Massapequa High Schools award winning newspaper The Chief has won yet another prestigious award. The newspaper was awarded a gold medal by the Columbia Press Association, which is the highest honor a high school newspaper can receive.
“Each year I am more and more amazed at what the students in The Chief accomplish,” advisor Mrs. Elyn Coyle said. “They put countless hours in during the school day, after school, and at home to make this the award-winning quality publication that it is. I couldn’t be prouder to be their advisor.”
The Columbia Press Association judges and critiques newspapers in order to increase their success. The judge reviewing the submission evaluates the strengths and weakness so the staff can continue to grow and improve their paper. Additionally, critiques are made so the staff can better delegate their time to areas of the paper that need improvement.
The awards a publication can win are bronze, silver, and gold. The score ranges for bronze are 599 and below, silver 600-799, and gold 800-1000. The Chief scored a 926 which showed the newspaper excelled in the various categories.
Winning this award shows the dedication of the students who work on The Chief. Without the hard work that’s put in we wouldn’t have been able to receive such an honor.
“It was truly an amazing surprise to know that we won the award. It is nice to know that the hard work and dedication of Danielle and the amazing editors and writers paid off, and to win a gold medal from such a prestigious university will always be an honor we hold dear to us,” Editor-in-Chief Liam Higgins said.
Danielle Anzelone, the previous Editor in Chief of the paper in 2016-17, was also amazed and grateful that The Chief was awarded such a title.
“It is truly an honor to have been part of The Chief while it received such an outstanding award. So many hours were put into each and every edition last year and there is no way we would have made it to the end if it weren’t for the hard work and determination of each and every member of the paper,” she said. “Our advisor Mrs. Coyle, pushed us to present nothing but our very best work and her motivation is definitely what helped us to achieve a status high enough to make us worthy of such a title. I have a strong faith that this year’s members of The Chief are working hard enough to maintain our status and get us recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association yet again.”