1st Place, Breaking News Coverage
2021-22, Division 4, News Writing
By Emily Kunzelman
The Cougar Crier
Annapolis HS
On October 14th, the D7 community suffered an unthinkable tragedy when 12 year-old O.W. Best student Joey Smith was hit by a car and killed after the AHS football game. Since then, the entire District 7 community has been dealing with the tragedy. Making the loss even harder, Joey’s mother, Catherine Smith, is a sin-
gle working mom, and a former D7 student herself. Friends and community members came together to help support Smith at a candlelight vigil
in the AHS parking lot the evening of October 20th at 8pm. D7 community member Bianca Grucz also created a GoFundMe to alleviate the financial burden of funeral costs.
“Please help this family during this unforeseen and tragic time. No parent should have to bury a child. Let’s come together as a community and take the financial burden off of her,” wrote Grucz.
While the original goal of the fund was $10,000, that number was quick- ly surpassed by the donations of the community. The goal was then set to $35,000, which was also surpassed. The final amount raised was over
$36,000.
“The outpouring of support, kind words, prayers, and donations from the community for this family has truly made such a positive impact during such a devastating time,” wrote Grucz.
Over 150 members of the D7 community RSVP’d on Facebook for the vigil. In the end, around 300 people showed up to the event. D7 parents, students, and alumni paid their respects for Joey and held candles in his memory. Friends and family shared memories of Joey.
“I want everyone to know that my nephew’s a real [and] genuine person. I have so many positive memories of him growing up,” said Joey’s aunt Sarah Smith.
AHS Principal Aaron Mollett helped organize the event with the Class of 2023 and spoke about the outpouring of support and love forSmith during this difficult time. He was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for the vigil, by the number of people that were there simply to remember Joey.
“I’m very impressed that [the] D7, two square miles of city, community can come together like this. I’ve worked here since 2002. You guys are awesome [and] amazing,” said Mollett.
The tragedy hit the students of D7 especially hard. The morning after Joey’s death, Superintendent Dr. Ty Weeks posted on the District 7 Facebook that he was activating the district’s crisis team to help students mourn and give them support.
“I simply cannot say enough about the professionals who came together over the weekend in order to prepare to receive students. They have dedicated themselves to ensuring that students feel supported and safe in their school environment,” wrote Weeks.
After Joey’s death was released to the students of D7, the AHS seniors decided that students and staff should wear red that following Monday in his memory.
“Wear red on Monday for the passing of Joey Smith, a 7th grader who died on his way home from one of our football games,” posted senior Hassan Rivers.
Joey’s memory will continue to be remembered after the vigil, after the GoFundMe is done, and after the football season is over. The D7 community wants to pass a law that prevents similar tragedies from happening and would establish speed bumps and flashing stop lights in front of D7 schools. It’s called “Joey’s Law.”
NW-01. Breaking News Coverage
Coverage of an unplanned breaking or developing news event, published within 48 hours of the originating news event. Report should contain as much information as possible without editorializing or relying on assumptions. Online reports may reflect updates as the news event unfolds, but it should be noted in the story when this has occurred. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the story was published or the URL to the story on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Reports as much of the who, what, where, when, why and how as possible
- Story is in the form of a short report to get out essential facts as soon as possible
- Does not sacrifice accuracy for the sake of timeliness
- Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscores news story importance
- The most important, relevant and timely information is near the beginning of the story
- Emphasizes news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact, and prominence
- Avoids opinion unless properly attributed
- Proper diction/grammar; use of third person