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Please note: You can find a full list of winners at the end of this post.

Faribault Echo Students Win Freedom of Information Award from State’s Largest Journalism Group

Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists presents its Peter S. Popovich Award to high school journalists who started online newspaper to confront principal’s censorship efforts

Professional journalists are only too aware of the constant specter of censorship. But a group of high school students learned this lesson late last year as well when they delved into a story covering sensitive information about a teacher who was under investigation and on administrative leave.

Students from the Faribault Echo persevered when school Superintendent Bob Stepaniak demanded prior review of their story. They refused to give in to his demands, worked with the city’s professional paper, the Faribault Daily News, to publish the story, then started an independent, online version of the Echo when Stepaniak later shut the print version down. For steadfastly adhering to the principles of the Freedom of the Press, these students received the Peter S. Popovich Award, which is given each year by MNSPJ to “the person or organization that exemplifies the fight for First Amendment Rights. Continue reading →