Judges Comments
- The best advertisements showed great use of composition and concept.
- These advertisements included a sufficient and appropriate amount of information.
- The use of typography and inclusion of original design or photographs also aided to the
rating of these advertisements.
Photo Illustration
The category implies more than just doing one photoshop border effect to a photo and more than just cutting out a background or using straight photos with text as in a Speak Out. The photo is used to illustrate a story, a message or a theme. It blends with the content and enhances meaning. Use of color did not necessarily improve rating. But if color was used, it needed to be in good taste. Photos needed to be original. The best entries were creative and full of impact. Designers, do not be afraid to use a dominant image to make a point.
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Overall, these entries were quite strong. The best |
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ones used color effectively, and they used graphics |
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effectively. They also had strong action photos, and |
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they understand the effectiveness of planned white space. |
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Great work by the Superior schools. Theme Development packets are most effective when you |
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include as many spreads and examples of thematic use of graphics, copy content, relating photos and |
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typographical treatment as you can. A package seems incomplete without a table of contents, so be sure that it |
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is part of the theme development packet. Taking an old idea and reworking it to this specific year seems |
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to be working quite well for these Nebraska schools. Good work! |
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Yearbook Theme Copy |
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Remember that it takes two samples of theme writing to equal one entry. The strongest copy blocks |
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included specific details and solid reporting. Theme writing leads readers to a section of the book, not |
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completely directed at any one team or topic. The strongest writers also used creative approaches and |
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cleverly used thematic phrases to work to their advantage. |
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Careful editing is a must with all stories. Be sure to pay attention to details in sports stories. |
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The winning entries conveyed solid reporting with relevant quotes. The leads did more than simply name |
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the school and the sport. Getting the coach perspective is nice, too. Almost all of these news stories were |
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post-game or post-season. Remember to consider other newsworthy sports stories, too, |
Yearbook Feature Writing & Yearbook Sports Feature
Writing
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It's so good to see that writing is an important part of yearbooks. Too many |
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staffs are turning to just photos and minimal captions that can't begin to |
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capture the essence of the year the way good copy can. Congratulations to |
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the winners and all who entered for telling the stories of the year. |
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The best features shared strong leads, often showing interesting |
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people in action, and solid quote-transition structure with rich direct |
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quotations. The best leads also immediately answer the number one question |
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for our readers: "Why should I care?" An overall suggestion is to consider |
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including more sources (beyond the primary source), thus widening the |
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reporting and going beyond a single point of view. I also commend writers |
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who take a shot at moving beyond the quote-transition formula, experimenting |
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with including paraphrased extended anecdotes. |
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The best columns always feature a clear, compelling and |
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attractive voice. That voice is sometimes passionate, sometimes humorous, |
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sometimes witty -- never preachy, never self-indulgent. The very best |
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columns almost always began with an anecdote or observation that helped |
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focus the column and those columns always featured some sort of theme, or |
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larger truth or ethical point. This was actually one of the strongest groups |
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of columns I have come across from one state, and I congratulate the many |
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students and their advisers who are pushing readers to think about their |
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communities in entertaining and provocative ways. |
Editorial Writing
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Strengths |
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- creative topics, not the same old "we need better lunch food" |
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stories (unless it is an absolute hot topic around the school) |
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- not being afraid to cover the tough topics (either within your school or society) |
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- a defense of the staff's opinion, rooted in logic and supported by |
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comprehensive research |
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- the ability to distinguish between an informational piece and an |
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opinion-based piece |
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- analysis and understanding of your target audience |
Newspaper Sports Feature Writing
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Wow! The sports reporters of Nebraska know how to tell a story. Good job to the reporters |
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who found stories to tell on wakeboarding, badminton, injuries, trainers, sibling rivalry, fans |
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and other featurized aspects of high school sports. The leads painted strong visual images and |
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the quotes brought life to the pages. Some of those that didn't win awards seemed to be straight game |
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or season stories, perhaps better suited for a sports news category. Others were just not developed |
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enough. Length isn't always a strength, but don't just stop at one quote. Good interviewing and story- |
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telling ability will keep the readers involved. |
Editorial Cartooning
The best editorial cartoons (adapted from JEA national Write-off Contest guidelines)
- make a simple and clear editorial statement to convey a specific message
- message should be clear without reading the accompanying staff editorial (otherwise, the artwork is really only an illustration for the piece)
- show evidence of artistic ability
- incorporate a novel approach
- avoid trite and melodramatic imagery
- use wit.
Infographic Design
- The awarded entries in
this area showed great strength in overall
composition, including design and information conveyed.
- The entries provided sufficient information that would aid the given
subject covered in the publication.
- The information was portrayed in a graphic manner that was appealing to
the eye, easy to understand, and showed originality.
Review Writing
The best reviews
- sustain a creative approach
- make the reviewerÕ opinion clear, especially of whether the subject is worthy of the readerÕs time/money
- demonstrate the expertise of the author with the genre being reviewed
- use strong comparisons and contrasts
- do not merely rehash plot or list songs
- support opinions with examples
- indicate how interviews were obtained with the subjects of the review: e-mail, phone, published in other publications
- include consumer information such as location, cost, industry rating (where applicable) and why
- use short paragraphs
- follow AP style
- demonstrate careful proofreading
Newswriting
The best news stories strove
to cover issues of importance to the student body and made important
connections with the larger community. The best news stories were written clearly, concisely, consistently, and
without errors. The best news
stories were written objectively and maintained a professional voice
throughout.
Newspaper Layout
All of the award winners in newspaper layout followed the basic principles of modular design and visual and narrative content generated by their own staff. The excellent designs all used the basic elements of design: proximity, alignment, repetition and contrastÉ to create a pleasing, readable design that lead readers though the page.
The superior designs took a step further and used design
elements to complete and compliment the theme of the story or spread.
Headline Writing & Design
The best entries immediately
pulled the reader into the story and summarized the main point well. The best headlines were creatively
written, avoiding cliched statements and dull word choice. The best headline
designs were clean, simple, and driven by the content of the story.
News/Feature Photography
What distinguished the superior photographers in the news/feature category used varied situations and points of view. They showed emotion and gave insight into the moment. They showed interesting cropping and lighting. Their photos exhibited unique ways of looking at high school life.
Sports/Action Photography
What distinguished the superior action/sports photographer was how he captured a moment and pulled the viewer into the action. The photos showed the photographer knew how to shoot in different lighting and weather conditions. The images illustrated movement while filling the frame. The rule of thirds was clearly used and the photos had vivid color.
InDepth Coverage
The best entries were on topics of interest to a majority of readers.
The writers dug for some good quotes that at times played on readers'
emotions. They avoided including their own opinion, and they
generally stayed away from first and second person. They also used a
variety of sources, including expert ones, when needed.
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