Senior wins top state award for journalism

Minnehaha Academy senior Maddie Binning was named Minnesota’s “Journalist of the Year,” an award given annually in each state by the Journalism Education Association (JEA).

To be considered for the honor, high school journalists across the nation collected pieces of their work and compiled them into online portfolios.

To meet JEA requirements, students were encouraged to provide work samples in 11 categories, including writing, editing, design, web and photojournalism. When submitted, all online portfolios were judged and one winner was selected from each state.

In Minnesota’s case, Binning was crowned by Journalism Educators of Minnesota, JEA’s local branch.

“It’s nice to know that people appreciate the work that I do,” she said.

Binning, editor-in-chief of the Talon newspaper, will continue her study of journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto.

“She’s humble,” said Meena Morar, sophomore staff writer for the Talon. “She doesn’t broadcast all of the things that she does, so you don’t even realize the multitude of things she does do.”

Along with the honor of being heralded as Minnesota’s finest journalist, Binning was also given a $500 scholarship, which she plans to put toward her college education.

She does not see this award as a conclusion to her high school journalism career, but rather, a continuation of a life-long passion, which includes photography as well as reporting and writing.

“This is just a dot on the timeline,” Binning said. “It’s just a reinforcement of my desire to continue on in journalism. It’s just a way of encouraging myself to keep going, to know that the work I’m doing is valuable. It just helps me to know that I’m on the right path.”