Walnut Creek, CA – Submissions for the 2022 Lesher Awards honoring public high school journalism students in Contra Costa County are now being accepted.

The annual awards recognize students whose work best reflects journalism’s central purpose to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information needed to function in a free society. Students are judged for accuracy in reporting, quality of writing, understanding journalism’s role as watchdog, and being entertaining, creative, compassionate, and purposeful. 

The competition is open to all Contra Costa County public high schools with a journalism program or journalism club. Award categories cover print and digital journalism: text, visual and audio storytelling.

The Journalists of the Year category, which requires an essay, is open to individual students enrolled at Contra Costa County public schools and includes a $5,000 cash scholarship for the top winner. This year the scholarship is named in memory of Casey Nichols, a veteran journalist and journalism adviser who recently succumbed to Covid-19.

The competition is administered through the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative’s CC Spin program, which partners with high school journalism classes and clubs and the Contra Costa County Office of Education.  More than 60 students representing 13 Contra Costa County high schools won honors in 2021.

The deadline for submissions in midnight Pacific time April 1, 2022.

CLICK HERE FOR ENTRY FORM