The newspapers shown in the image above are the finalists for the NSPA Online Pacemaker award. The top three winners will be announced this April at the NSPA convention in Anaheim.

NSPA announces Pacemaker finalists
Ebony Bailey | 2/26/08 | News

The National Scholastic Press Association announced their top 10 finalists for the Online Pacemaker Award on Feb. 25. The Grizzly Gazette was named one of those top ten finalists.  Winners will be announced at the NSPA Anaheim convention in April.

The National Scholastic Press Association is an organization that recognizes and honors high school journalism, and the Pacemaker award is considered its highest honor.

The Online Pacemaker competition has been around since 1996, and has been increasingly competitive over the years. In the year 2006, they received 35 entries, in 2007, they received 46 entries, and in 2008, they received 50 entries.

The judging panel comes from The Des Moines Register, an award-winning publication that has received 15 Pulitzer prizes over the years.

The Web sites are judged on site content, design/graphics, navigation, and quality of writing and editing.

The judges had this to say about the top ten finalists: “The best online entries had a few things in common. They effectively used multimedia (videos, photos, blogs) as a storytelling tool. They allowed users to comment on the sites. The pages were well organized. Their writing and photography stood out far above the rest.”

Granite Hills Principal Veryl Ann Duncan was very happy by the success of the Grizzly Gazette.

“I had my fingers crossed all year for the Grizzly Gazette to be placed in the top ten,” Duncan said. “This is a result of all your hard work; it’s well deserved.”

Computer teacher and Video Production adviser David Coldiron also showed his feelings about the newspaper.

“It’s exciting not only for the Grizzly Gazette, but for the whole school,” Coldiron said. “We got a lot of positive things happening to us, it’s great.”

The following schools were chosen to be Pacemaker finalists:

The Feather, Fresno Christian High School, Fresno, Calif.

The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, Calif.

Grizzly Gazette, Granite Hills High School, Porterville Calif.

Gargoyle, University Laboratory High School, Urbana Ill.

The Black & White, Walk Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.

Silver Chips, Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Md.

Wayland Student Press, Wayland High School, Wayland, Mass.

North Star, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo.

The Record, Horace Mann School, Riverdale, N.Y

The A-Blast, Annandale High School, Annandale, Va.

Los periodicos mostrados en la imagen arriba son los finalistas del premio NSPA Online Pacemaker. Los tres ganadores seran anunciados este Abril en la convencion de NSPA en Anaheim.

La National Scholastic Press Association anuncio sus diez finalistas para el Onlice Pacemaker Award el 25 de febrero.  El Grizzly Gazette fue nombrado uno de los 10 finalistas.  Ganadores serán anunciados en la convención de NSPA en Anaheim en abril.

La National Scholastic Press Association es una organización que reconoce y honora periodismo de preparatorias, y el premio Pacemaker es considerado el honor mas grande.

La competencia Online Pacemaker se ha llevado acabo desde 1996, y ha sido cada vez más competitiva sobre los años.  En el 2006, recibieron 35 entradas, en el 2007, recibieron 46 entradas, y en el 2008, recibieron 50 entradas.

El panal de jueces viene de The Des Moines Register, una publicación premiada que ha recibido 15 premios Pulitzer sobre los años.

Los sitios de red son juzgados en contenido, diseño/ graficas, navegación, y calidad de escritura y redacción.

Los jueces tuvieron esto que decir acerca los diez finalistas: "Las mejoras entradas en línea tenían pocas cosas en común.  Usaban multimedia (videos, fotos, blogs) efectivamente cono una herramienta para narrar.  Permitieron que los usuarios comentar en sus sitios.  Las paginas estaban bien organizadas.  Su escritura y fotografía sobresalió sobre el resto."

El principal de Granite Hills Veryl Ann Duncan estaba muy contenta con el éxito de el Grizzly Gazette.

"He tenido mis dedos cruzados todo el año para que el Grizzly Gazette estuviera en los primeros diez," dijo Duncan.  "Esto es el resultado de todo su duro trabajo; es bien merecido."

Maestro de Computation y Production de Video, David Coldiron también mostró sus sentimientos sobre el periódico.

"Es emocionante no solo para el Grizzly Gazette, sino para la toda la escuela," dijo Coldiron.  "Nos están pasando muchas cosas muy positivas, es grandioso."

Las siguientes escuelas fueron escogidas como finalistas de Pacemaker:

The Feather, Fresno Christian High School, Fresno, Calif.

The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, Calif.

Grizzly Gazette, Granite Hills High School, Porterville, Calif.

Gargoyle, University Laboratory High School, Urbana Ill.

The Black and White, Walk Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.

Wayland Student Press, Wayland High School, Wayland, Mass.