the Pacemaker continues to recognize
the best student journalism in the nation.


KEEP IN MIND…
The images seen in this presentation are
Newspaper Pacemaker Finalists from the 2011-12
academic year plus 2011 yearbooks and magazines.

Newspaper winners will be announced
at Saturday’s awards ceremony.

Inclusion of a publication in this presentation
does not indicate status as a winner.
Do not read anything into whether
an example was included here.


WHO’S JUDGING?
Pacemaker judges are professionals working in media as
well as a range of experts familiar with student media.

Judges for the 2011-12 NSPA Pacemakers included
working professionals, veteran advisers,
and teams from the Alaska Quarterly Review
and The Sacramento Bee


WHO’S JUDGING?
Judging is by team. We ask the media organization to
compile a group with representation from various
departments (writer, editor, designer, photographer, etc.).

Entries are judged holistically. There is not a rubric with
points attached to certain criteria.

Judging is by nature somewhat subjective based on
established standards of scholastic journalism.


HOW DO THEY JUDGE?
• The number of Pacemaker finalists and winners is
proportional to the number of entries.

• The number is not fixed each year, but about half of the
finalists will be named winners.

• This is a contest, not a critique.

• NSPA asks judges to provide general feedback on the finalists.
Some teams are more thorough. Comments will be shared on
our website as part of the winners gallery and in our book,
Best of the High School Press.


WHAT DO THEY JUDGE?
• Content

• Quality of writing and editing
• Presentation: Layout and design
• Photography, art and graphics
• Reporting: Type and depth (newspaper)
• Editorial Leadership (newspaper)
• Overall concept or theme (yearbook, magazine)


CONTENT & COVERAGE
• The publication should accurately reﬂect all aspects of student
life, from academics to sports, arts to community news.

• Newspapers should localize national or regional stories for
their own campus communities. Wire or reprinted copy is
discouraged.


CONTENT & COVERAGE
Localize! Top stories here are
presented to show the impact
on the campus and its
students. Additionally, display
text is used to convey
information and entice the
reader to enter the lead.

The Oarsman
Venice HS
Los Angeles


CONTENT & COVERAGE
A variety of trend stories and
school news pieces connect
readers with the world
beyond the campus. Quick
reads highlight news in brief.

The Broadview
Convent of the Sacred Heart HS
San Francisco


CONTENT & COVERAGE
A full-page story is a big risk,
but this topic has impact. It
tells the story of a former
student now incarcerated.
Among the fundamental
purposes of the newspaper is
to educate the reader.

Evanstonian
Evanston Township HS
Evanston, Ill.


CONTENT & COVERAGE
A newsmagazine has the
opportunity to dedicate
multiple pages to one topic
— in this case $1.2 million in
wasted school funds.

The Muse
Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Fla.


CONTENT & COVERAGE
Cover the stories in a way
that matters to your readers.
In this case, the impact of a
SAT rule change is explained.
The students at this Jewish
school take the SAT on
Sunday rather than the
traditional Saturday.

The Boiling Point
Shalhevet HS
Los Angeles


Fentonian
Fenton HS
Fenton, Mich.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Story, images and student quotes combine to
cover the start-of-school activities.

Lair
Shawnee Mission
Northwest HS
Shawnee, Kan.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Depth coverage about relationships and religion
also has a place in the yearbook.

Teresian
St. Teresa’s Academy
Kansas City

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Cheating? At a private school? This book portrays
the year truthfully and as it really happened.

WRITING & REPORTING
• Writing should be crisp. Reporting must be thorough.

• Copy should be clean and edited for consistent style.

• Look at NSPA Story of the Year winners for examples of
excellence:
http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/winners/story12.html


PRESENTATION:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
• The publication should have a clean and contemporary look.

• Visual hierarchy is established.


PRESENTATION
A textbook example of
modular layout with multiple
entry points for the reader.
The page demonstrates a
clear hierarchy — emphasized
by the ﬂag along the rail.
Color discipline is also evident
here.

