• It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Sarah Doerner, IJEA’s longest-serving president. Sarah died Nov. 29 in Du Quoin at the age of 86. Services were held Dec. 7. See below for our tribute to this great journalism educator.
  • High school seniors! Get your portfolios ready for the 2025 Illinois Journalist of the Year Contest! Entries will be due Feb. 15.
  • The winners of the 2024 IJEA Yearbook Contest have been announced! Check out our article below for the full listing of honorees!
  • A big thank you to everyone who attended our 2024 Fall Conference, which took place Sept. 20 at Illinois State University. The sessions were amazing! Thank you to all of our presenters!
  • Advisers! Join IJEA today! Annual memberships and lifetime memberships are available. Use our online form or fillable PDF to join!
Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA
Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA
Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA
Guest column: Making the move from traditional journalism courses to multimedia communication

Guest column: Making the move from traditional journalism courses to multimedia communication

Jason Block, Teacher & Adviser, Prospect High School • December 19, 2021
Prospect High's Jason Block recently made the transition from offering traditional journalistic writing courses to implementing a multimedia communication model. The result has been invigorating as students learn how to tell stories in multiple ways.
IJEA Blog: Don't stay on your island alone — help us get ready for JEA/NSPA Chicago '18

IJEA Blog: Don’t stay on your island alone — help us get ready for JEA/NSPA Chicago ’18

Brenda Field, MJE, Illinois State Director, JEA • October 24, 2017
Hall of Famer Brenda Field is the local chair for the JEA/NSPA Fall Convention scheduled for Chicago in 2018. It's not too late to get involved, she says — and what you put in now will pay dividends throughout your career.
The 2015 staff of the MHS Mirror newspaper stands in the halls of Mattoon High School for our annual photo. Several would go on to major in journalism, at least for a while, and one would end up in my first college news writing classroom.

IJEA Blog: Teaching my journalism students—again

By Amanda C. Bright, Co-Secretary and At-Large Board Member • October 11, 2017

It was as surprising to them as it was to me. Two of my former high school journalists were now in my college section of news writing. I was thrilled, and I was hoping they were as well. As the...

Texas Army National Guard troops participate in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

IJEA Blog: Here’s how you can help student media programs hit by Hurricane Harvey

Katie Comeford Fernandez, IJEA Board Member • September 25, 2017
Scholastic journalism programs around the country have united to assist their Texas counterparts affected by Hurricane Harvey. Check inside to learn how you and your students can join this nationwide effort.
IJEA Blog: Encourage your news and feature writers to compete at the IJEA Fall Conference!

IJEA Blog: Encourage your news and feature writers to compete at the IJEA Fall Conference!

Dr. Sally Renaud, IJEA Executive Director • September 12, 2017
Do you have a couple of writers on your staff whose talents you would like to showcase at this Friday's IJEA Fall Conference? Here's an opportunity for them to refine their skills under real-world conditions — and perhaps even win an award. Read on to learn more!
The IJEA 2016 All-State Journalism Team

IJEA Blog: It’s OK to cheat! Use this to ID your deserving All-State Journalism Team member(s)

By Amanda Bright, IJEA Co-Secretary and Region 5 Board Member • February 27, 2017
Did that just say "Cheat"? Is that legal if I'm a teacher and adviser? Turns out, it is — especially if it's rewarding the most driven and passionate students in your newsroom with the honor of being on the IJEA All-State Journalism Team for 2017.
IJEA Blog: Reflections on winning the James A. Tidwell Award

IJEA Blog: Reflections on winning the James A. Tidwell Award

Mike Doyle, CJE, Former IJEA Board Member • February 21, 2017
The IJEA's annual James A. Tidwell Award recognizes our state's top journalism educators. With the March 1 deadline for 2017 nominations quickly approaching, we asked a recent Tidwell honoree, Mike Doyle, to discuss what winning the award has meant to him. "It means that every day I know I made a difference in the lives of so many students and that I was able to teach the values of fairness, ethics and integrity to so many of them," he writes.
IJEA Blog: Enemy of the American people? Scholastic Journalism Week gives students a chance to prove the opposite

IJEA Blog: Enemy of the American people? Scholastic Journalism Week gives students a chance to prove the opposite

Stan Zoller, MJE, IJEA Board Member • February 20, 2017
Never before have the media and the First Amendment come under such ridicule and hatred by a sitting president. During Scholastic Journalism Week — Feb. 19 to 25 — scholastic media outlets should encourage their audiences to become civically engaged and contact lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to let them know that an assault on the First Amendment is not only an attack on professional journalists but on the nation’s students as well.
IJEA Blog: The lasting lessons of a high school journalism education

IJEA Blog: The lasting lessons of a high school journalism education

Alexandria Johnson, 2011 Illinois Journalist of the Year • February 13, 2017
As the Feb. 15 deadline nears for entering the 2017 Illinois Journalist of the Year contest, former IJOY Alexandria Johnson offers her reflections on what scholastic journalism has meant to her. Alexandria says she's still using the lessons she learned from high school journalism to help others.
Hannah Boufford, IJEA’s 2016 Illinois Journalist of the Year, is joined by (from left) Stan Zoller, East Region director of national JEA and an IJEA board member; Michael Gluskin, Libertyville H.S. Drops of Ink newsmagazine adviser; and Brenda Field, Illinois state director for national JEA and an IJEA board member. This photo was taken last March, when Stan and Brenda visited Libertyville High to inform Hannah of her award in person.

IJEA Blog: Seniors, here’s how to get ready for the upcoming Illinois Journalist of the Year contest

Brenda Field, MJE, Illinois State Director, JEA • January 30, 2017
Who will succeed Libertyville's Hannah Boufford as Illinois Journalist of the Year? JEA State Director Brenda Field has some advice for those seniors who plan to compete for the honor: Let your passion shine through!
IJEA Blog: Entries are open for the 2017 IWPA Communications Contest

IJEA Blog: Entries are open for the 2017 IWPA Communications Contest

Cora Weisenberger, IWPA High School Contest Chair • January 27, 2017
The IWPA High School Communications Contest showcases the excellent work of Illinois students, with the winners in each category automatically advancing to the national competition. The deadline for entries is Feb. 21.
IJEA Blog: We've come a long way in Illinois scholastic journalism, but there's still a long way to go

IJEA Blog: We’ve come a long way in Illinois scholastic journalism, but there’s still a long way to go

Stan Zoller, MJE, IJEA Board Member • December 21, 2016
As 2017 arrives, make a resolution to recognize that scholastic press rights are for every scholastic journalist and journalism educator in Illinois — and together we can make a difference!
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