The Indiana High School Journalist of the Year is selected from digital portfolios submitted to IHSPA that best meets the requirements set forth by the Journalism Education Association. Entries are accepted until end of the day Jan. 15 and must be submitted using this application. The winner earns a $1,000 scholarship from IHSPA and up to three finalists are awarded $250. The Hoosier journalist of the year is automatically entered in the JEA competition, where the national runners-up and winner are recognized during the spring national convention.
REQUIREMENTS
Students must meet these requirements to be eligible for journalist of the year:
• Applicant’s adviser must be a current IHSPA and JEA member.
• Applicant is a senior.
• Applicant has participated in student media for a minimum of two years.
GUIDELINES
1. Applicants should complete the online application. Before completing, please review the following:
• Have a URL for your online portfolio showing your work examples.
• Students should produce their personal narrative and résumé somewhere else (i.e. Word Document, Google Doc), and convert their transcript and three letters of recommendation to PDFs. The personal narrative is the only supplemental document that can be a part of the online portfolio. The résumé, transcript and letters of recommendation CANNOT be published online and must be submitted with the IHSPA application or emailed to ihspa@franklincollege.edu.
2. The online portfolio is constructed with examples of journalistic works and organized by the categories outlined on the scoring rubric:
• Reporting and Writing
• Editing, Leadership and Team Building
• Design
• Broadcast Journalism
• Photojournalism
• Web and Social Media
• Law, Ethics and News Literacy
• Marketing and Audience Engagement
• Commitment to Diversity (Note: Work in this area can also be embedded in other categories in lieu of creating a dedicated category in the portfolio)
3. Each artifact within the portfolio should be accompanied by a clear, concise revealing reflection that outlines the following:
• If published, the evidence of usage/publication of example should the candidate see it fit to include
• If entered in any contest, how the work example placed if applicable
• An explanation/reasoning for each example. The explanation/reasoning includes the applicant’s explanation about the specific assignment. Include any difficulties encountered with the assignment and special circumstances affecting it. Explanation should typically be less than 100 words in length, easy to read and detail why this entry is important and was chosen for the portfolio.
IHSPA RESOURCES
• Journalist of the Year application
• Portfolio rubric/requirements
JEA RESOURCES
• Guidelines
• Candidate Toolkit
PAST WINNERS
1994 — Lindsey Cohn, Riley HS
1995 — Jeff Carroll, Griffith HS
1996 — Bart Jones, Avon HS
1997 — Liz Perros, Columbus North HS
1998 — Lisa Schubert, Lawrence Central HS
1999 — Sarah Greiner, Muncie Central HS
2000 — Sarah Miller, Greenwood Community HS
2001 — George Srour, North Central HS*
2002 — Caleb Beasley, Muncie Central HS
2003 — Ashley Gross, Connersville HS**
2004 — Chelsea Schneider, Warren Central HS**
2005 — Janna Brancolini, Bloomington HS North
2005 — Dr. Steven Goeglein, Lawrence North HS
2006 — Luke Beasely, Muncie Central HS
2007 — Connor Swarbrick, North Central HS
2008 — David Ong, North Central HS
2009 — Aliya Mood, Bloomington HS North**
2010 — Sean Jordan, Lawrence Central HS
2011 — Victoria Ison, Bloomington HS North*
2012 — Beatriz Costa-Lima, Munster HS**
2013 — Micheala Sosby, Chesterton HS**
2014 — Carley Lanich, Lawrence Central HS**
2015 — Alaa Abdeldaiem, Crown Point HS
2016 — Lydia Gerike, Portage HS
2017 — Adam McGoff, North Central HS
2018 — Andrew Tapp, Southport HS
2019 — Madelyn Knight, Southport HS
2020 — Nathan Miller, Avon HS
2021 — Natalie Rowland, Lawrence North HS
2022 — Atarah Israel, Munster HS
2023 — Chris Gloff, Crown Point HS
2024 — Salsabil Qaddoura, North Central HS
2025 — Ava Campbell, Southport HS
2026 — Kelton O’Connell, Bloomington HS North
*National Journalist of the Year Winner
*National Student Journalist of the Year Runner-Up
Questions: ihspa@franklincollege.edu