The Lowell
Lowell HS
San Francisco


PRESENTATION
Another strong textbook
example of modular layout.
This one adheres to a grid but
breaks the rules in a couple of
places. Initial letters to begin
the stories help guide the
reader’s eye to the leads.

The Rock
Rock Bridge HS
Columbia, Mo.


PRESENTATION
A strong illustrative visual is
used effectively to convey the
story about rising gas prices.
The page offers multiple
points of entry for the reader.

tjTODAY
Thomas Jefferson HS
Alexandria, Va.


PRESENTATION
With a nod to traditional
design, this page looks toward
a new direction and blazes a
trail. This paper manages to
simultaneously balance both
traditional and contemporary
looks — successfully.

The Marshﬁeld Times
Marshﬁeld HS
Coos Bay, Ore.


PRESENTATION
White space has impact.

The boxed story and bold,
simple headline set the
appropriate tone for a story
on bullying.

The Little Hawk
Iowa City HS
Iowa City, Iowa


Agromeck
North Carolina
State University
Raleigh, N.C.

PRESENTATION
This spread about state fair food could be in any
type of print media. And, it serves the reader.

Laconian
Salem HS
Salem, Va.

PRESENTATION
Event coverage is grouped in modules. Type is
contemporary, as are tight crops.

Stampede
J.W. Mitchell HS
New Port Richey, Fla.

LAYOUT & DESIGN
Traditional layout still works, and here it’s tweaked
just enough to make it contemporary and fresh.

PHOTOGRAPHY,
ART & GRAPHICS
• Visuals enhance the verbal content and draw in the reader.

• Quality of photos and art is technically excellent.


PHOTO, ART & GRAPHICS
A large, tightly cropped
dominant photo above the
fold has impact on the page
and conveys the emotion of
the story it accompanies.
Other images on the page
support the storytelling.

Granite Bay Gazette
Granite Bay HS
Granite Bay, Calif.


A clever use of Photoshop
can take a challenging story
and communicate the idea
simply and with few, if any,
words.

The Communicator
Community HS
Ann Arbor, Mich.


Reversed text and simple
graphic tell the story well in
this cover illustration. Text is
handled subtly and is placed
to the edges to allow the
image room for impact.

El Estoque
Monta Vista HS
Cupertino, Calif.


A powerful image, technically
excellent and cropped well
should be the goal of every
media staff. Dominant and
secondary images work
together to coordinate
storytelling. Note the overall
appearance that evokes a
website.

The Southerner
Grady HS
Atlanta


Clever cover illustrations are
essential in newsmagazine
design as they must convey a
large topic and not a single
news event. The “DIY” testing
concept is illustrated with a
hand-folded piece of origami
from a Scantron sheet, the
quintessential symbol of
standardized testing.

HiLine
Carmel HS
Carmel, Ind.


Teleios
Mount Paran
Christian School
Kennesaw, Ga.

PHOTOGRAPHY, ART & GRAPHICS
Text bubbles (repeated throughout), vertical text,
halftone screens. It’s all very trendy.

Aerie
Brentwood School
Los Angeles, Calif.

Photo from unusual angle + graphic effects = a
very dynamic spread.

Marksmen
St. Mark’s School
of Texas
Dallas, Texas

The whole book is clean and understated. This
environmental portrait sets a tone, too.

Legend
Boone HS
Orlando, Fla.

Traditional layout gets kicked up a notch with a
retro-cool two-tone screen in the upper left.

REPORTING:
TYPE & DEPTH
• Major stories should show evidence of multiple sources.

• Series or in-depth pieces should be prominent.


REPORTING
Enterprising news dominates
Page One with stories about
college tuition, student
government budget and
educational facilities.

The Hub
Davis HS
Davis, Calif.


REPORTING
Page One features stories that
affect readers: the rise of bus
fare and credit recovery
options for students. A rail of
quick-read stories helps get
more news on the page.

The Stagg Line
A.A. Stagg HS
Stockton, Calif.


