The U-High Midway’s website is being recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association as one of its 47 finalists for a national award, making this the third year in a row the Midway has received this honor. 

“It’s a really big deal,” Berk Oto, a Midway editor-in-chief, said about the Online Pacemaker Award. “It shows that over and after the pandemic we’ve continued the really strong work we’ve been doing.” 

Two groups of judges looked at 140 sites from 31 states and 3 countries. The Midway is one of the four online newspapers from Illinois and the only one from Chicago that was chosen. 

“It’s always great to get this level of recognition at the highest level,” Berk said. “I hope the next editor-in-chief will continue on this highest level of honor while making changes to further improve what we’ve been doing in the last two years.”

Berk says that this honor is for the Midway as a whole. The Midway, especially the website, is a big group effort. It’s a big honor for everyone that’s involved. 

The 2022 Online Pacemaker winners will be announced on April 9.