Midway staff wins team, individual awards

Malcolm Taylor

Features editor Caroline Hohner and assistant editor Peter Cox design a page for the Midway’s print paper. The U-High Midway’s Oct. 7 print edition took home sixth place in National Scholastic Press Association’s annual honors.

Audrey Matzke, Reporter
November 17, 2021

The U-High Midway’s website was awarded Best of Show in the National Scholastic Press Association’s annual honors, and its Oct. 7 print edition took home sixth place. Working through last year’s COVID-19 limitations, editors, reporters and photographers received both group-wide and individual recognition. 

In addition to group recognition, several staff members received individual honors. In the COVID-19 Coverage category, 2021 alumna Ella Beiser received first place in the print division, while fellow alumnus Nicky Edwards-Levin received honorable mention in the online counterpart. 

In the Photo of the Year category, senior Elliott Taylor was awarded first place for a news photo and second place for a feature photo. 

In an individual Best of Show contest for podcasts, the entry from juniors Audrey Matei and Téa Tamburo received first place.

Members of the newspaper staff also won awards in the Journalism Education Association National Student Media Contests:

  • Peter Pu, superior, feature writing
  • Andrew Burke-Stevenson, excellent, photography portfolio
  • An Ngo, excellent, press law and ethics
  • Matt Petres, excellent, first-year photo
  • Téa Tamburo, excellent, review writing
  • Adrianna Nehme, honorable mention, sports writing
  • Malcolm Taylor, honorable mention, portrait photo

“This time was very challenging,” Editor-In-Chief Berk Oto said, “in the sense that it was a transitory period between going remote and in person. A lot of the staff members didn’t have experience with a print paper. I’m especially proud and encouraged that Midway is still one of the top journalism programs in the country. This achievement reflects the work of the entire staff.”

The Midway was also a finalist for NSPA’s Pacemaker Award, one of 57 high school newspapers/newsmagazines named as finalists for the prestigious award. The Midway was not among the 2021 winners. The Midway submitted a smaller-than-normal entry because fewer editions were published last year. The newspaper won the award in 2020 and has been a finalist 13 times in its history, including four of the past five years.