WIG… It’s the language that only some understand. WIG (Wildly Important Goal) has a very vital mission in the BlackandRedgister News Room: IHSPA News Team of the Year! The staff is the closest they’ve ever been to accomplishing this goal.
Every year, the IHSPA (Iowa High School Press Association) selects a handful of teams all across the state to be named News Team of the Year. BlackandRedgister (ADM High School) was honored as one of the 5 finalists in Class A for this title, along with The Mustang Moon (Mount Vernon High School), AHSneedle (Atlantic High School), The Bear Student Newspaper (West Branch High School), and Wildcat Chronicles (Durant High School).
Throughout the year, Editor in Chief Caleb Klassen has submitted the staff’s media to IHSPA to be considered for placement. Of these stories submitted to the contest, 23 have been selected for award-winning works.
When asked what being named a finalist meant to him, Klassen said, “We always have a Wildly Important Goal to get News Team of the Year but I always kind of saw that as something far off that we wouldn’t achieve, and we still haven’t achieved it, but being a finalist and winning all these awards shows me that it is possible and even if it doesn’t happen this year, or next year, or [it] might not [happen] while I’m here, but it kind of shows me that it’s possible for us. It always shows that all our hard work, and to a certain degree, my leadership, is paying off and making for strong stories.”
If it weren’t for these strong stories, the staff would not be in this position. The finalists are decided based on the number of points a staff member earns from the Spring Contest Awards, BlackandRedgister earning 23 awards, showing the dedication of the staff this year. The staff is very well-rounded with their forms of media, receiving awards in podcast, video, hand-crafted and written stories for several of the categories, with each staff member contributing to at least 1 award. Each award receives a certain number of points. Because of our numerous awards, BlackandRedgister has earned itself the eligibility for News Team of the Year.
BlackandRedgister’s Multimedia Editor Chloe Meacham contributed greatly to the team’s qualification, earning 9 awards across a variety of categories. When asked what she’s done to work toward the staff’s Wildly Important Goal, Meacham said, “I try to pay attention to detail a lot on my own stories. I honestly didn’t know how we’d get News Team of the Year [because] I didn’t know how it was calculated. But I just did the best that I could for my own stories to make sure that I liked them when they were published, and that I thought they were as good as they could be.”
Meacham’s astounding contributions may just get the staff the title of News Team of the Year at the Fall Conference next school year. The board of IHSPA will review the entire site as a whole before choosing the winner, so every story counts towards the goal. BlackandRedgister is a great example of commitment and conscious striving for excellence.
