Publication Awards
Honors earned:
National Scholastic Press Association: Online Pacemaker finalist, 2013
National Scholastic Press Association: Newspaper Pacemaker finalist, 2013
Scholastic Student Journalism Awards: Best School Newspaper – Print, Grades 9-12, 2013
Columbia Scholastic Press Association: Gold Crown Online News, 2013
Columbia Scholastic Press Association: Silver Crown Online News, 2012
National Scholastic Press Association: Online Pacemaker finalist, 2012
Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis: Superior Newspaper, 2011
Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis: Excellent Website, 2011
Columbia Scholastic Press Association: Gold Crown Online News, 2011
Missouri Interscholastic Press Association: All-Missouri Newspaper, 2008, 2011-13
Missouri Interscholastic Press Association: Show-Me Website, 2011
National Scholastic Press Association: Online Pacemaker, 2011
Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis: Superior Newspaper, 2010
Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis: Superior Website, 2010
Missouri Interscholastic Press Association: Excellent Newspaper, 2010
Missouri Interscholastic Press Association: All-Missouri Website, 2010, 2012-13
National Scholastic Press Association: Fourth Place Best of Show Publication Website, Spring 2010
National Scholastic Press Association: Fifth Place Best of Show Large School Publication Website, Fall 2010
National Scholastic Press Association: All-American Publication Website, 2010
The Central Focus has twice been awarded All-Missouri ratings by the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA). The All-Missouri title is the highest rating awarded to high school newspapers in the state of Missouri; it recognizes the best scholastic publication in each publication category in the state. International First Place is the second highest national rating presented by Quill and Scroll, recieved by only a handful of high school newspapers throughout the nation each year.
FHCtoday.com, after only six months of publication, was in March named one of only two high school publication websites to recieve a Superior rating from Sponsors of School Publications (SSP) of Greater St. Louis. In April, it received MIPA’s All-Missouri rating and was awarded fourth place out of hundreds of publication websites nationally in the National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA) Best of Show for the Journalism Education Association (JEA)/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention. At the subsequent fall convention, which featured an even greater national competition, FHCtoday.com received fifth place in the Large School Publication Website Best of Show. In December, NSPA awarded the website all All-American rating, its highest national rating. It also named FHCtoday.com as a Pacemaker Finalist. The Pacemaker award is perhaps the most distinguished and sought after NSPA award, given to only about 15 publications per publication category nationally each year. Similarly, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) awarded FHCtoday.com, among only eight others, its highest and most exclusive national honor, a Gold Crown rating, in Online News in March 2011.
FHC Publications’ staff has also won many individual awards from JEA, NSPA, Quill and Scroll, CSPA, MIPA, and SSP of Greater St. Louis.