The fourth day.
The third month.
The second year in a row.
All for one major announcement.
The Accolade’s online website was named a National Scholastic Press Association [NSPA] Online Pacemaker finalist on Wednesday, March 4, through Facebook.
Upon receiving the news from former The Accolade adviser Tommy Li, who attended the official Zoom session announcing the finalists, adviser CJ D’Innocente said he viewed the recognition as validation of the staff’s dedication.
“I felt really proud, and I felt really excited, because it’s a huge accomplishment for our program,” D’Innocente said. “It’s a testament to all the hard work that our reporters have put in, all year and last year as well.”
Senior Aashna Dialani, The Accolade’s web editor-in-chief, said that adjusting to key differences in staff and the program’s structure made the nomination unexpected.
“I just really wanted to kind of get into the groove of things with a new adviser, a new staff; my biggest goal was for everyone to learn,” Dialani said. “I didn’t have any expectations for a whole award, so when I found out, I was really, really happy, and I felt like all our hard work had finally paid off, and it was good to follow Seowon’s legacy last year.”
Dialani said the largest change from last year was the emphasis on art, which she said contributed to the finalist nomination by making the website stand out.
“This year, I made it a point to have three comic strips be posted every week, just so that we could showcase that, yes, we do have great writers, but we also have really, really great illustrators and artists and videographers and photographers, people who focus more on the digital aspect of journalism,” she said. “And when you see something that’s easy on the eyes, like a new comic every week, that might be something that interests people and gets more viewership.”
In contrast to Dialani, senior Lauren Kang, The Accolade’s managing editor, who organizes the multimedia and podcasts, said that despite the changes, the NSPA Online Pacemaker finalist was anticipated.
“I’m not surprised that we are finalists because we’ve been putting in the same quality and same amount of work into our website, and I think that that’s just a product of the hard work that we’ve done,” Kang said.
She said the most challenging part of regulating the website was maintaining consistency, adding that her role as managing editor made it more difficult.
Kang said this struggle was more pronounced this year, especially since The Accolade has only one managing editor instead of having a separate web managing editor like in previous years.
“I would say consistency was pretty hard … whether that was posting stories or multimedia was pretty hard for us, but overall, I would like to think that we still did a good enough job to qualify for as a finalist,” Kang said. “It was definitely hard having to manage both print and online.”
The Accolade’s video team leader, senior Issac Lee, said the nomination was particularly meaningful given the demanding expectations for multimedia submissions this year.
“[It feels like] the critics this year were so much harsher than last year,” Lee said. “Videos are a huge part of the multimedia badge, … and without that badge, we wouldn’t even have qualified for this [nomination].”
More specifically, Lee refers to the School Newspapers Online [SNO] badges, which align with what judges focus on for the NSPA Online Pacemaker award. The badges include Best of SNO, Audience Engagement, Multimedia, Story Page Excellence and Continuous Coverage and Excellence.
Though these badges are not a requirement, 37 out of the 40 NSPA Online Pacemaker finalists are SNO Distinguished Sites.
He said it was more difficult because the video staff was smaller than the previous year, which he said only added to the sense of success.
“Last year, we had like five members in the video team, but this year, it was only two, but then it also motivated us to work harder because we have fewer people,” Lee said. “So I was happy when it got this [recognition] because it meant that we worked hard and we put out all those videos, even with only two members.”
The winners will be announced during the NSPA convention on April 16-18, and D’Innocente said he hopes the program can continue to build on its recent success.
“I hope that we get a good placement, I hope that we win, for sure,” D’Innocente said. “It’s my first year as adviser here, and so to win something, or at least be recognized, is a huge honor, and I’m just happy to be a part of that legacy.”
CONTINUING A WINNING TRADITION
The Accolade’s NSPA Online Pacemaker finalist nomination follows numerous Orange County Journalism Education Association [OCJEA] Write-Off wins as well, including first place for Newspaper Sweepstakes, indicating having the highest collective points added up from all divisions, and Best Print Publication for the Sept. 19 and Dec. 12 issues in the North Orange County division.
As an editor-in-chief who contributed to the print magazines, senior Nicole Park said the awards emphasize the collective effort of the entire staff.
“I think it goes to show how dedicated a lot of our staff members are,” Park said. “It truly does take every single person to blossom in their own individual roles to make this publication as good as it is now.”
