School of Media News

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Journalism Scholars Day, a 44-year tradition at WKU, attracted more than 270 Kentucky high school journalism students and 14 media advisers from 10 schools across the state to campus Friday, Nov. 4.

The three-hour conference included the Mark of Excellence yearbook awards ceremony as well as 14 breakout sessions with topics ranging from photography and psychology of advertising to running a digital newsroom and screenplay writing taught by WKU faculty and students.

Ten schools participated in the Mark of Excellence Yearbook Contest competition awards ceremony. Best overall winner was the The Crimson of duPont Manual High School, Louisville. The complete list of 2016 Mark of Excellence yearbook award winners is provided on the School of Journalism & Broadcasting’s website at https://www.wku.edu/khsmp/.

The conference goal was to encourage excellence in high school media classes. It also provided high school students with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills.

Journalism Scholars Day attendees came from Barren County High School, Butler Traditional High School, Corbin High School, Fern Creek High School, Franklin-Simpson High School, Greenwood High School, Jeffersontown High School, Meade County High School, South Warren High School and Warren East High School.

The 2016 James L. Highland Media Adviser of the Year award went to Sheena Searcy. Searcy serves as an adviser at Franklin-Simpson High School in Franklin and is an advocate for student journalists’ rights.

The James L. Highland Media Adviser of the Year Award was established to recognize the Kentucky high school media teacher who actively supports and protects the First Amendment rights of students through inspiring high ethical and professional standards. In addition, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in Kentucky’s high school or middle school media classrooms and in student publications and broadcasts.

For more information, contact Charlotte Turtle, (270)745-3055.

About Journalism Scholars Day

Journalism Scholars Day, coordinated by Charlotte Turtle, was co-sponsored by the School of Journalism & Broadcasting, the Kentucky High School Media Institute, WKU’s chapter of Society of Professional Journalists, and the College Heights Herald and Talisman.

Originally called High School Press Day, the conference was renamed Journalism Scholars Day in the late 1980s. Having a day devoted to high school journalism is a WKU tradition that dates back to the 1970s. A component of the 21^st Century Media Program of Distinction at WKU, the Kentucky High School Media Institute is funded by Kentucky’s Council on Post-Secondary Education Regional Excellence Trust Fund. The Institute’s primary goal is to support and supplement scholastic journalism endeavors in Kentucky.  Loup Langton, Ph.D. is the director of WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting.