St. Louis Park Student Named MN High School Journalist Of Year

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN — Ethan Brown, a senior at St. Louis Park High School, and the Editor-in-Chief of Echo, the school’s award-winning student newspaper, has been named the Minnesota High School Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association (JEA).

To be considered for the honor, Brown submitted three letters of recommendation, an essay, and a portfolio of his work including examples of his writing, design and leadership skills. Brown's portfolio will now be judged on a national level at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention.

One individual will receive a $3,000 scholarship, while up to six runners-up will receive $850 scholarships, according to a news release.

“As a young journalist and someone who is looking to go into journalism later in life, this is the biggest honor I could have received,” Brown said in a statement. “Receiving this award is also a nice recognition of the work our whole staff has done this year.”

Brown says some of his most memorable moments the past two years on the staff of Echo include being named News Editor for second semester last year as a junior as well as the coverage he and his staff put out following the presidential election in November. “

Our coverage following the election defined our staff and showed that we were serious about what we were doing,” Brown said. “It was nice to see our staff united and putting out quality content for our school.”

Brown, who plans to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia next year and double major in convergence journalism and political science, says being a part of Echo has been a great experience for him.

“Echo has been beneficial to me in a multitude of ways. As someone who wants to go into journalism, it was just a natural path for me,” Brown said. “It’s been advantageous for me as a journalist and also as a citizen when it comes to news literacy, which is important for anyone who wants to be an informed member of our society.”

SLPHS also recognized

Brown isn’t the only one from St. Louis Park recently recognized by the JEA. St. Louis Park High School was one of 11 high schools around the country awarded the 2017 First Amendment Press Freedom Award. A committee with representatives from the JEA, the National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society chose the 2017 winners.

The award recognizes public high schools that actively support, teach, and protect First Amendment rights and responsibilities of students and teachers, with an emphasis on student-run media where students make all final decisions of content.

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