Gorman named JEA’s 2026 Broadcast Adviser of the Year

Zack Gorman of Holbrook Middle-High School in Massachusetts is the Journalism Education Association’s 2026 Broadcast Adviser of the Year.

Gorman was surprised Thursday, Sept. 10, at his school by JEA Massachusetts State Director Bretton Zinger, MJE.

The Broadcast Adviser of the Year program honors outstanding secondary school advisers and their exemplary work from the previous year, as well as throughout their careers.

JEA also names Michael Hatch of Prosper (Texas) High School and Krystle Hoisington, MJE, of Lindbergh High School in St. Louis, as Distinguished Broadcast Advisers, and Jennifer Higgins of Liberty North High School in Missouri as a Special Recognition Broadcast Adviser.

Gorman receives a $1,000 prize, and his school receives $500, which may be used to buy equipment for the broadcast classroom or to fund student scholarships for summer media workshops.

Hatch’s and Hoisington’s schools also receive $500 each for broadcast equipment or to fund student scholarships to summer workshops.

Broadcast Adviser of the Year

Zack Gorman

Zack Gorman has taught video production at Holbrook Middle-High School in Massachusetts since 2017. He is also the Holbrook Community Access and Media executive director.

“This unique dual role allows him to create authentic, real-world opportunities for his students,” Scott Cray, adviser at West Bridgewater (Massachusetts) Middle-Senior High School, said. “Through the partnership between the school and the local cable station, students are able to cover community events, gain professional production experience and see firsthand how broadcast journalism serves the public. Zack has built a program that extends far beyond the classroom and allows students to be immersed in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences.”

Gorman got his teaching license after he saw the need for video production at the local school, said Jenna Cabral, his colleague and fellow broadcast adviser. 

“What began as a modest after-school video production club with just five students has since grown into Code Blue News, a nationally recognized, student-produced news program,” Cabral said. “I have personally witnessed how Zack has built the Code Blue program from the ground up, inspiring not just aspiring broadcast journalists, but all students, regardless of their interest in media.”

Aside from winning awards, his students consistently represent the program well, whether they are presenting sessions at the state convention or attending them. 

“Perhaps the main reason I know Zack is deserving of this honor is because I have seen his students at NESPA’s spring convention,” said Bretton Zinger, MJE, executive director of the New England Scholastic Press Association. “They are eager to get started on sessions, seek out feedback and ask questions of presenters, and, probably most telling, they are incredibly enthusiastic during the awards ceremony, applauding for everyone, but being so incredibly energetic whenever one of their own is honored during the ceremony. It is truly wonderful to experience. That kind of student community doesn’t arise without the right person as adviser.”

NESPA didn’t traditionally serve broadcast programs, but Gorman worked to change that. He started “Fall Frenzy,” a broadcast contest where students interview, shoot and edit a broadcast package in about five hours. The contest has nearly doubled in size since it began in 2023, and there are now plans to expand it to other media. He also ensured there were sessions geared toward broadcast during every time slot during the state’s spring convention.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Zack Gorman has been the single most important voice in the growth of a true community of broadcast advisers and programs in New England over the last three years,” NESPA Secretary Brian Baron said.

Gorman now serves as NESPA treasurer, and in that role, he has modernized the operation, getting paperwork filed to convert the organization to a nonprofit and continuously brainstorming ideas for how to best serve students and advisers through the organization, Zinger said.

Baron agreed and said, “The organization as a whole has a much more professional face, all because Zack has been willing to work on behalf of a larger goal, a goal that has advanced newspaper and yearbook student journalism in New England as much as it has broadcast.”

Distinguished Broadcast Advisers

Michael Hatch

Hatch has advised Eagle Nation News (television), PHS The Talon (radio) and Eagle Production Group (film) at Prosper High School in Texas since 2018. Prior to that, he worked as an instructor and later as school director at American Broadcasting School in Oklahoma for 15 years.

