Maine South newspaper wins honors for web journalism

During a year with an immense amount of change, student journalists on Southwords, Maine South High School's school newspaper, turned to web journalism to continue to share commentary, features, entertainment, and sports coverage with the community - and their efforts didn't go unnoticed.

Prior to the 2020-21 school year, Southwords has always been a print publication. However, despite never producing online content before, the group's dedication and resilience was recognized with a Bronze Certificate from the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association in the web journalism category.

Some students also earned individual awards from NISPA, including:

• Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Journalism (highest distinction): Lilli Bresnahan for news writing and Ana Zrnic for cartooning

• Honorable Mention Award for Excellence in Journalism: Isabel Gibson for graphics, Maura O'Driscoll for sports writing, Emma Crosson for photography, the Editorial Staff for editorial writing and John Biagi for breaking news

Additionally, Southwords was one of three news magazines in the Midwest to earn All-KEMPA honors from the Kettle Moraine Press Association. KEMPA is a group of students, retired advisers, and members of the press located at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. They work to support journalism in Wisconsin and Illinois schools through conferences, workshops, competitions and scholarships.

The publication also received a First Class rating with a Mark of Distinction (for coverage and content) from the National Scholastic Press Association.

The student journalists earned a Gold Medalist Certificate from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and a Certificate of Merit (fourth place in the country) for editorial page design.

CSPA is an international student press association that works on uniting student journalists and their advisers through educational conferences, idea trading, and award programs.

Graduate Jennifer Nikolic also earned a Certificate of Merit for her cartoon portfolio.