McLean High's Student Newspaper A Finalist For National Award

MCLEAN, VA — McLean High School's online student newspaper is in the running for a national high school journalism award. The Highlander, an online student-run publication, is one of 28 high school publications nationwide to be named a finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association's online Pacemaker.

The Pacemaker Award has been a tradition since 1927 recognizing high school newspapers, and it later added yearbooks, magazines, online sites and broadcast programs to the mix. Judges selected finalists from 185 locations in 30 states and three countries.

"The judging teams will now continue to study the sites named as Pacemaker finalists on a frequent basis," said Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition. "The Pacemaker winners will be selected shortly before they are named on April 18, so for the 28 schools we are naming as finalists today, the competition is really just heating up."

McLean High School's Highlander is the only student publication selected from Fairfax County Public Schools. The other nominee from Virginia is Prince George High School's TRNWIRED.

Finalists will be recognized with plaques at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at the opening ceremony of the Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville. Winners will be announced and will receive plaques at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18 during the convention's closing awards ceremony.

Check out McLean High School's publication at thehighlandernews.com and all of the online Pacemaker finalists.