Awards
Between 2008 and 2013, The Urban Legend and its staff have won more than 150 awards for reporting, writing, design and photography at the state, regional and national levels, and at national journalism conventions.
Please click on the links below to see award-winning work. To view the Legend in print layouts, click on “current print edition,” located in the right navigation bar on our homepage, or feel free to email us at [email protected]. We are happy to provide PDFs if you send us your mailing address.
2013-14 School Year Awards
National Federation of Press Women’s High School Communications Contest, 2nd place national, sportswriting, to Griffin Bianchi for “The Urban School of San Francisco versus University High School: Bitter rivalry or petty jealousy?”
Journalism Education Association/northern California (JEANC)
- 1st place, Online Breaking News Story: Marie Bergsund, “Engine fire causes Marin bus breakdown, strands Urban School students“
- 2nd place, Front Page Layout: Ella McLeod
- 3rd place, Editorial Writing: David Immerman, “Running from Fear“
- Honorable Mention, Center Spread Design: Olive Lopez, Tessa Petrich, and Mara Pleasure, “Hip Hop Turns Up New Voices“
- Honorable Mention, General Feature Story: Hannah Berk, “The Box to Check”
- Honorable Mention, General Feature Story: Ilana Brandstetter, “Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month sparks conversation about healthy relationships“
- Honorable Mention, Online Breaking News Story: Aleah Jennings-Newhouse, “Boston’s WGBH visits The Urban School to film teachers for educational website“
“Making a Difference,” Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Commission blogpost, for “Guns in America: From Schools to Shooting Ranges.”
10th place, Best in Show, Publication Website/Small School, NSPA/JEA national high school journalism convention, spring 2014.
Honorable mention to Jonathan Baer, 2013 Design of the Year, National Scholastic Press Association, for “Guns in America: From Schools to Shooting Ranges”
California Press Women 2013 High School Communications Contest. Legend staffers won 21 awards at the ceremony on May 12 at the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, including:
- 1st place, Cartooning: Marie Bergsund
- 1st place, Double Truck Layout: Tessa Petrich
- 1st place, Sports: Griffin Bianchi, “The Urban School of San Francisco versus University High School: Bitter rivalry or petty jealousy?“
- 2nd place, Editorial: Jacob Winick, “Too much homework plagues Urban“
- 2nd place, Features: Hannah Berk, “The Box to Check”
- 2nd place, Features: Ilana Brandstetter, “Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month sparks conversation about healthy relationships“
- 3rd place, Cartooning: Marie Bergsund, “Homework“
- 3rd place, Double Truck Layout: Ella McLeod
- 3rd place, Double Truck Layout: Tessa Petrich (2)
- 3rd place, Features: Hannah Berk, “Obama sets aside $100 million for brain research“
- 3rd place, Graphics: Marie Bergsund
- Honorable Mention, Double Truck Layout: Tessa Petrich
- Honorable Mention, Features: Aleah Jennings-Newhouse, “Urban School students start the day right with healthy breakfasts“
- Honorable Mention, Features: Ariane Goldsmith, “Solazyme representative visits Urban School, speaks about sustainable oil“
- Honorable Mention, Features: Ella McLeod, “Urban School students debate efficacy, cost, of academic tutors“
- Honorable Mention, Feature Photo: Olive Lopez
- Honorable Mention, Single Page Layout: Aideen Murphy (2)
- Honorable Mention, Single Page Layout: Ella McLeod
- Honorable Mention, Single Page Layout: Hannah Berk
2012-13 School Year Awards
National Federation of Press Women’s 2013 High School Communications Contest. The California Press Women’s Association held the awards ceremony on May 13 at Beyond Pix Studios on Battery Street. Legend staffers won 18 awards, including:
- 1st place, Opinion: Marney Kline, “Appreciating Savage Words”
- 2nd place, Feature: Aideen Murphy, “Got MSG?“
- 2nd place, News: Aideen Murphy, “Students Favor Gun Control, In and Outside of School”
- 2nd place, Double-Truck Layout: Cody Siler, “Exploring the Election at Urban”
- 3rd place, Cartooning: Isabel Fife-Cook
- 3rd place, Editorial: David Immerman, “Just Do It”
- 3rd place, Features: Hannah Berk, “Apocalypse, NOT”
- 3rd place, Graphics/Photo Illustration: Jonathan Baer, “Guns in America: From Schools to Shooting Range“
- 3rd place, News: Jonathan Baer, “Breaking Out of the Bubble”
- 3rd place, News: David Immerman, “Guns in America: From Schools to Shooting Ranges“
- 3rd place, News: Eli Dinklespiel, “NRA Prompts Video Game Debate”
- 3rd place, Opinion: Marney Kline, “Sexism: Are Girls More than Half the Problem?“
- Honorable mention, Editorial: Kyra Bergsund, “Editorial”
- Honorable mention, Feature: Tessa Petrich, “Study Questions Value of Organics“
- Honorable mention, Feature: Tessa Petrich, “Boden Sheds New Light on Homelessness“
- Honorable mention, Feature: Tessa Petrich, “Josey Baker Lives up to His Name“
- Honorable mention, Feature: Mara Pleasure, “Tune in: There’s a Podcast for You”
- Honorable mention, News: Jacob Winick, “‘Innocence’ Film Triggers Global Debate”
In November 2012, the Legend was awarded a Newspaper Pacemaker (Broadsheet, 9-16 pages), as well as 3rd place for Design of the Year at the fall National High School Journalism convention in San Antonio, Texas.
