Like the Pulitzer Prize, regarded as the highest national award for achievements in journalism, literature and music, there is a recognition similar for student media programs across the country.
On Saturday, Coppell High School’s student broadcast program, KCBY-TV won a National Scholastic Press Association Broadcast Pacemaker at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tenn. The achievement is considered the most prestigious honor in high school journalism, meant to recognize excellence in American student journalism. KCBY is the only Broadcast Pacemaker recipient from Texas.
Each year, Pacemaker finalists are selected by a panel of professional journalists and educators who evaluate submissions for storytelling, technical proficiency, innovation and impact.
The recognition marks KCBY’s first Pacemaker win since 2018. The program has been nominated every year since, with the exception of last school year. The contest became more selective, with KCBY being one of four Texas schools named as Broadcast Pacemaker finalists in 2025.
”The dedication of the students last year, particularly the program directors, worked tirelessly to make sure all segments were the best quality,” KCBY adviser Irma Lazos-Kennedy said. “I set standards high to make sure students produce professional level work, more than a high school level program.”
KCBY members echoed the significance of recognition and the effort behind it, emphasizing the collaboration, persistence and shared investment that went into producing shows.
“The perseverance and the gut that it took to keep publishing work keeps us all passionate together as a program,” senior KCBY program director Hemi Riojas Daza said. “This is something that reflects the endless nights we stayed up for and all the hard work us members pushed through.”
The award reinforces KCBY’s commitment to high standards in student journalism and highlights the program’s continued leadership in scholastic broadcasting.
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