U-High’s journalism programs have earned national recognition with both group-wide and individual awards.

The U-High Midway has received the Silver Crown Award in the hybrid category for 2022 from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, getting recognized for both print and online work. This is the Midway’s fifth Crown Award in a row, and 25th Crown overall. Alongside announcing awards for U-High’s print news from June 2020 to June 2021 and its digital news from October 2020 to October 2021, the association also recognized U-High’s 2021 yearbook publication, and U-High’s photojournalism team with individual awards.

According to Editor-in-chief Berk Oto, winning the award has provided a surge of motivation.

“It’s definitely validating for the whole staff, because sometimes you get so into the work you don’t really understand the impact,” Berk said, “but when we get these awards it’s like a pat on the back, letting us know that we’re doing a great job.”

Furthermore, Berk believes this award recognizes the work U-High Midway has put into strengthening the platform’s online publications.

“Before the last two years, our online content wasn’t as strong, and wasn’t getting the same level of recognition,” he said. “Because of the way our content is presented and distributed digitally, it now matches the level of our print content, and I think this award proves that.”

The association awarded Midway staff members for specific stories and skills:

• Midway staff, headline writing, first place
• Audrey Park, sidebar writing, first place, “Misinformation solutions rely on regulation, media literacy”
• Amanda Cassel, Class of 2021, page one design, second place, March 12
• Nicky Edwards-Levin, Class of 2021, news, third place, “To maintain equity, teachers go extra mile”
• Ryan Clark, editorial page design, third place, June 3 (Page 4)
• Peter Pu, Elliott Taylor, Andrew Burke-Stevenson, photo slideshow, third place, “Members of Class of 2021 graduate on Jackman Field”
• Caroline Hohner, entertainment review, certificate of merit, “Show entertains, provokes political introspection”
• Nicky Edwards-Levin, Class of 2021, certificate of merit, secondary coverage (follow-up reporting), “Parents protest in-person delays despite updates from administration”
• Caroline Hohner, personal opinion: off-campus issues, certificate of merit, “Social media companies should be held liable for harm their platforms can cause”
• Téa Tamburo, first-person experience, certificate of merit, “Inclusion at Lab must mean more than a single identifier”
• Ella Beiser, Class of 2021, podcast, certificate of merit, “One year of distance”

The association also awarded U-High’s photojournalism staff with awards for specific images and collections: 

• Andrew Burke-Stevenson, single spot news photo, certificate of merit, “Faculty face off in Homecoming arm wrestling tournament” (photo 1)
• Malcolm Taylor, Andrew Burke-Stevenson, Matt Petres, Chloe Ma, Henry Benton, and Patrice Graham, photo slideshow, certificate of merit, “Photo gallery: Faculty face off in Homecoming arm wrestling tournament”

The association awarded the 2021 U-Highlights yearbook team with awards specific to yearbook content:

• Sasha Watson, yearbook sports reporting, certificate of merit, “Smooth Sailing”
• Sophia Baker, yearbook academic writing, certificate of merit, “Going Above and Beyond”
• Iris Xie, Class of 2021, yearbook title page, certificate of merit
• U-Highlights staff, yearbook index, certificate of merit
• U-Highlights staff, yearbook feature presentation, certificate of merit, “2020 Life”