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Since the spring of 2005, the IJEA All-State Journalism Team has recognized those students who have proven themselves indispensable to their respective school media (e.g., yearbook, print or online newspaper, print or online newsmagazine, broadcast or other journalistic media).
We began the All-State Journalism Team as a way to recognize those students who are “most valuable players” — those students whose leadership, energy, dedication and expertise make their publications possible but whose main contributions often occur behind the scenes.
This is what makes the All-State Team different from other high school journalism honors. It’s not about the byline. We don’t select the year’s best writer, photographer, designer or broadcaster — although many All-State honorees would do just fine in those kinds of contests!
Instead, we choose those student journalists who’ve put their publications ahead of themselves.
They’re the ones who are willing to sacrifice their spare time to make sure other people’s stories are well edited. They’re the ones who make sure a publication’s pages are smartly designed, the headlines witty, the photos well composed, the website up to date and easy to navigate, the videos smoothly produced and the information in every story accurate and fair. They’re the ones who don’t seek recognition but who deserve it most of all.
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