Hawaii Baptist Academy wins top award for high school journalism

Apr. 18—Hawaii Baptist Academy's student journalists continued their winning streak with a seventh consecutive "Best in State " award at the 53rd High School Journalism Awards.

The honor earned HBA's Eagle Eye newspaper a $200 prize from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Finishing behind the Nuuanu school in the top category were Mid-Pacific Institute, Mililani High School, 'Iolani School and Kalani High School.

The 12 Eagle Eye staff members got to celebrate their achievement via Zoom on Thursday, huddling around a computer screen in their classroom and erupting in cheers when the winner was announced.

"There were only a dozen of us in the classroom, but we made way more noise than we thought a dozen people would be cable of, " Editor-in-Chief Johanna Seng said.

The HBA newspaper also captured first place in the photo, design and website categories and collected nine individual wins.

Despite the Eagle Eye's stellar track record, adviser Eunice Sim said it's still a surprise every year when the school wins, especially considering the caliber of the competition.

"I'm even more surprised partly because of the pandemic, " Sim said. "We've all been so isolated. You can only see your tiny little world, and in many ways you just don't have a feel for what's going on out there. I think any recognition feels comforting."

Jay Hartwell, president of the Hawaii Publishers Association, said he hopes students will continue to "pursue interesting stories and tell them in compelling ways through journalism."

"There are always going to be challenges getting the facts you need to tell a story, " he said. "They can be a pandemic, they can be a president who hates what you're doing, they can be a neighbor who is scared to talk. In order to learn how to get the facts to tell the story, you need to be able to overcome those challenges in ways that are appropriate. Who would've guessed having to report in a pandemic ?"

In addition to the competitive categories, the student newspapers each named their most valuable staff members.

This year's contest was co-sponsored by the Hawaii Publishers Association, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Communications journalism program.