Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group and iliad Literary-Art Magazine pose on Feb. 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The OMG garnered several awards based on its work published from May 2024 through December. “It felt nice to see a mix of web and print content be recognized and the work we’ve done as a whole pay off,” Digital Editor Lea D’Angelo said. “It sometimes gets to the point where we start to see stories more as assignments, so it feels good to see the work we do does matter in a journalistic setting.” Photo by Jennifer Tesler
The ODYSSEY Media Group is currently ranked first in the National Scholastic Press Association’s annual Clicks and Clips Sweepstakes after winning several awards in the fall contest.
The National Scholastic Press Association released its winners for the Fall Clips & Clicks contest on April 17. Student media outlets were also recognized for their placement in the Clips & Clicks Sweepstakes.
The Clips and Clicks competition, which is open to all NSPA members, praises work produced by student journalists during the school year. The fall-semester winners spotlighted content produced from May 9 – Dec. 13, 2024.
According to NSPA, this year’s competition had 894 submissions, which is an increase over fall 2023. The judges included professional journalists, student media advisers and collegiate professors.
“The judges consistently said they were very impressed with the quality of the entries submitted,” NSPA Associate Director Gary Lundgren stated in an April 17 press release.
“. Our team worked diligently in the fall to tell some of the best stories about our community possible – from safety, to student life, to life around town.”
— David Ragsdale,
OMG and iliad adviser
Roughly 14% of entries received an award, with a total of 128 recognized. The judges determined the number of winners in each category based on the quality and quantity of the entries.
When calculating Sweepstakes, the following points are assigned:
First Place: 10
Second Place: 9
Third Place: 8
Fourth Place: 7
Fifth Place: 6
Honorable Mention: 5
The ODYSSEY Media Group of Clarke Central High School, which had 14 submissions awarded, is now in first place in the Sweepstakes, 13 points ahead of second-place Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.
ODYSSEY Media Group News Editor Liza Larson, who curated and submitted the entries, feels the accolades are a testament to the hard work of staffers.
“It feels amazing knowing that all of the work we do pays off,” Larson said. “I feel like a lot of the time we get bogged down in how much work we have to do or everything that is going wrong and don’t realize that the products we produce are impressive.”
For OMG adviser David Ragsdale, the arrival of the commendations was a surprise.
“We typically receive these results in February, so finding out in April was a bit of a shock, but doubly shocking was the placement. Our team worked diligently in the fall to tell some of the best stories about our community possible – from safety, to student life, to life around town,” Ragsdale said. “I give kudos to our EICs, Olivia and Wyatt, for their leadership.”
The 2025 spring-semester competition is open to content published from Dec. 14, 2024 – May 9, 2025. The BetterBNC submission site opens in April with a contest deadline of May 9.
The overall Sweepstakes winners from the entirety of the 2024-25 school year – combining point totals from the fall and spring competitions – will be announced in June.
