Fairbury Journalism finds success at State

NSAA Class B State Journalism saw all nine qualifying participants from Fairbury place among the best young competitors in Nebraska during its contests on April 23 in Norfolk.

Northeast Community College hosted the event that brought together twenty-six Class B schools to submit works in various journalistic categories. To qualify, individual entries were sent online from around the state and the top 12 of all 25 categories were selected to move on. A few first-time participants, such as Josephine Blatny ‘20, were enthusiastic about being chosen.

“I’ve only ever written one editorial, but I sent it in,” Blatny said. “I was excited ‘cause I’ve never gone before and journalism’s a lot of work.”

All nine competitors from Fairbury placed in the top six of each category they entered. The school received fifth overall. Among the squad was Paige Livingston ‘18 and Jaelle Johnson ‘20 who won the Yearbook Layout and News/Feature Photo contests respectively.

“It’s exciting to see my friends be successful,” said Emily Burkley ‘18, who placed second in Yearbook Theme Copy and sixth in Yearbook Layout.

Each competition was completed at the end of a designated 75 minute period of time. Final copies and cuts had to be submitted before time ran out. Strict rules, such as the disallowance of cell phones and wireless network, added pressure to the participants.

“I would’ve brought a watch if I would’ve known,” said Nichole Harris ‘19, who placed second in News/Feature Photo and sixth in Infographic. “I just kind of winged it.”

State sports tournaments and events tend to be followed fairly closely by schools and the surrounding area. There is usually not a shortage in crowd size. Some Fairbury Journalism students believe other contests through the school should receive support as well.

“While that may not seem like a big deal… I think it’s as big of a deal.” Burkley said when comparing academic events to sports. “I’m just happy I could spend those moments with my closest friends.”