The National Scholastic Press Association announced Metea Media as a finalist for the Online Pacemaker Award last Thursday. Known as the “Pulitzer Prize of scholastic journalism,” the Pacemaker is presented every year at the NSPA National Convention, with this year’s convention to be held in Seattle, Washington from April 6-9. Winners are determined by a multitude of criteria, such as coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography, and graphics.
Metea Media is a critical part of the school’s community, reporting not only what goes on at school, but also what happens in the outside world as well. The staff covers topics ranging from presidential elections and pop culture to school board forums and musical concerts. “They really give the students a glimpse of what real world journalism looks like,” Principal Darrell Echols said.
“Metea Media is a mouthpiece for students who may not feel as though they have a voice here.”
Editor-in-Chief Brianna Powell
Editor-In-Chief Brianna Powell also believes that the impact of journalism on the community is important. “Metea Media is not only the source of news at Metea, but it’s also a mouthpiece for students who may not feel as though they have a voice here. It’s also a place for discussion which is a powerful thing to be a part of and to contribute to,” Powell said.
Layout and Design editor, Megan Arnold, renovated the website this year to achieve a new standard that contributed to the overall quality of the content produced by the staff.
“A lot of the time people will really only look at the visual and headline and that’s all they see, so it’s important that everything looks good,” Arnold said.
There’s been a lot of rethinking when it came to the extent the website reached. Not only was the layout and design aspect altered, but the amount of content also increased.
“We’ve begun to do things with our website that we never deemed possible at first. [But] I’m only worth as much as all the graphic designers, writers, and photographers who contribute [to Metea Media]. I can’t do what I do without what they do,” online editor Prashant Shankar said.
Overall, this year has proven to be very successful for the journalism team. “I’m really proud to be leading a staff that has achieved the caliber of work we’ve been able to achieve this year. The website is not just one person or a team of people contributing, it’s the entire staff. We all have a hand in the success,” Powell said.
