For once, instead of breaking news, The Shield and The Shield Online are the news. The staff found out on Friday that McCallum’s news magazine and news website had won an International First Place Award as a result of the online and print media and news evaluation conducted by Quill and Scroll.

Although The Shield has received recognition in the past for its print edition, this award marks the first time that The Shield has earned recognition in a national press competition that considers both a school’s print and online work.

“Covering student life is one of the strongest areas of your publication and website,” the Quill and Scroll judge wrote. “By reading your publication, students gain a better understanding of the school community, its people and the everyday occurrences and happenings that comprise the ‘life’ therein.”

The judge went on to write that The Shield’s sports coverage is especially strong and hits many different angles of the sports world at McCallum. The judge also stated that The Shield covered a wide variety of school issues as well as off-campus issues.

“Your publication includes an impressive array of off-campus news and localized explorations of social trends as well as other stories relative to your audience,” the judge wrote.

The judge also praised the growth of the @macjournalism Instagram account, which The Shield staff operates in conjunction with the The Knight yearbook staff. The judge said that the growth of @macjournalism’s Instagram audience over the 2015-2016 school year was very impressive. When the school year began, the account had 150 followers. As of this writing that number stands at 814. According to the judge, the combination of great photography and well-written captions, plus the frequency of posts, make the account very strong.

“Each [story] has its place to tell an engaging story,” The judge wrote. “And your staff seeks ways to use each to its fullest advantage.”

Even though The Shield received a lot of positive feedback, the staff also received criticism in areas where it needs to work harder in the future. The judge said the staff needs to do a better job of connecting off-campus and national news topics back to McCallum life.

“Ensure that off campus coverage includes sufficient sources to demonstrate relevance to the student audience and to help readers understand the context of the issue under exploration,” the judge wrote. “Seek local angles whenever possible to hook the larger issue or question the story attempts to understand.”

The judge also wrote that some of the typography could be improved, specifically that some of the textual elements are larger than they should be.

“Photo credits and captions should be much smaller,” the judge wrote. “Their blocky appearance is a distraction rather than an enhancement. Credits can be as small as point size 6, depending on the appearance of font chosen.”

Although the judge did identify specific areas where the staff could improve this year, the overall response was extremely positive and a great way to start off the 2016-17 McCallum journalism year.

“Your diligent work, dedication and desire to improve showcase a strong commitment to telling stories with passion across multiple platforms,” the judge wrote. “Your efforts are setting the bar high for others to follow, especially your inquisitive and experimental attitude to try new approaches to storytelling.”

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