West Side Story Staff wins Best Overall High School Newspaper in Tennessee

For decades, West Side Story newspaper has shared numerous accolades of Morristown High School West and the Hamblen County community. Today, it celebrates an accolade of its own. For the second year in a row, the online newspaper has received Best Overall High School Newspaper in the state of TN with an All Tennessee rating! This statewide competition is maintained by the TN High School Press Association at Belmont University. Dr. Jimmy McCollum, professor of communications, heads the competition. Students must follow guidelines and adhere to the Associated Press writing guidelines. Adriana Hernandez-Mazariegos also received third place in the state for her headline Hola Lakeway helps victims affected by Helene. She participated in a service project one weekend and wrote this award winning title on Hola Lakeway.

Award for All Tennessee: The West Side Story newspaper/newsmagazine takes home the 2025 trophy for Best Overall Publication in Tennessee.

According to McCollum, "We had 634 entries this year[for all media types], and the judges were very complimentary of them; bravo to the students! There was an average of 12 entries in each category; for example, the Newspaper Feature Story category had 31 entries, and the Video/Documentary category had 22 entries." Sixteen judges were utilized from across the country. Judges provided feedback on each entry for students to polish communication skills.

West Side Story newspaper began in 1969 as a typed newsletter named The Trojan. In the 1970's, it continued as a typed newsletter but changed it's name to West Side Story as it is today. Towards the 1980's the newsletter became a full fledge monthly newspaper with layout, fonts, and images applied. It was printed commercially. In 2019, trends developed towards digital copy. West Side Story became a daily newspaper on an online news platform website http://westsidestory.net. Students create and manage the website. The site may be followed on Facebook (West Side Story) and Instagram (Westsidestory14). Articles are written and photographed by business communications students in Career and Technical Education. Mrs. Amy Whaley oversees West Side Story business communications class. She has taught journalism in Hamblen County for 26 years with 21 of those being at Morristown West.

2024-2025 West Side Story Staff: Chloe Brooks, Niccalia Cornett, Jocelyn Cruz Velasco, Jessica Gonzalez Martinez, Stacy Hernandez, Adriana Hernandez-Mazareigos, Makayla Hipshire, Logan Hull, Kamora Hunt - editor, Madalynn Knack, Connor Kongchan, Zi Norton, Isabella Picardi, Oscar Rangel, Zechariah Ruth, Anely Sanchez Gonzalez, Clover Santana Murphy, Abigail Snider, Miracle Styles

West Side Story is ranked All Tennessee with a First Place in State finish for Best Overall High School Newspaper in the state of TN by the TN High School Press Association.