Nixa High School’s student-produced news magazine, Wingspan, and its related website, NixaJournalism.net, earned a Silver Medalist award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for its 2022-23 publications.
“The staff of Wingspan may be small, but it’s mighty,” one of the judges critiqued. “Thanks to the eye-catching covers, we couldn’t wait to flip through each issue of Wingspan and click through each vertical on the website. We are impressed by the range of stories, from news features to profiles to contemporary issues.”
CSPA was founded in 1925 for the purpose of bringing together student journalists and their faculty advisers from different schools around the country to exchange ideas, support each other, and to engage in shared learning. The association is owned and operated by Columbia University.
The Silver Medalist award is based on coverage completed during the 2022-23 school year.
The 2022-23 Wingspan staff members included 2023 graduates Lydia Cheek, Arabella Cosgrove, Eli Dean, Justice Jones and Joanna Petinaris; juniors Grace Dillard, Hailey Deluca-Bolin, Olivia Hartman, Emma Jelinek and Kyleigh Nielson; and seniors Maddie McCrea, Deliliah Neff, Paige Oyler and Kaitlyn Witts.
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association, a department of Columbia University in New York City, was established in 1925 to help improve student publications. Student newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, both print and digital, enroll in the CSPA as members. The major service to members is an annual evaluation of each member’s published issues during the prior school year.
All public actions entered in the annual critique receive a placing based on scores. Gold medalists receive 800-1,000 points, Silver Medalists 600-799 points, and Bronze Medalists below 600 points. Wingspan received a total score of 742.17.
The full critique is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dRo2XqF9xEXmBKboZ_1HuOzuSZUNWRHN/view.
