Green Valley High School’s InvestiGator snaps up top journalism award
The newsroom at Henderson’s Green Valley High School on Monday again took the title of best high school newspaper in Clark County.
For the second year in a row, The InvestiGator student paper won the top honor in the Clark County High School Journalism Awards, which the Las Vegas Review-Journal has sponsored for 39 years.
The InvestiGator previously held an eight-year winning streak for best newspaper before The Roar at Coronado High School, also in Henderson, unseated it in 2012. The InvestiGator won second place that year and fell to third place in 2013, but rocketed back to first again last year.
“It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier,” exclaimed senior Katie Rosso, who served as editor-in-chief at the InvestiGator this and last year.
In a ballroom Monday at the Suncoast resort, Rosso struggled to carry the first-place plaque along with several other awards that she accepted for best editorial cartoon, page one design, copy editing and advertisement.
She also placed second for best review, sports page design and features, arts or entertainment page design.
“She’s an amazing kid, and she deserves each and every one,” said journalism adviser Eric Johnston. “Katie spent more time at the school than some teachers.
“It’s just amazing,” he added. “She has such a love for this craft.”
Like Johnston, advisers at other Clark County high schools believe the competition has grown tougher over the years, as more campuses have started publishing their own newspapers.
However, students suggested that the increased competition forces them to hunt for even better stories.
AJ Gourrier of the Liberty Tribune, for example, won first place for best news feature story after writing about a Rubik’s Cube club at Henderson’s Liberty High School.
“I didn’t know anything about Rubik’s Cubes and just started asking questions,” he said. “Not many people would guess that our football coach started the whole thing.
“The story was fun, interesting and got a lot of people interested in it,” Gourrier said. “I guess that makes it a pretty big impact.”
Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton.
