DHS Students Win Journalism Awards

Anybody with a student at knows there are plenty of budding journalists there.

The writing is good. Just check out the website 3ten.com or find a copy of Carpe Diem, the school literary magazine.

The rest of the state knows it, too. Decatur students won a number of journalism awards recently. Jon Reese of Decatur High provided a full account.

Students from the print and broadcast journalism classes at Decatur High School won top honors from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association at a ceremony on April 26 at UGA's Classic Center in Athens.

Fikrea Tesema was honored as the first place winner of the First Amendment contest sponsored by the Cox Institute.

The GSPA presents All-Georgia awards to the top performer in each award category. Decatur brought back four All-Georgia awards: Mary Adams and Gabriel Marcus for broadcast sports package, Mollie-Emma O'Neil for broadcast feature package, Colleen Suratt for house editorial, and Meredith Broyles for headline writing.

A handful of entries in each category were recognized as superior. The following students received superior ratings: Faith Huh for broadcast feature package; Sam Levy and Jake Rodgers for sports column; Lucy Phipps-Kaye for feature story and for commentary; Sam Levy for commentary; Madelyn Carlson for feature profile; Charlie Shew for sports feature; and Wilson Witherspoon for sports feature.

The school's newsmagazine, Carpe Diem, earned a superior rating and was named a General Excellence winner. The GSPA judge wrote, "Another fantastic year, and you're looking great inside and out. Your cover pieces were incredibly well-written."

The broadcast show, The DEC, also earned a superior rating. "Writing is strong. Scripts are solid, and reporters generally do a nice job of moving the story along. It's evident that a lot of thought went in to planning, shooting, and editing the pieces," wrote the GSPA judge.

Jon Reese advises both the print and broadcast programs. "This recognition honors these students' dedication to producing stories worth telling. Although they keep their student audience in mind – not the awards judges – when they report, it's still nice to be singled out by professionals," Reese said.