The NSPA also announced that the Legend won the following individual awards in the annual story contests:
- Multimedia Story of the Year: Honorable mention to the Legend staff, for its “Living Stories” team coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11
- Multimedia Sports Story of the Year: Honorable mention to David Immerman and Marney Kline, for “San Francisco Giants Stage Memorial Before Dodgers Game,” part of the “Living Stories” package
- Newspaper Illustration: Honorable mention to Isabel Fife-Cook for the June 2012 page 1 drawing.
Please click here for more information and a list of finalists in each category.
2011-12 School Year Awards
Journalism Education Association/northern California (JEANC)
- 1st place, Online Feature Package: David Immerman, Hannah Sears and Sabrina Werby, “Living Stories: 9/11”
- 2nd place, Review Writing: Zoe Pleasure, “Bored by what’s on TV? Try an older show”
- Honorable mention, Centerspread design: Cassiel Chadwick, Cody Siler and Sabrina Werby, “Equity at Urban”
- Honorable mention, News Story: Tessa Petrich, “BART protest draws hundreds, shuts Powell Street station”
- Honorable mention, Infographic: Cody Siler, “Bombay to the Bay”
- Honorable mention, Review Writing: Cody Siler, “Balenciaga”
3rd place, Best in Show (Newspaper/8 pages), 2012 National Scholastic Press Association Spring National High School Convention, Seattle.
- “Excellent” in Review Writing, NSPA Writeoff Competition, Jessie King Fredel
- “Excellent” in Editorial Cartooning, NSPA Write0ff Competition, Kyra Bergsund
National Federation of Press Women’s 2012 High School Communications Contest. The California Press Women association held the awards ceremony on April 11 at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Legend staffers won 17 awards, including:
- 2nd place, News story, Ella McLeod, “Dolores Park renovations to make landmark safer”
- 2nd place, Opinion, David Immerman, “Take a look at your privilege”
- 2nd place, Sports, Jason Cinti, “The injury you might not even know you have”
- 2nd place, Features, Jonathan Baer, “The Occupy movement camps out in San Francisco”
- 2nd place, Review, Zoe Pleasure, “Bored by what’s on TV? Try an older show”
- 2nd place, Double Truck (Centerspread) Layout, Cassiel Chadwick, “An exchange with China”
- 3rd place, Graphics, Cassiel Chadwick and Tessa Petrich, “Equity at Urban”
- 3rd place, Graphics, Cody Siler, “Bombay versus the Bay”
- 3rd place, Sports, Jason Cinti, “Sanfranpreps shines a light on high school athletes’ untold stories”
- 3rd place, Double Truck Layout, Cassiel Chadwick, “Equity at Urban”
- Honorable mention, Double Truck Layout, Cody Siler and Zoe Pleasure, “Urban in the wintertime”
- Honorable mention, Opinion, Kyra Bergsund, “There’s brilliance behind mashup genre”
- Honorable mention, Editorial, Jason Cinti, “Just call it rape”
- Honorable mention, Graphics, Kyra Bergsund, “Got homework?”
- Honorable mention, Graphics, Tessa Petrich, “Debates act as battlefield for Republican candidates”
- Honorable mention, Features, Emily Wen, “China students feel freedom at Urban”
- Honorable mention, Environmental Reporting, Marney Kline, “‘Tis the season to eat meat”
Second place, Story of the Year-Multimedia Package, for “Proposition 8: Battling Over Same-Sex Marriage,” at the National Scholastic Press Association’s High School Journalism Convention on Nov. 19.
2010-2011 School Year Awards
20 individual awards, for single-page layout, double truck layout, video news story, news, features, sports, editorial and opinion, in the California Press Women’s 2010 High School Communications Contest.
Two students, Adrienne von Schulthess and Isabel Moore, received 1st place awards, for front page layout and news video, respectively, and advanced to the national round of judging. Several students — von Schulthess, Cassiel Chadwick, Megan Madden, Sabrina Werby and Isabel Moore — received two or more awards.
1stplace, single-page layout, Adrienne von Schulthess, for “Balancing life: finding the equilibrium between teenage freedom and safe parenting,” National Federation of Press Women
Honorable mention, news video, Isabel Moore and Sara Brooks, “Proposition 8 demonstration,” National Federation of Press Women
1st place, Journalism Education Association/Northern California (JEANC), online feature package: the entire staff, for the “Proposition 8: Battling Over Same-Sex Marriage”
First place, news story, JEANC, to Jamie Friedman for “The debate over marijuana”
First place, front page design, JEANC, to Adrienne von Schulthess, for “Balancing Life”
Honorable mention, breaking news story, JEANC, to Jonathan Baer, Annakai Geshilder, Marney Kline, Jessie King Fredel, Jamie Friedman and Cody Siler, for ” ‘Soloist’ author urges student journalists to explore ‘the human condition’ “
Honorable mention, overall website, JEANC, to Hannah Gorman and Emily Wen
Honorable mention, review writing, JEANC, to Cassiel Chadwick, for “God is dead — don’t sweat it”
Second place, news photo, JEANC, to Sonja Bartlett, for photo of pro-democracy demonstration at UN Plaza in San Francisco
Second place, news video, JEANC, to Isabel Moore and Sara Brooks, for “Proposition 8 demonstration”
Second place, review writing, JEANC, to Isabel Moore, for “Deceivingly beautiful: photographer documents the lives of farmworkers in California”
Second place, centerspread design, JEANC, to Cassiel Chadwick, for “An exchange with China”
Second place, breaking news, JEANC, to Megan Madden and Hannah Gorman, for “Haight Street shooting tests Urban School’s procedures”
1stclass newspaper, National Scholastic Press Association
2011 Wikoff Scholarship for Editorial Leadership, to Adrienne von Schulthess
Finalist, 2011 Story of the Year/Multimedia Package, for “Proposition 8: Battling Over Same-Sex Marriage”