Youth, Values, Excellence
The future of news reporting in Ventura County in bright indeed, judging by the work of student scribes honored last week in the third annual Times Ventura County High School Journalism Awards.
From more than 100 entries in eight categories, Times editors selected students to receive the awards, accompanied by scholarship checks of $250. In addition, Ventura County Edition Editor Bill Overend presented a $1,000 check to representatives of The Lancer, published by students at Thousand Oaks High School, which was honored for overall excellence for a second consecutive year. The Stinger of Adolfo Camarillo High School received honorable mention.
Here are the individual award winners:
* News story: Melissa Chandler of Channel Islands High School, for her story about school librarian Barbara Simmons, who received a $25,000 award for doing good work. Honorable mention: Cassandra Wolf of Westlake High School.
* Feature story: Nick Edwards of Camarillo High, for his report, “Cutting Corners: Taking the Easy Way Out,” which took a revealing look at a poll that showed 95% of Camarillo High’s students “admitted to some sort of cheating, whether it was copying homework or looking at a peer’s paper during a test.” Honorable mention: Mahvesh Appoo and Kelly Blickenstaff, both of Camarillo High.
* Feature photography: Anna Campbell of Camarillo High, for her photograph of a student musical performance. Honorable mention: Nick Edwards of Camarillo High.
* Staff editorial: Nick Edwards, Mike Oliver and Scott Sundvall of Camarillo High for an opinion piece about censorship by another school’s administration. Honorable mention: Gina Battaglia of Westlake High.
* Sports story: Yalda Afshar of Westlake High, for her article about her school’s championship football team. Honorable mention: Brandon Thomas of Camarillo High.
* Arts and entertainment review: Chris Kuhlman of Camarillo High, for a review of the movie “Fight Club.” Honorable mention: Audrey Yap of Thousand Oaks High.
* Sports photography: Anna Campbell of Camarillo High, for photos of the wrestling team. Honorable mention: Robert Hernandez of Channel Islands High.
* Cartoon or illustration: Ryan Wemyss of Camarillo High, for an editorial cartoon commenting on campus searches.
The staff of The Times Ventura County Edition is proud to salute our young colleagues and wish them further success in the exciting world of journalism.