IT’S PERSONAL — Elliana Dix, development coordinator of The Beacon, said News For You, By You, a journalism competition hosted by the paper, is a chance to engage with the community in a meaningful way.
Over the past few months, West Volusia Beacon team members have been enthusiastically preparing for an inaugural student journalism competition: News For You By You.
The Beacon has invited students from Volusia County middle-, high-, college, and home-school classes to submit examples of their best work in the categories of Local News Story, General News Story, Multimedia Storytelling, and Local Feature Story.
Now that the deadline has passed, and with more than 15 student submissions, Beacon staff and community member judges are tasked with the challenge of determining finalists from a talented group of young writers!
Submissions will be judged in categories of content, writing quality, structure, organization, creativity, innovation and impact.
Finalists will be announced via The Beacon website and social media on April 12, and winners will be announced at the culmination of an inaugural West Volusia Beacon Journalism Conference, an educational and community event to be held Saturday, April 20, at Stetson University in DeLand. The conference will feature speakers from local, North Florida and Central Florida journalism publications and outlets.
Speakers Include:
- Noah Hertz: reporter, WJCT News 89.9
- Dr. Primrose Cameron, professional development and educational research director at the Florida Education Association
- John Dunbar: executive editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Cheryl Floyd: storyteller and writer
- Barb Shepherd: publisher and former editor of The Beacon
- Cory Lancaster: former managing editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal and senior reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, assistant vice president of marketing communications and media relations at Stetson University
Elliana Dix, development coordinator of The Beacon, took a moment to describe some of the reasons why Volusia County students should be interested in getting their voices heard, as well as how engagement in local journalism benefits community members across all generations.
Dix describes a vision of youthful community engagement at The Beacon as “someplace where young people are participating and we are actively doing things to help and empower people.”
“My position is based around raising money through grants and events, and using events as a way to fundraise… but also: ways that The Beacon can really ‘show up’ in our community and connect,” Dix said. “How do we encourage young people to care about democracy and their community? How do we engage our community members in supporting students and being really engaged in the newsmaking process?”
Dix’s own path to The Beacon serves as a direct example of youthful community engagement and how a career in journalism has the possibility to grow and evolve from an individual’s personal interests, lived experiences and creative passions.
“I’ve known Eli [editor of The Beacon] for a few years, and I’ve known Noah [former co-editor of The Beacon] since high school. Eli shared something right after we had met, about police brutality, and then I saw something happen in Lake Helen. I saw that Noah worked at The Beacon, so I said to Noah: ‘I don’t know if this is something you’re interested in, but I just saw this happen,’ so my introduction to The Beacon felt very personal,” Dix said.
The Beacon is committed to the community, Dix said.
“Accessibility is a very big deal for The Beacon. We want as many community members to have access to information as possible,” Dix said. Tickets to the April 20 conference start at $5. Tickets are available at https://beacononlinenews.com/event-day-registration/, and can also be purchased on the day of the event and will be available at the event registration table.
If you are interested in providing a donation to sponsor a nominee and their parent/loved one to attend, it will be spread across all nominees equally. Please refer to the above website for the opportunity to donate.
Event Date and Time: Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Allen Hall, Stetson University, 508 N. Woodland Blvd.
Cost: Tickets for event start at $5.
Where to find tickets: beacononlinenews.com/event-day-registration.
Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the event and will be available at the event registration table.
