On April 18 at 3:30 p.m. CDT, JEA will stream the announcement live on Facebook to recognize our national runners-up and name our 2020 Journalist of the Year.

Despite the current pandemic screeching the nation to a halt, the national journalist of the year contest continues on schedule. By the March 15 deadline, we received 33 entries and finalized our panel of 32 judges.

“Our committee of judges continues to go above and beyond,” JOY Committee Chair Rebecca Pollard, MJE said. “Watching them go through the transition we all have endured the last couple of weeks, and still find time to commit to this contest is inspiring. I am so thankful for their service and their expertise, even more so during this turbulent time.”

National plaques and state winner certificates will all be mailed to each student’s home address. We will recognize and name our Aspiring Young Journalist runners-up and winner at the same time.

“These outstanding journalists deserve as much recognition as possible. In a time of so much uncertainty and adjustment, this can be a source of positivity,” JEA President Sarah Nichols, MJE, said. “While I’ll miss meeting our winners and celebrating them in person, I’m grateful we can share the Journalist of the Year results in a way that may help even more students, advisers and family members experience the announcement.”

2019 Journalist of the Year Parker Davis planned to attend the Nashville convention and speak at the opening ceremony. JEA will post a recorded version of his speech on Facebook April 16.

Named in honor of JEA’s longtime treasurer, the late Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht, FSPA, the scholarships recognize some of the top high school journalists in the country. Portfolios are judged in the month leading up to the JEA/NSPA spring national convention, and scholarships are given in honor of their work on scholastic media. The winner will receive a $3,000 Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht Scholarship as part of their recognition from the Journalism Education Association. Six other state winners will be named national runners-up and will receive an $850 Sister Rita Jeanne Scholarship.

The Journalism Education is a national organization of scholastic journalism teachers and school media advisers. Its headquarters is at the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. For more information about the JEA or its National High School Journalist of the Year program, please go to www.jea.org or email staff@jea.org.