The Write-Off took place on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Northwood High School in Irvine, where the participating The Accolade members placed in their respective divisions:
- First place Editorial Cartoon: co-graphics editor junior Joanna Joo
- First place Feature: Nicole Park
- Second place Sports: co-Sports editor junior Ellen Hwang
- Third place Editorial: Dialani
- Third place Critical Review: News editor junior Ashley Kang
- Third place Sports: co-Arts & Entertainment editor senior Yena Oh
- Fourth place Editorial: co-Opinion editor junior Kyuwon Han
- Fourth place Sports: Lauren Kang
- Fifth place Feature: assistant Feature editor junior Alice Chae
- Sixth place Editorial: co-Opinion editor junior Elise Pak
- Seventh place Editorial Cartoon: illustrator Sofie CiudadReal
- Seventh place News: editor-in-chief senior Irene Park
- 10th place News: staff reporter junior Sua Lee
Although she was less nervous because of her prior experience, Nicole Park said she did not expect to earn the top placement in her Feature category.
“During the writing process, nothing really was substantially difficult or unexpected, but I personally didn’t think that I wrote my best,” she said. “So when I was at the awards ceremony, and I got first, I was really shocked; I think that was the most shocked I’ve been in a long time.”
Joo also said her placement in Editorial Cartoon was unexpected, as she said the limited time made completing her art more challenging.
“I felt pressed for time because we only had an hour and a half, and then I just felt kind of unprepared too,” Joo said. “But I was so happy because I didn’t think I actually did that well.”
The Accolade additionally placed second for Best Podcast and Best Online, losing to Northwood High School for Best Podcast and Brea Olinda High School for the latter.
D’Innocente said that though the website is strong, it is a section to build on.
“I think I would love to have won best website as well,” D’Innocente said. “I think there are a couple factors this year that caused us to maybe fall behind on the website a little bit, so that’s something for next year I hope to improve on.”
MORE WINS TO FOLLOW
All of the members who competed in the OCJEA Write-Off qualified for the Southern California Journalism Education Association [SCJEA] competition on Saturday, March 14.
Along with winning third place in the Newspaper Sweepstakes, the following participating The Accolade members placed in their respective divisions:
- First place Sports: Hwang
- First place Editorial Cartoon: Joo
- Second place Opinion: Han
- Fifth place Editorial Cartoon: CiudadReal
- Sixth place Opinion: Pak
- Ninth place News: Irene Park
- 10th place Feature: Chae
- To prepare for the competition, D’Innocente said he evaluated what to improve on with the staff.
“I think a lot of it is just reproducing what we were able to produce on that other Saturday, the OCJEA,” D’Innocente said. “I think a big plan is maybe reviewing what worked, … and what maybe didn’t work for us and just taking a moment to reflect on those things ahead of the competition.”
Han and Joo both found out about their placements from D’Innocente, and they were surprised.
With her goal set to place in the top 10 of her division, Han said the outcome was unexpected, especially given the difficulties she faced while adjusting.
“I was really surprised because I wasn’t anticipating this, but I was really happy,” Han said. “I wasn’t anticipating this result because the format was different … so it took me longer to get started and build the structure.”
Anxious and eager to compete at the state level, Joo said she aimed for first place, or at least the top three in her category, and was shocked when she met this goal.
“I was actually pretty surprised — I didn’t think I did very well given the time constraint and my lack of paper, but it was very exciting to hear,” Joo said.
Although Hwang was anxious during the award ceremony, she said she felt less tense during the actual competition because of its familiarity.
“I wasn’t really nervous while competing because it was the same experience and style as the OCJEA competition,” Hwang said. “I think my relaxed state played a huge role in my placement since I tend to do better when I’m not nervous.”
Overall, Irene Park described the SCJEA competition as an enjoyable experience.
“It’s always a wonderful experience in which I get to meet new people and put my skills to the test,” Irene Park said. “I always have fun just from getting to see what it’s like to be an actual journalist reporting on the story, and I have a great time while I’m there.”
D’Innocente said the continued recognition reflects The Accolade’s strength and history.
“I think [these awards] mean a lot as far as the history goes,” the adviser said. “This is a back-to-back win for us, and to be recognized both years is a huge accomplishment.
“I think it means that there’s going to be many more wins to come in the future.”
