​6ABC Action News Philadelphia

Local student wins national journalism award​

 

 







































​Local high school students recognized for excellence in news and television programs

By CARMEN LOPEZ

Carmen.Lopez@patch.com

May 8, 2013

 

On Tuesday, May 7, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented ten awards to local high school students working to pursue their dreams of broadcast news. Now in its 11th year, the awards are intended to be an incentive for the pursuit of excellence in television journalism and focus public attention on outstanding achievements in television production by high school students. More than 100 students from high schools throughout the Mid-Atlantic region attended the event held at the Cure Club at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

"We are delighted to announce that we have winners representing Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware," said Tara Faccenda, Executive Director of NATAS. "Student entries more than doubled from last year, bringing in a total of 116 entries in nine categories from nearly two dozen high schools in the Greater Philadelphia region. We congratulate all of the participants for their hard work and exceptional talent."



Awards were presented to the students by local media professionals Brad Nau, NATAS President and Senior Executive Producer of Special Projects at Comcast SportsNet; and John Mussoni, NATAS Student Television Chair and Executive Producer of "First" for WHYY-TV. Awards were presented in nine categories, including Newscast, News/General Assignment, Arts and Entertainment/Cultural Affairs, Music Video, Long Form-Fiction/Nonfiction, Sports, Public Service/PSA, Talent and Writing. All entries were received online and judged by a mix of college educators and media professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region.



The Jerry Trently Prize, a $1,000 award given to the high school with excellence in newscast, was awarded to Ocean City High School in Cape May County, New Jersey. Named in honor of the award-winning, former photojournalist and news director at WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Trently passed away in 2006 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.



This year’s student television awards program also recognized the winner of the Young Producer’s Award, which awards a $1,500 college scholarship to a graduating senior in the Public Service Announcement category. Spencer Halsman, who currently attends Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, received the honor for his PSA entitled, "I’m Donating Blood Because..." Spencer will attend Penn State University in the fall. In addition to the Young Producer’s Award, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School also received the award for Long Form - Fiction/Non-Fiction. A complete list of winners can be found online at http://www.natasmid-atlantic.org/scholarship.php.

About NATAS Mid-Atlantic

Mid-Atlantic NATAS is a non-profit, professional association with 650 members in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware representing more than 32 television stations, numerous cable companies and programmers, as well as independent producers, production facilities and educational institutions. Please visit the website, www.natasmid-atlantic.org, for information about membership benefits and programs.



JEA names Pennsylvania student Jenna Spoont National High School Student Journalist of the Year

May 1, 2013



A proponent for the First Amendment, Jenna Spoont works to raise awareness of the liberties most Americans take for granted through her work as a student journalist at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pa., but her determination in getting to the facts in her writing earned her recognition from the Journalism Education Association’s Scholarship Committee when it selected her as the 2013 National High School Journalist of the Year.

The announcement was made April 27 during the awards ceremony at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco.

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Spoont will receive a $3,000 Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht Scholarship recognizing her outstanding work as a high school journalist.



“Being a journalist is about telling students and the community what they need to know,” Spoont said, adding that journalism is “undoubtedly the most interesting, ever-changing, unpredictable career.”



During her three years in the journalism classroom, Spoont has told stories about aspiring dancers, adopted families, hopeful immigrants, talented musicians and insominacs and earned the respect of another JOY recipient.

One article in the portfolio stood out. After completing research about the dangers of sexting, Spoont said she wanted to create the most accurate article she could about this pressing issue.



“If I could change one teenager’s decision of sending inappropriate images, then I would feel rewarded for serving my community,” she said.



“Great reporters must not only have the technical ability to create content on different platforms, but also the journalistic know-how to tell the stories, and Jenna has excellent journalistic instinct,” said Henry Rome, 2009 National High School Journalist of the Year and Conestoga High School alumnus.

Her tenacity in getting interviews with some powerful people earned Spoont respect from the 14-member judging committee.

This submission included work in print, radio and television, social media and included examples of her skills in graphics and print design.

Other comments from the judges included:
— “Your videography is an amazing complement to your writing. You are on the scene and get amazing interviews. Inspirational!”
— “You have a clear energy for writing about justice and fairness.”
— “Congrats on a professional and extensive portfolio.”

