McCormick Recognizes Next Generation of Student Journalists

More than 300 student journalists from around the city were rewarded for outstanding work at their high school media outlets by the McCormick Foundation and the Scholastic Press Association of Chicago on March 16.

The event, held at Roosevelt University and the Chicago Cultural Center, included a series of awards to the teens and their respective print and online newspapers. Among the awards were the winner for overall layout, overall newspaper, community story, entertainment story and Journalist of the Year, which came with a $1,500 scholarship.

The 20^th annual ceremony also included workshops by professional journalists on issues such as hyperlocal reporting, newspaper design and generating story ideas. A workshop by Maura Hernandez of the Chicago Tribune highlighted the use of various digital tools, such as networking social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Storify, to enhance articles. Another presentation, by Dean Miller of Stony Brook University, delved into ways in which news literacy fosters a more engaged and discerning citizenry.

A full list of the award winners can be found here.

Congratulations to all of the participating schools and journalists, including Diana Rosen of Whitney Young who won the award for Journalist of the Year.

Check out video from the event featuring some of the student participants:

For more information on other Scholastic Press Association events, visit: http://spac-chicago.blogspot.com/

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Chicago High School Teachers: Apply Now to Join the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative

A McCormick Foundation-funded project can help your high school reporters create a comprehensive media package that will address and critically analyze a topic of great interest to teen readers.Teachers will select the topic prior to the 2012-13 school year and student journalists will produce a print, broadcast or digital report that analyzes the topic and how it impacts their audiences.

The project is open to 12 Chicago-area high schools. Teachers will attend an in-service prior to the 2012-2013 school year to learn how to apply news literacy to their journalism curriculum. Regular interaction between the student journalists is included in this program.

During this one-year collaboration, journalism and media advisers from across the city and suburbs – print and broadcast alike - will decide on the timely topic to cover. Participating journalism programs will go about their usual reporting, but also produce a special report on the topic chosen by the group. Stories will be due in early 2013 and compiled on a dedicated website and disseminated to mainstream news organization partners.


This project is coordinated by the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative, which supports and promotes journalism education through advocacy, outreach and resources. Letters of application should be sent to the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative at MidwestJEI@gmail.com by April 30, 2012.


Download the flyer and application instructions>

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Youth Environmental Journalism Workshop

This Friday, more than 200 Chicago-area high school students will gather for a day of learning about urban environmental issues and how to report and write about issues such as:

• Food Deserts and Human Health
• Greening African-American Communities
• Environmental Justice and Public Health
• How Cities can Advance Environmental goals
• Water Conservation
• Issues in Environmental Journalism
• Eliminating Lead and Other Toxic Metals in the Environment

The event, hosted by Columbia College Chicago's Journalism Department and the Chicago Botanic Garden will feature workshops and some of the area’s top experts and journalists, including Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune. The conference will also showcase the work of:  

• Chicago's Free Spirit Media, a media production company for urban teens and a member of the Chicago Youth Voices Network 
• The work of Marisol Becerra, including the"The Cloud Factory," a documentary on the dangerous pollution in the Little Village neighborhood,

Stay tuned for our coverage of the event on Friday, February 18, 2011.  Download the event poster for more information.

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Wanted: Chicago’s Best High School Journalists

The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago and the McCormick Foundation are teaming up once again to honor Chicago’s best high school journalists. The annual journalism workshop and awards ceremony will be held on April 15, 2011 at the Chicago Cultural Center. Register now and submit your students’ entries for a chance to compete in dozens of categories. The top student journalists will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Applications are due on Feb. 19. For registration information on The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago /McCormick Foundation High Schools Media Awards , visit http://spac-chicago.blogspot.com/

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