Journalism

The student newspaper, The Bruin Voice, is advised by Kathi Duffel, who is a Certified Journalism Educator and holds a supplemental credential in journalism. The newspaper also belongs to the National Scholastic Press Association and the Journalism Education Association and has earned numerous awards from both of these national organizations. Last year, students traveled to Boston, MA, where they received the coveted Pacemaker Award (known in the world of high school journalism as the “Pulitzer Prize”) and they also earned a 1^st Place Best of Show for their newspaper in the 8-page category. This was the third time the paper earned a Pacemaker award and the 7^th time it has earned a 1^st Place Best of Show trophy cup. In addition, students have won many awards in individual contests, including newswriting, editorial and opinion, sports, reviews, entertainment, feature, cartooning,  as well as layout, design and photography. Known for its diligent and accurate reporting of issues that affect not just the school, but the community as well, the local newspaper, The Record, in recognizing their achievement said: “They exhibited some excellent examples of textbook journalism. In the business, we like to call it ‘shoe-leather’ reporting. … The stories were through, well written, and – above all – fair.” Student editors of The Bruin Voice also won the prestigious Richard G. Marsh award for newspaper excellence again this year – its fifth time sweeping this award category. Also of note, The Bruin Voice converted to full color last year – the first time since its inception in 1991!

The Bruin Voice takes its role as the “watchdog of the government” very seriously and has received national acclaim for its coverage on stories about school safety, the misuse of public funds, and an illegal social media policy that the district, after threat of legal action by the Student Press Law Center, was forced to rescind. We pride ourselves on not only knowing our rights to free speech, but for teaching others about their rights so – as our motto says – their “Voice Shall Not Be Silenced.”

The 2014-15 school year brings a new opportunity to the newspaper to expand its print coverage to an online edition. With the support of the administration in purchasing new computer equipment (both laptops and desktops, as well as a color printer), we are in the process of going fully digital with our online paper. In addition to our regular stories and features, we hope to provide students with more up-to-date information on sports, include weekly blogs, develop more interactive elements (such as polls and reader surveys), and eventually incorporate the broadcasting class so that students can view live videos as they are reading content on the site. We look forward to the challenges of taking the newspaper into the digital age!