Spoont’s journalism advisers at Conestoga High School are Susan Houseman, MJE, and Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt, CJE.



“Jenna’s entry stood out to the judges because her design skills are excellent, her writing strengths were evident and the committee felt inspired by her determination and work ethic,” Wayna Polk, Scholarship Committee chair, said.

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Runners-up
JEA awarded six $1,000 runner-up scholarships to the following students:

• Kelci Davis, Francis Howell Central High School, St. Charles, Mo.
• Daniel J. Hersh, St. Mark’s School, Dallas, Texas
• Micheala Sosby, Chesterton (Ind.) High School
• Mehanaokala Lee, Kamehameha Schools Maui, Pukalani, Hawaii
• Evelyn Wang, Palo Alto (Calif.) High School
• Casey Waughn, MillardNorth High School, Omaha, Neb.

Conestoga senior wins top journalism honor

By BRENT GLASGOW

bglasgow@dailylocal.com

May 1, 2013

 

After years of hard work for Conestoga High School’s newspaper, The Spoke, senior Jenna Spoont is going out in style.



At last weekend’s Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association spring conference in San Francisco, Spoont was named 2013 National Student Journalist of the Year, receiving the honor and the accompanying $3,000 scholarship. Since the award’s creation in 1984, three Pennsylvania students have won, including Spoont and Conestoga graduate Henry Rome (2009).



Spoont found out about the honor just before 7 p.m. on Saturday, via a Facebook post from an advisor from 45 Words, a national student organization designed to support, protect and spread awareness of the First Amendment, of which Spoont is a member.



“It popped up on my phone and I scrolled to see what it was, and it had my name and the picture of my award,” said Spoont, the Spoke’s managing editor. “I just let out the loudest scream. It was an unbelievable feeling of excitement, happiness and achievement.”



To be considered for the award, Spoont had to craft an online portfolio focused on writing, design, photography/videography and multimedia. Spoont’s portfolio beat out a pool of students from 35 other states.



“I spent countless hours on it, every single day and weekend, just trying to perfect it,” Spoont said.



Of all the pieces she has written during her high school career, Spoont is most proud of one titled, “World Wide Watch,” which addressed sexting. The story won awards from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association and the Quill and Scroll Society.



“I found it really interesting and compelling to write, because it’s really a prevalent issue,” Spoont said. “It really was a public service article. If I changed just one student’s decision to send an inappropriate text, that was my goal.”



It was the kind of piece that defines what Spoont sees as journalism’s purpose.



“To me it’s about changing people’s lives, and teaching them about things that they might not know,” Spoont said. “That’s why I’m really passionate about journalism.”

Conestoga journalism advisors Susan Houseman and Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt both had high praise for Spoont.



“Jenna skyrocketed from reporter to managing editor,” Houseman said. “Because she approaches each story assignment, big or small, with the heart and hunger of a professional journalist, we recognized early that she would be an integral part of the newspaper staff and a main contributor to the publication’s success.”



Added Crothers-Hyatt, “Displaying confidence that is rare for a teenager, she has great passion for news and she is skilled as a reporter and storyteller. She also has a lot of grit and determination, willing to put in the extra hours and effort to fill out a story.”



Spoont, who will major in journalism at George Washington University, thanked Houseman and Crothers-Hyatt for their guiding influence.



“I can’t even say how much they’ve meant to me in my journalism experience,” Spoont said. “They have been there every step of the way. I owe everything to them and Conestoga for my success. Without the incredible program we have, this couldn’t have happened.”



Student Reporter Headed to "Story of Career"

By BOB BYRNE, Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch

Bob.Byrne@patch.com

January 18, 2013



Jenna Spoont knows how to go after a story. She's part of the award-winning Conestoga High School Spoke Newspaper staff and an on camera reporter for TETV.



This weekend she's heading to her dream assignment, covering  a presidential inaugural.



Spoont and two other Spoke staff members (the Editor-in Chief and the Business Manager) will be on Capitol Hill Monday to watch President Obama take the oath of office for a second term during a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony. Obama will take the official oath of office in the White House on Sunday, January 20 as prescribed by law.  It'll make an impressive credit on the high school senior's already impressive reporter resume which includes covering the presidential campaign of 2012.



