The Iowa High School Press Association awarded the West Side Story staff 52 awards in the annual spring journalism contest. IHSPA also named the 2018-2019 West Side Story staff as an All-Iowa News Team finalist based on the schools with the largest number of awards from this contest. IHSPA will announce News Team winners at its state journalism conference this fall.
IHSPA named Crystal Kim ’19 as the 2019 Designer of the Year, and Anjali Huynh ’19 as the 2019 Writer of the Year.
The judge said this about Kim’s portfolio: “The diversity of work in the designer’s portfolio, with excellent use of both illustration and photography, along with innovative visual problem solving, pushed her into the first-place spot in a very tight contest. The immigration package is particularly noteworthy. Clever use of silhouettes and line drawings paired with subtle background gradients combine for a beautiful presentation. Excellent eye for detail in typography and composition throughout the portfolio.”
About Huynh’s portfolio, the judge wrote, “I was so impressed with Anjali’s story on student immigrants, which really captured the diversity of Iowa City Community School District beautifully and the complex worlds these students are living in. Anjali is a strong writer with a knack for story telling. She’s not afraid to tackle a hard topic, but does it with compassion and fairness.”
The West Side Story staff received first place in the state for the following:
Feature story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh
Illustration or Art: “A toxic tradition” by Crystal Kim
In-depth news: “In the minority” by Anjali Huynh and Jessica Moonjely
Infographic: “A movement beginning with a letter” by Lydia Guo
Multimedia feature story: “Novel conversations” by Kristina Rosebrook, Maddi Shinall and Sophie Stephens
Multimedia news story: “Keeping her father alive: how a suburban dad and Charles Barkley impacted a nation” by Anjali Huynh
Multimedia sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad and Deniz Ince
News story: “Cut” by Natalie Katz
Personality profile: “An unexpected addition” by Jessica Moonjely
Photo slideshow: “West keeps the boot” by Kara Wagenknecht
Podcast: “West Side Radio: The Me Too movement’s impact on the U.S. Humanities curriculum” by Jessica Doyle and Harry Westergaard
Sports photo: “Even Brauns” by Kara Wagenknecht
Video news show: “Dec. 7 West High Weekly” by Holden Logan, Ian Prescott and Kristina Rosebrook
Web design for wsspaper.com: WSS staff
The West Side Story staff received second place in the state for the following:
Designer of the Year: Lydia Guo
Hawkeye Photographer of the Year: Kara Wagenknecht
Feature photo: “Fashion Friday: Rawan Guzouli” by Kara Wagenknecht
Illustration or Art: “Into the Spider-Verse” by Rain Richards
Infographic: “Fall recap” by Crystal Kim
Multimedia feature story: “Resilience” by Natalie Dunlap, Maddi Shinall and Sidney Kiersch
Multimedia news story: “March for our lives” by Kara Wagenknecht
Multimedia sports story: “West basketball teams battle City” by Kara Wagenknecht
Reviews: “Book review: “Skyward” blasts off with joyous and potent sci-fi fare” by Edward Keen
Social media coverage: WSS staff
Sports story: “Why not women too?” by Will Conrad and Deniz Ince
Staff editorial: “Safety first” by Thomas Duong
Video news show: “WHW 1.18.19” by Ian Prescott and Kristina Rosebrook
Video story: “Behind the scenes of Miracle on 34th Street” by Kristina Rosebrook
The West Side Story staff received third place in the state for the following:
In-depth news: “A spectrum of perspectives” by Will Conrad and Anjali Huynh
Infographic: “Women in politics” by Sidney Kiersch
Multimedia feature story: “From a passion to a profession” by Aditi Borde and Alex Carlon
Multimedia news story: “Starting the new year with nothing” by Bess Frerichs and Gwen Watson
Multimedia sports story: “The club advantage” by Deniz Ince
Newsmagazine – one page design: “Summer popsicles” by Lydia Guo
News photo: “March for our lives cover” by Kara Wagenknecht
Personality profile: “High school celebrity” by Jenna Wang
Photo slideshow: “Boys basketball moves onto state tournament” by Kara Wagenknecht
Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Discussing Elon’s mid-life crisis and Trump’s inescapable self-sabotage” by Rain Richards and Ken Wilbur
The West Side Story staff received honorable mention for the following:
Ad design: “Aspen Leaf” by Frances Dai
Feature photo: “Erin Netolicky” by Maddi Shinall
Feature story: “A cultural community” by Anna Brown
Multimedia news story: “Meet candidates for senior class president and vice president” by Fatima Kammona
Multimedia sports story: “Trojan nation goes golden” by Grace Christopher and Kara Wagenknecht
Newsmagazine – multiple page design: “Why not women, too?” by Lydia Guo
Newsmagazine – one page design: “Why not women, too? cover” by Lydia Guo
News photo: “Walk it out” by Kara Wagenknecht
Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Choose your own adventure podcast” by Noah Krchak
Podcasting: “West Side Radio: Fall Sports Recap” by Will Conrad and Ken Wilbur
Review: “‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is another win for Barry Jenkins” by Harry Westergaard
Video news show: “WHW 3.1.19” by Grace Christopher, Ian Prescott, Rain Richards and Jillian Prescott
Video story: “Katya Moeller: Young Violinist” by Ian Prescott
Writer of the Year: Natalie Dunlap
IHSPA identified Alex Carlon, Natalie Dunlap, Natalie Katz, Jessica Moonjely and Jillian Prescott as Emerging Journalist Finalists, a program which seeks to acknowledge emerging talent in newspaper, yearbook and digital media students in member high schools. From the 34 state finalists, IHSPA then selects 10 Emerging Journalist winners based on the overall quality of their work, the impact on their school and community, the students’ understanding of the fundamentals of journalism and the level of experimentation. Three of the ten winners are from the WSS staff, and they are Natalie Dunlap, Natalie Katz and Jessica Moonjely.
IHSPA honored Sophie Stephens and Kara Wagenknecht as IHSPA Scholars, an academic honor for seniors.