Redwood Students Earn National Journalism Honors

Ben Breuner and Michael Weinstein, members of Redwood High School’s Bark newspaper, can officially put themselves in the same category as legendary newsman Dan Rather, after being awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award on April 20.

The two seniors are recognized for the publication of “Targeting Teens,” an investigative piece that highlights data showing that Marin County teenagers are arrested for misdemeanors at a rate higher than both adults and teenagers everywhere else in theBay Area. The RFK award recognizes pieces that focus on human rights and socialjustice.

Police harassment has long been a hot topic among teens and something that Breuner and Weinstein have personal experience with.

“We had experienced some of the issues ourselves on a small scale and heardstories from our friends,” Breuner said.

“It’s kind of something teens talk about in Marin,” Weinstein added.

The pair began their investigative research by talking with other students, hearing their stories and understanding the complexities of the issue. Next, they spoke with lawyers, a juvenile district attorney, doctors, and child psychologists. They crunched numbers they found on the California Department of Justice website, finding that the Marin juvenile arrest rate is double the rate of the California state average. Then, they presented their findings to local police.

“Once we interviewed the first police officer, all of them knew. They were all on the radio with each other. By the time we got to the next station, they knew why we were there,” Breuner said. “It was a little intimidating.”

They continued with their story, however, working on it for two months. The five page spread debuted in the November 2010 issue, but the story took a few days to make an impact.

“There was a bit of a delayed reaction,” Weinstein said.

Initially, they received local attention for their article. ABC 7 News came to the newsroom at Redwood High to cover their story.

Then, the awards started rolling in. Breuner and Weinstein have received a total of three national awards for “Targeting Teens.” They won a Quill and Scroll award, the Journalism Education Association's Student Journalist Impact Award, and the RFK award.

Despite all their hard work, they were not expecting any national recognition.

“Every time an award came in, we were really surprised,” Breuner said.

The pair does agree that the Robert F. Kennedy award is the most exciting.

“The Robert F. Kennedy award is definitely our favorite because we get to go to Washington, D.C. in business attire clothing,” Weinstein said.

The pair, along with the Redwood Bark faculty advisor Tom Sivertsen and an editorial writer, are in the nation's capital to receive $500 dollars and a bust of Robert Kennedy. They are looking forward to the special guest that will present their award.

“It is really exciting. Ethel Kennedy is supposed to be there,” noted Breuner.

Other RFK honorees include the Los Angeles Times, HBO, and National Public Radio. A panel of 60 judges selected the winning entries, choosing to give Breuner and Weinstein the only winning slot for high school print, something that Sivertsen is very proud of.

“The focus and drive that they put into the story was remarkable, especially given the context of all the other school responsibilities they had,” he said.

Their other responsibilities were important too. The boys are set to graduate in June.

“Part of the stress of this article was that it was going on in the same two monthswere trying to finish college applications,” Weinstein said.

They did manage to finish their in-depth article and college applications, but that is not all. They can still boast about one more thing: They recently won a poetry slam competition against two other Marin high schools.

So what is next for the award-winning students? Breuner is off to Northwestern in the fall, ready to dive back into the world of journalism. Weinstein is headed to Brown, but has no more interest in print, at least not at the moment. He would like to study English or pursue music.