She didn't wait for someone to assign this to her. Like any dogged reporter, Spoont went after the story. 

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"I applied on my own to get press credentials through different organizations, through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. I just found out a couple of days ago that I received the credentials."



"I'll be attending the Kids Inaugural Concert which will be featuring Alycia Keys, Usher, the Glee cast, a bunch of A-List names. I'll be going to the National Day of Service before the concert," Spoont tells TE Patch. "On Monday, I'll be in the crowd of people with my press pass along the National Mall."



So how big a deal is covering a Presidential Inaugural?



For the Conestoga senior "this is the pinnacle of my journalism career.. my high school journalism career" Spoont says. It's also the crescendo of covering the 2012 Presidential campaign. "I covered the Mitt Romney rally, Joe Biden's  speech in Philadelphia and now it's kind of cool to go together with the politics."



Jenna says "she's really proud to be representing The Spoke.  I think that we work so hard every day to put together a newspaper and this is definitely a great part of it, a great art of beig on The Spoke."



The Spoke has a long tradition of excellence and is widely regarded as one of the best studene newspapers in the nation. The paper was awarded a major prize, the Pacemaker Award, in 2012.



Jenna plans to tweet from the Obama Kids Inaugural Concert on Saturday and MLK Day of Service events on Sunday and the Mall on Monday as the President marks the beginning of his second and final term in office. Look for updates on her reporting assignment of a lifetime here on TE Patch.

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Conestoga students earn national award

By BRENT GLASGOW

bglasgow@dailylocal.com

Dec. 7, 2012

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When the editors of Conestoga High School’s student newspaper, The Spoke, traveled to the National School Press Association convention in San Antonio last month, they didn’t know what to expect.



By the time they left, their expectations had been exceeded, as The Spoke was awarded the Pacemaker, the highest honor given to high school papers.



“When they announced us, I actually jumped up and screamed,” Spoke Co-Editor in Chief Heather Ward said. “It was nice to know that all those late nights we’d put in, that someone else could see that and that we could make a difference.”



It was an honor that came after a bit of confusion and initial disappointment.



“There was another paper called The Spark, and they were announced before us,” Spoke Managing Editor Jenna Spoont said. “When they called their name, we all jumped because we thought it was us. Then when they called us, we were all so happy. Everything we’d worked for, that was the pinnacle, and we owe it to all those who were here before who taught us.”



In addition to the Pacemaker, The Spoke also was recognized for two of its stories. “Revealing a Religion,” a piece on a group of CHS Mormon students by Kelly Benning and 2012 graduate K.C. McConnell, took third place in the National Diversity Story of the Year category. The staff’s “Occupy Philly” piece placed third in National Multimedia Story of the Year.



As part of the convention, the editors participated in informational seminars and competed in write-off competitions, where more awards were earned. They also mingled with some of the 4,500 attendees from all over the country.

“The coolest thing is interacting with all of the people who share the same passion as you, and who might be having the same difficulties, whether they’re from Kansas, California or wherever,” Ward said.



The Spoke’s 40 student participants, who meet as part of a class, produce seven issues per school year, with 24 pages filled with up to 30 stories. “Some days it can be difficult making sure every single reporter knows what they’re doing and that they aren’t having any trouble,” Spoke Co-Editor in Chief Haley Xue said. “For the most part we have good communication between reporters and editors, and we always let the reporters know they can come to us anytime.”



Xue said working for the paper is a catalyst for personal growth.

“When I started I was very shy and didn’t like the idea of interviewing people,” Xue said. “But I gained a lot of confidence and learned how to really communicate with people, and you see that most people are nice and want to be interviewed.”



The editors credit their faculty advisors, Cynthia Hyatt and Susan Houseman, for their success.



“They are amazing, and I’m very thankful we have them,” Xue said. “They’re there every step of the way, and they give us a great degree of freedom and help us when we need it.”



Ward and Xue said the Pacemaker has inspired the staff to work even harder, which Hyatt has seen first-hand.

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“There’s been a lot more thoughtful story-idea generation, and they’re really trying to find out what’s going on in the world and community and trying to localize it,” Hyatt said. “They’ve had some really great stories, and they’re great writers and great kids.”​