The Iowa High School Press Association announced five “Best of the Year” winners this week, with two of them coming to West High. IHSPA named Gianna Liu ’25 Photographer of the Year and Erinn Varga ’24 Designer of the Year.
IHSPA also named the WSS staff a 2024 News Team of the Year finalist for the eighth consecutive year. IHSPA determines finalists by choosing the schools with the highest number of individual award winners from its annual writing, photography, design and online contests. The WSS staff won a total of 74 individual awards, for a total of 424 points. IHSPA will announce News Team of the Year winners at its annual state conference in October.
First place winners:
- Social Justice Reporting: “Sudan’s struggle” by Reem Kirja, Jane Lam
- Interactive graphic: “E-pass” by Erinn Varga
- Illustration or Art: “Let’s Chat GPT” by Erinn Varga
- News Magazine – One Page Design: “Women of West” by Anna Song
- Environmental Portrait: “Phoebe’s speech” by Zoe Smith
- Single Web Story Design: “First date chronicles” by Jane Lam, Athena Wu
- In-Depth News Story: “Let’s Chat: GPT” Maya Chu, Heidi Du, Mrudani Ramkumar
- Online Innovation: Language options on wsspaper.com homepage by Muhammed Cikmaz
- Sports Feature photo: “Swimming celebration” by Gianna Liu
- Photographer of the Year: Gianna Liu
- Video News Show: “West High Weekly 9.12.23” by Abby Guo, Tessa Gibson, Yaya Orszula
- Sports Story — Game or Season Recap: “Diving a little deeper” by Erinn Varga
- Multimedia story – Feature: “ACT or SAT: Which exam is a good fit for you?” by Sam Rosenthal, Abby Guo
- Newspaper – Multiple Page Design: “Contraceptives” by Erinn Varga
- Multimedia story – Sports: “Rising stars” by Tyler Shane, Haneen Eltyeb, Minna Abdalla
- Multimedia story – News: “Recent ‘funnel’ deadline narrows bills in Iowa legislature” by Evelyn Kraber
- In-depth Sports Story: “Ready to wrestle” by Gianna Liu, Celia Sadewasser
- Infographic: “Tate overview” by Erinn Varga
- Designer of the Year: Erinn Varga
- Photo Story: “West High’s first homecoming parade” by Gianna Liu
- Social Media Promotion: West Side Story Staff
- Feature Story: “Women of West” by Zaira Ahmad, Mrudani Ramkumar, Gianna Liu
- Health/Science: “1-2-3, eyes on me” by Celia Sadewasser, Shanza Sami
- Podcasting: “Tech Talk: Let’s Chat: GPT” by Gianna Liu
- News Story: “Bendrew: The Debate Duo” by Gianna Liu
Second place winners:
- Videographer of the Year: Haneen Eltyeb
- Interactive graphic: ACT vs. SAT: Which is better for you?” by Sam Rosenthal
- Illustration or Art: March website banner by Vera Tanas
- News Magazine – One Page Design: “What’s West grateful for?” by Anna Song
- Online Innovation: “Advice column” by Muhammed Cikmaz
- Feature Photo: “Lily Polgreen” by Colin Wehrle
- Social Media Reporting: West Side Story Staff
- Video News Show: “West High Weekly 12.19.23” by Tessa Gibson, Haneen Eltyeb, Abby Guo
- Entertainment: “Sliced: Thanksgiving edition” by Haneen Eltyeb, Anna Greenlee, Evelyn Kraber
- Multimedia story – Feature: “Welcome to the madness” by Zoe Smith, Paige Albright
- Newspaper – Multiple Page Design: “Let’s Chat GPT” by Erinn Varga
- Multimedia story – Sports: “Last chance” by Minna Abdalla
- Infographic: “Chat GPT” by Erinn Varga
- Photo Story: “Protest for Perry” by Gianna Liu
- Health/Science: “Beauty Beyond Bodies” by Kamakshee Kuchhal , Gianna Liu
- Podcasting: “Dying to know” by Nicole Lee, Ashlyn Brady, Haneen Eltyeb
- News Story: “Iowa’s legislative session: what you need to know” by Evelyn Kraber
Third place winners:
- Ads: “Sensory Kids” by Anna Song
- Single Web Story Design: “Contraceptives” by Erinn Varga, Marie Stier
- In-Depth News Story: “Raise the stakes” by Zaira Ahmad, Zoe Smith, Henry Timmer-Hackert
- Multimedia story – Feature: “Thrift tips for Iowa City secondhand stores” by Jules Keranen, Eleanor Weitz
- Newspaper – Multiple Page Design: “Kirpes with a matematical purpose” by Anna Song
- Multimedia story – Sports: “Growing wings” by Marie Stier, Gianna Liu, Grace Bartlett
- Staff Editorial: “Broken identities” by Henry Timmer-Hackert
- Multimedia story – News: “West students protest recent gun violence” by Zoe Smith
- Infographic: “Contraceptives” by Erinn Varga
- Designer of the Year: Anna Song
- Feature Story: “Unsung heroes” by Yaya Orszula, Zoe Smith
- Personality Profile: “From West to the workplace: Boeing engineering” by Ashlyn Brady, Airi Thompson
Honorable Mentions:
- Ads: “Heyn’s” by Anna Song
- Interactive graphic: “Women of West interactive graphics” by Anna Song
- Interactive graphic: “Which Wes Anderson film are you?” by Nicole Lee
- Online Innovation: “Tooltip generator” by Muhammed Cikmaz
- Feature Photo: “Black excellence at West: Julian” by Josie Schwartz
- Video News Show: “West High Weekly 2.29.24” by Abby Guo, Yaya Orszula, Tessa Gibson
- Sports Story — Game or Season Recap: “West volleyball hosts annual Live Like Line Tournament” by Anna Song, Marie Stier
- Entertainment: “Repackaging girlhood and feminism” by Jules Keranen
- Newspaper – Multiple Page Design: “Raise the stakes” by Mckenna Stephens
- Opinion Writer of the Year: Nicole Lee
- Multimedia story – Sports: “Trojan Bolts break a state record and place 5th at State” by Gianna Liu
- Staff Editorial: “Editorial: Parking not permitted” by Gianna Liu
- Staff Editorial: “Herbi-more” by WSS Editorial Board
- Multimedia story – News: “Musicians take on All-State” by Anna Song
- Column/Opinion: “Criticisms to the chef” by Nicole Lee
- In-depth Sports Story: “Dancer dysmorphia” by Ashlyn Brady
- Web Design: “Wsspaper.com” by WSS Staff
- Reviews: “The return of Percy Jackson in ‘The Chalice of the Gods’” by Anna Greenlee, Vera Tanas
- Photo Story: “Orchestra Halloween concert” by Gianna Liu
- Feature Story: “Pageant personas” by Maddy Cook, Kamakshee Kuchhal
