A panel of three judges read dozens of articles produced by News Decoder students. These are the ones that wowed them.
The News Decoder logo and a trophy. (Illustration by News Decoder)
Across the globe, governments and society are largely ignoring problems that affect many people. That’s what we found in the articles submitted in News Decoder’s 19th Non-Fiction Storytelling Competition.
The stories that won the top three prizes, and the three stories that took honorable mention, were written by students at three schools on three different continents: African Leadership Academy (ALA) in South Africa, which draws students from across the continent; Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich (RGZH) in Switzerland; and The Tatnall School in the United States.
All schools had embedded News Decoder programs in their classrooms.
The top prize went to ALA student Yosr Manai for “Is virginity a communal possession?,” a story about Tasfih, a rite that involves cutting into the skin of a young girl.
Two stories tied for second prize: Junior Johnson, also of ALA, for “A predatory ecosystem that relies on child soldiers,” an article that looks at how the recruitment of children into armed conflict has become normalized in the Democratic Republic of Congo, his home country; and Ava Rabian of RGZH for “What if “sweet sixteen” meant “social media, at last!” an exploration of the pros and cons of phone bans.
In third place was Emma Shay of The Tatnall School for “Study less, sleep more: could more sleep boost grades?” — a story that looks at how high-achieving students don’t get enough sleep and how that affects their academic performance. Shay’s story is scheduled for publication 6 May.
The judges also applauded …
Three articles earned honorable mentions. One went to ALA student Philip Modupeh Atere-Roberts for “When your future has no entry point,” about the lack of entry-level jobs in his home country, Sierra Leone.
Another went to Tatnall student Max Martire for “The fiery effects of political memes,” a story that explores how seemingly silly political memes can reinforce false narratives and lead to a hardening of political divides.
And AyanfeOluwa Ayanlade of ALA earned the third honorable mention for “Weighing the good and bad of technology,” an insightful examination of the arguments about the dangers and benefits of personal electronic devices.
All the students came out of classes that had embedded News Decoder’s Pitch, Report, Draft and Revise signature journalism learning process into their classes.
As part of the PRDR process, students came up with ideas for stories, pitched those ideas to News Decoder for feedback, then reported the stories, submitted drafts and worked with an editor at News Decoder to revise those stories to meet professional journalistic standards.
Reaching a wide audience
One of the most challenging aspects of the process for many students is adapting from the academic style of essay and report writing that had been instilled in them from the time they were in primary school, to being able to write for a general audience in a way that would entice people to read about topics they know nothing about.
“We tell them that they’ve mastered the art of writing to impress a teacher,” said News Decoder Educational News Director Marcy Burstiner. “But would someone they play video games with want to read it? Would someone halfway across the world that they’ve never met want to read it? It isn’t enough to make a story informative. They have to make it interesting. And that is much harder to master.”
The winners were selected by a three-person jury that included Slovenian journalist Sonja Merljak Zdovc, who is the founder and editor of Časoris, Slovenia’s award-winning online newspaper for children; News Decoder alum Marouane El Bahraoui, now a research intern at The Carter Center in Atlanta in the United States; and Denmark-based climate journalist Amina McCauley, who previously was program manager of the News Decoder project Empowering Youth Through Environmental Storytelling.
Overall, the judges were impressed by both the story topics and how the students turned those topics into informative articles. Of the first-place winning story on virginity by Manai, a self-described Tunisian global citizen, one judge noted: “Well told, examples well deployed, and strong firsthand evidence.”
And of the story about the lack of entry level jobs in Sierra Leone, a judge wrote: “The topic is fresh and the questions are urgent, good topic choice.”
Meeting difficult criteria
The judges rated the entries based on set criteria: whether the author interviewed anyone for the story; whether the student reported the story without bias; whether the student considered different perspectives; and the judge’s own subjective assessment about the quality of the story.
Burstiner was particularly impressed by the breadth and sophistication of the story topics.
“Child soldiers, female mutilation rites — these are topics most professional journalists steer clear of,” Burstiner said. “But even in the ones that didn’t win top prizes the topics were impressive. One student wrote about how schools don’t teach financial literacy while society expects kids to understand how to borrow and budget wisely when they reach adulthood.”
Another student, she said, wrote about how even when you are fluent in a language you can face discrimination just because you speak with an accent.
To produce an article or podcast for the competition, the students needed to find an original topic and credible sources and experts to interview. For stories that explored personal experiences, they needed to dive deep into their feelings and into what was happening around them.
News Decoder also encourages students to write through a global lens, connecting problems in one community with similar problems in other countries.
The contest is held two times a year in honor of the late Arch Roberts Jr., who served with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna after more than 12 years as a staff member with the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. With the backing of an anonymous donor, News Decoder was able to award a total of $850 in cash prizes to this year’s winners.
To be considered for the contest, an entry must have been written by one or more students enrolled in a News Decoder partner institution.
Learn more about News Decoder’s school partnership program.
A list of the winners:
First Prize:
Yosr Manai, African Leadership Academy: “Is virginity a communal possession?“
Second Prize:
Junior Johnson, African Leadership Academy: “A predatory ecosystem that relies on child soldiers”
Ava Rabian, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich: “What if “sweet sixteen” meant “social media, at last!”
Third Prize:
Emma Shay, The Tatnall School: “Study less, sleep more: could more sleep boost grades?” (To be published 6 May)
Honorable Mention:
Max Martire, The Tatnall School: “The fiery effects of political memes”
Philip Modupeh Atere-Roberts, African Leadership Academy: “When your future has no entry point“
AyanfeOluwa Ayanlade, African Leadership Academy: “Weighing the good and bad of technology”