Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association

Latest News

Newspaper contest entries due on March 5
Start thinking about what great stories you'd like to enter in the 2012 NEWSPA Newspaper Contest. Entries are due on Monday, March 5. For more information, click on the contest link to the left.

NEWSPA to offer in-person newspaper critiques at April 2012 conference
For the fist time, NEWSPA will offer in-person critiques of your newspaper at the annual conference. Vince Filak, adviser for the Advance-Titan and former adviser for the Ball State Daily News, will provide constructive criticism during the 20-minute sessions. Download the registration form to sign up for one of the eight time slots.

Save the date — NEWSPA 2012 will be held on Wednesday, April 25.
We have lots of great sessions planned, including a keynote address from Pat Stiegman of ESPN. Check out the tentative program now.

Fall 2011 newsletter now online
Click here to download the Fall 2011 newsletter and read up on what speakers had to say at the spring 2011 conference, as well as hear plans for the 2012 conference.

Speaker video podcasts, Powerpoints now on resource page
If you missed a speaker during the 2011 NEWSPA conference, you can still listen to what he or she had to say. All you need is a computer and iTunes. Four sessions were podcast during the April 13 conference — everything from social media to libel suits — and you can view the presentations by clicking on the resource tab on the left. Then simply click on the members-only page and type in the name and password that were e-mailed to you when you paid your 2011-12 membership due. Questions? Email benish@uwosh.edu.

Order your NEWSPA T-shirts now!
If you didn't bring cash or couldn't attend the NEWSPA 2011 conference, you can still order a commemorative T-shirt. The black T-shirts are 50% cotton and 50% polyester and feature the NEWSPA logo and state of Wisconsin outline in white. Click here to download the order form.

De Sisti podcasts video from NEWSPA conference
The best way to teach about multimedia is to demonstrate it. And that's just what Mike De Sisti, multimedia picture editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did in the middle of one of his presentations at the 2011 conference. Click here to see the video and hear what Cedarburg High School student Sherry Chen had to say about the conference.

Berlin High School student wins Al Neuharth Free Spirit Award
Karnpal Cheema, a junior at Berlin High School and NEWSPA member, won the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Award. Cheema attended an all-expenses paid journalism conference at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. in July where he met and worked with journalists and media leaders. He also received a $1,000 scholarship to the university of his choice.

The conference and the scholarships are sponsored by the Freedom Forum, founded by Al Neuharth, whose mission is to promote free press, free speech and free spirit for all people

NEWSPA is on Twitter ... it's another way to keep in touch
NEWSPA is on Twitter, a free service that lets you keep in touch through the exchange of quick, frequent notes of what is happening. Go to http://twitter.com/NEWSPA and click on "Join Today." It's a great way to be reminded of deadlines and keep on top of other NEWSPA news.

For students only
Scholarship created for Green Bay East High School graduates
UW Oshkosh alumnus Clifford A. Christl and his family established a scholarsip for Green Bay East High School gradutes who are obtaining a degree from the College of Letters and Sciences at UW Oshkosh. A strong preference will be given to applicants who are planning to major in journalism and are the first family member to attend college.

Applications are available in the Green Bay East High School guidance office and will be accepted Feb. 1 through March 15.

The scholarship was created to honor Christl's father and grandfather. Christl graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1970 and went on to become an award-winning sportswriter. In 2009 he received a UW Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award.

High school students eligible for "Free Spirit" scholarships
The Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Journalism Conference program annually awards $1,000 college scholarships to high school seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism and who demonstrate qualities of “free spirit.”

The deadline is in October for the following school year. For more information and an appliation form, go to http://www.freedomforum.org/freespirit/

For advisers only
Census shows lack of online journalism in high schools
The 2011 Scholastic Journalism Census conducted by the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University reveals that online student media represent a small percentage of all student media in public high schools. Findings show that 96 percent of American public high schools provide some opportunity to participate in student media, but only 33 percent of schools have any online media experience.

Furthermore, barely more than one quarter (27 percent) of print student newspapers have an online component, and only 8 percent of those publish exclusively online. Click to read the complete press release.

Apply for National High School Journalism Teacher awards
Are you brimming with strategies for the current state of scholastic journalism? If you answered yes, you might want to apply for the National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year.

The benefits are considerable: speaking engagements, travel, a newsroom laptop computer, free subscriptions, free media seminars and scholarships for students of the five highest ranking teachers in the competition. The postmark deadline is July 1. Click for the application form.

Indiana University offers journalism adviser workshops
Indiana University offers high school journalism teacher and adviser workshops each summer. Topics to be covered include digital photography, management of student media, taking student media online and independent study for the journalism educator. For more information: http://journalism.indiana.edu/hsji

NEWSPA Slideshow

Spring 2011 NEWSPA Conference Slideshow Online
Click the photo below to start the slideshow.