The Southfield Jay student newspaper earned three national awards for outstanding high school journalism from Quill and Scroll in 2010 and nine state honors from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA).
Editor Logan Patmon earned two national awards for his review writing. One was for his review of The Melting Pot restaurant in Novi and the other was for his review of the Wayne County Light Fest.
Senior Matthew Anderson won a national award from Quill and Scroll and a state award from MIPA for his feature story on blind senior Kara Harris’s dream of becoming a nurse.
The Southfield Jay staff also earned two Spartan awards from MIPA on April 30 – one for its printed newspaper and another for its on-line editions. A Spartan award is the highest honor given to a school publication by MIPA.
The Southfield Jay has now earned 11 Spartan awards for its print and on-line editions in the past eight years.
Several Jay staffers also earned individual journalism honors this year, competing in Division II with MIPA:
* Editor Logan Patmon received the Lem Tucker scholarship to study journalism at Central Michigan University, in Mt. Pleasant.
* Video editor Matthew Anderson won first place in video journalism from MIPA for his report on the school’s robotics team.
* Staff Artist Tania Lee won second in the state from MIPA for editorial cartooning. Her winning entry depicted the relationship of the new University High School in Southfield to Southfield High School.
* Photo Editor Michelle Nobles won second in the state for feature photography for her photo of melting cheese at the fondue restaurant in Novi called The Melting Pot.
* Sports Editor Cory Jackson won third place in sports feature writing for his story about a high school student who gets in fights all the time – in the boxing ring.
As a result of their efforts, The Southfield Jay staff members were invited to meet the members of the Board of Education and address them at their May meeting.
The Southfield Jay publishes a print edition on a monthly basis during the school year. Its online edition is updated periodically throughout the school year.