REPORTING
Exposing students to ideas
and stories outside their high
school world is a role of the
student press. The Urban
Legend brings the schools
mission into focus with this
story about connecting
students with global
educational experiences.

The Urban Legend
The Urban School of San Francisco
San Francisco


REPORTING
Tackling an issue that is
commonly known but rarely
reported, the Highlights staff
prominently puts plagiarism
front and center.

Highlights
Beverly Hills HS
Beverly Hills, Calif.


EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
• Opinion pages should be alive with a variety of content: staff
editorials, cartoons, letters and personal columns.

• Content should be consequential.


In addition to the strong
coverage of the issue of
parenting, what stands out
here is the teaser for the staff
editorial — the thesis is
presented on Page One with
the full story teased inside.
That’s innovative and gives
prominence to the staff ’s
view.

2011 WINNER
The Standard
The American School in London
London, England

A pro-con piece is presented
well. In this case, the topic is
relevant and has two distinct
viewpoints. Consider adding a
section where each student
writer offers rebuttal to the
other’s argument.

2011 WINNER
The Southerner
Henry W. Grady HS
Atlanta, Ga.

2010 WINNER
The Falconer
Torrey Pines HS
San Diego, Calif.

A variety of art (cartoons and illustrations) as well
as mugs break up these pages of text.

2010 WINNER
The Stagg Line
A.A. Stagg HS
Stockton, Calif.

A praise editorial is a nice change of pace. Many
student voices are evident.

CONCEPT / THEME
• Concept uniﬁes coverage and content.

• Theme is relevant to current year or issue and provides
structure for storytelling.


CONCEPT/THEME
Snapshots
Titanian
San Marino HS
San Marino, Calif.


Titanian
San Marino HS
San Marino, Calif.

CONCEPT/THEME
Visual continuity is extended inside. White borders
give the “snapshot” feel.

CONCEPT/THEME
Where amazing
happens
Details
Whitney HS
Rocklin, Calif.


Details
Whitney HS
Rocklin, Calif.

CONCEPT/THEME
Type and color is on trend. A “5W’s” idea of
“what” and “who” extends the theme.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Does your publication provide a sense of place?

• When reading the publication, does the reader learn about
the campus, the culture, the students and faculty?

• Or, does the coverage feel generic?


• Does the work feel contemporary?

• The publication ought to look like it was produced this year.

• Don’t start over each year, but the type and graphics need
to evolve.

• Look to trend-setting magazines, advertisements and other
current printed materials for inspiration.


• Do the stories matter?

• Place the stories in context for the reader.

• Set the agenda through investigations and enterprise pieces.

• Localize regional, national and international stories. Focus on
the campus.


SOME WAYS TO IMPROVE
• Work on the content. Dig around your campus and
community for real stories. Don’t overplay or sensationalize.
Cover all aspects and all groups.

• Pay attention to photography and graphics.
These two areas help your publication stand out from others.
Think of the best way to tell a story for readers to read and
understand.


• Details make the difference. Typography, white space,
style — these are what set Pacemakers apart.

• Have a strong editorial voice. Make the editorial
pages a lively forum on substantive topics.


• Make every story polished. Write tight. Readers will
read long if it’s good. Put columnists on a word count diet.

• Take your own photos or use common works.
Find images to use under a Creative Commons license or
similar permission to use. Attribute correctly. WikiCommons
and Flickr both have free images.


• Consider the alternatives. Look to alternate story
forms in addition to the traditional story or copy block. Not
only will your content attract more readers, the stories that
need traditional treatment will stand out, too.

• Don’t just copy the leaders. They aren’t copying you.
They’re ﬁnding a new and innovative ways to present
information. They’re setting the pace.


WHAT’S NEXT?
The 2012 Pacemaker winners
will be announced Saturday afternoon.

Enter your student media in the 2012-13 contests.
Watch your email and our website
for deadlines and entry forms.


QUESTIONS?

Thanks!

E-mail: logan@studentpress.org
Online: slideshare.net/loganaimone


The NSPA Pacemaker Fall 2012

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The NSPA Pacemaker Fall 2012