LHS Journalists attend NESPA, awarded

Scholastic Journalism Conference at Boston University

Boston, MA –  LHS students discussed topics of the journalism profession with other students from across New England, listened to words of wisdom from the Boston Herald’s editor in chief and received awards for The LHS Review and the Raider Report at the annual NESPA conference.

“It is the best of times for journalism,” declared Mr. Joe Sciacca, the editor in chief of the Boston Herald, as he gave an address to over 100 journalism students from across the region at Boston University.

“The disruption… in the [journalism]industry is a good thing,” Mr. Sciacca said.  “…disruption breeds creativity…[but] the biggest challenge we have is keeping faith with our readers.”

Sciacca spoke to the students, including a group from LHS, as part of the 69th annual New England Scholastic Press Association (NESPA) conference hosted each Spring semester at BU’s School of Communication.

“The newsroom is a laboratory, ” Sciacca said as he described the recent change at the Boston Herald toward a multimedia platform strategy in which the newspaper now runs Boston Herald radio  and a broadcast studio out of the news division.

The multimedia platform further compliments its online publishing, social media presence and the traditional tabloid print newspaper.  The Herald won “Innovator of the Year” accolades in 2015 for implementing the multimedia strategy.

Mr. Sciacca spoke personally with the LHS group and reminisced about his time working for The Lowell Sun newspaper and what he learned about reporting while covering his beat which at the time was the town of Wilmington.

After his remarks, he posed for a picture with the LHS group and asked the students to visit him at the Boston Herald headquarters in the future.

Considering the LHS goals for further collaboration among visual arts, digital arts, broadcast and online print media at the school, a visit to the Herald headquarters would offer the students insights and inspirations into how a multimedia strategy toward journalism can be successfully implemented.

LHS journalism recognized

The LHS Review, online newspaper, received a Highest Achievement Award from NESPA for overall online publishing in the Class I category.

While the Red Raider Report received a Highest Achievement Award for broadcast stories submitted by seniors Vattara Heng and Andre Ragel in the Class I category.

Junior David Diaz was recognized with a special achievement award for his story in The LHS Review titled, “Preach’n the musical journey,” about the Rev. Robert B. Jones’ visit to LHS.

Junior Onyeamaechi Onyenwe and Tommy Machado LHS ’16 received a special achievement award for their slideshow with audio from June 2016 entitled, “Civics Day results in LHS successes.”