Prosper Eagle Nation Online adviser Lisa Roskens, CJE, said Hatch is most well-known for taking care of people.

“As a journalism partner of his, I have to say, he’s been there when I needed him, and he’s always ready with song lyrics, movie quotes or his own wise sayings to cheer those who need encouragement,” Roskens said. “Sometimes it’s nice to sing the praises of those who give the rest of us the courage — and the know-how — to follow his beat, but then move from his vibe on to make our own unique productions.”

Former student Cristina Folsom said it is because of his confidence in her that she is now a morning show producer at NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth, the No. 4 market.

“He shaped me and so many other students to be the professional young adults we are today, and the best part is that he did it all with a smile,” Folsom said. “He sees promise in everyone who walks through his classroom doors and has instilled a passion for journalism and storytelling in many, including myself. Mr. Hatch’s classroom always felt like home. He saw something special in me and fostered an environment that allowed me to expand my creativity, try new things and learn from my mistakes. He believes in students who sometimes don’t always believe in themselves, and it’s the work by educators like him that truly change lives. He recognized my abilities and never let me forget them; he still reminds me how proud he is of me.”

Krystle Hoisington, MJE

Hoisington has been advising broadcast and publications since 2015, most recently at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis. Before she began teaching, she worked professionally as a news producer. 

Parent Kim Bailey credits Hoisington with developing a passion for journalism in her son, Cole. He is now studying journalism at the University of Missouri and works with and for various media outlets across Columbia, Missouri. 

“The trust Mrs. Hoisington puts in her students by serving as a guide more than a front-of-the classroom teacher builds them in ways that cannot be quantified, which I saw in my son, Cole, during his time at Lindbergh,” Bailey said. “By his senior year, Cole was an editor-in-chief for the broadcast program. He developed a confidence and an ease managing the high expectations of the newsroom while also building his interpersonal skills to go out and find the story, interacting not only with peers, but also teachers, staff and administrators across the high school campus and broader community.”

Sarah Kirksey, MJE, adviser at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, said she was “pleasantly surprised” with how many times she got to announce Hoisington’s broadcast program for an all-Missouri award at their state conference.

“Krystle comes from the world of broadcast news, and to see her get to utilize and transfer those skills directly to her students at Lindbergh over the past few years has been really inspiring,” Kirksey said. “While so many advisers are intimidated or lost in the world of broadcast (myself included), Krystle is able to harness student engagement and marry it with visual storytelling in a way that appeals to a younger audience while still providing the necessary details to make stories journalistic. It is a hard line to toe, but Krystle has found a way to teach kids how to balance entertainment and news value.”

Special Recognition Broadcast Adviser

Jennifer Higgins

Higgins advises broadcast and newspaper at Liberty North High School in Missouri.

“In my 15 years of working closely with her, I have seen many journalism advisers come and go, but few possess Jennifer’s innate ability to build meaningful, transformative relationships with students,” Karen Johnson, MJE, adviser at Lawson (Missouri) High School, said. “She does not simply teach technical skills; she fosters a community of trust. Her classroom is a space where students feel safe to take creative risks because they know their adviser is their biggest advocate. This rapport is the foundation behind her program’s success, turning a group of teenagers into a professional, cohesive news team year after year.”

In addition to the daily news show, she developed a sports broadcasting class, and all of her broadcasting students work together to broadcast at least 10 football and basketball games each year.

“Watching her students pull off a live ESPN3 broadcast with the same professionalism as a network crew is, frankly, astounding,” Johnson said.

Parent Kimberly Daniels said Higgins supported her son, Andrew, when he and a friend wanted to broadcast a track meet for the first time.

“Mrs. Higgins’ acceptance and approval of this project grew their experience, knowledge and skills in producing a successful broadcast,” Daniels said. “Instead of being at home with her family, she took on another event that she didn’t have to do, all for her love of her students and the work that she does.”