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Hawaii Baptist scores fourth win

POSTED: Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hawaii Baptist Academy's newspaper, the Eagle Eye, won first place as the best overall newspaper yesterday in the 40th annual Hawaii State High School Journalism Awards.

BEST IN STATE

» Layout and design: Kamehameha-Maui

» Sports writing: Waianae High School

» Editorial cartoon: Kaiser High School

» Illustration: Waipahu High School

» Photography: Hawaii Baptist Academy

» News writing: Moanalua High School

» Features writing: Waianae High School

» Editorial writing: Mililani High School High School

TOP NEWSPAPERS

» First place: Hawaii Baptist Academy

» Second place: Moanalua High School

» Third place: Campbell High School

» Best single issue: Moanalua High School

» Cover art/design: Diana Chung, Kaiser High School

MERIT AWARDS

» Beginning Division: Damien Memorial School

» Intermediate Division: Radford High School

» Established Division: Kamehameha Schools Kapalama

Moanalua High School's Moa Na Hoku O Moanalua came in second and also won the awards for Best Single Issue and Best Newswriting.

Campbell High won third place.

The Hawaii Publishers Association, in partnership with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser, sponsored the contest and awards luncheon at the Pagoda Hotel.

“;I was only a little shocked,”; said Eagle Eye Editor-in-Chief Joshua Shon. “;I think we really deserved this award.”;

The Eagle Eye has won the award three times previously, and also picked up an award this year for Best Photography.

Shon, voted most valuable staffer in his first year on the newspaper, said, “;We worked really hard, and we printed more issues this year than any other year—one every month. It wasn't only the qualifications of the staff, it was our chemistry. We wanted to put our best into the paper, to try our best at whatever we do and have something to be proud of.”;

The victory was all the sweeter because, as adviser George Honzaki noted, “;There are a lot of good papers out there.”;

The stiffest competition came from a largely inexperienced staff at Moanalua. All but one of the students were new, said adviser Liane Voss.

“;I'm really proud of the staff,”; Voss said.

The staff “;really pushed the envelope”; in thinking up new ideas and producing a “;snazzier”; newspaper that all “;the kids were actually reading and talking about,”; she said.

Co-editor Michelle Ward studied a manual on page design last summer and led the way in her first year on the staff, earning the most valuable staffer award.

Hearing that Voss, adviser at Moanalua for 13 years, might not return, the staff hoped to do well in the contest, “;to give her motivation to come back,”; said co-editor Reece Farinas.

“;Miss Voss is the heartbeat of this paper,”; said Farinas. “;She kept us on task.”;

He added that their awards made all the stress and working “;extra hours to perfect our paper”; worth it.

Diana Chung, a junior at Kaiser, was the Cover Art & Design winner. Merit Award winners were Damien Memorial, beginning division; Radford, intermediate division; and Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, established division.