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WEIRTON — For the third consecutive year, Weir High School’s student media program has been recognized for its dedication to preserving press freedom, while one of its members has been recognized as West Virginia’s student journalist of the year.

Weir High senior Hailey Hans will represent West Virginia in the Journalism Education Association national student journalist of the year competition and will be recognized at the JEA/NSPA National Spring Journalism Convention in Minneapolis, where the national winner will be named.

“Every student media staff deserves a Hailey Hans, who cares so deeply for their program and publications,” said Morgan Bricker, advisor to Weir High’s media program, in her letter of recommendation for Hans. “In every endeavor, Hailey strives to reach her fullest potential and impact both on our Weir Student Media staff and beyond. I am so proud of her.”

Hans currently serves as the staff manager for Weir High School’s semi-converged Weir Student Media program, which includes a student-produced online news site, video announcements and broadcast projects on the WSM YouTube channel, the school yearbook, an annual senior video, social media accounts and more.

She has been active in developing the Weir Student Media program since her freshman year. She was also involved in collaborating with other students, advisers and stakeholders across West Virginia to help enact the state’s New Voices Law in 2023: the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act, for which she continues to share her experience at JEA/NSPA national conventions alongside her adviser and the Student Press Law Center. Thus far, she has done so in Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Nashville, and she will do so again in Minneapolis in April.

“What began as a simple elective became the class that shaped who I am today. Journalism has made me a better writer, a photographer, a leader, and most importantly, a better person. It gave me the confidence to use my voice and the courage to tell stories that matter,” Hans wrote in her personal narrative.

Hans is making her mark beyond the journalism classroom, as well, participating in multiple school organizations, serving as president of both the Student Council and Girls Athletic Association, playing basketball and track. She is active in her church, holds a part-time job, and is planning service initiatives outside of school.

“Journalism shaped Hailey into a confident advocate and a thoughtful leader, and she, in turn, has shaped our media program and school for the better,” said Weir High Principal Sean Blumette in his letter of recommendation for the award.

She plans to attend West Liberty University, to major in education and minor in journalism with the goal of becoming a journalism educator.

“I want to teach students how to use their voices, just as I learned to use mine. I want students to feel the same fulfillment I felt when I wrote my first article and when I realized my voice mattered while helping pass a law,” Hans said. “I want every student to understand media literacy, to know how to distinguish real news from misinformation, and to feel empowered to tell stories that matter.”

The entire Weir Student Media team also has been recognized, receiving the First Amendment Press Freedom Award, presented through the Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll International Honor Society, for the third year in a row.

Announced on Student Press Freedom Day, Feb. 26, Weir is one of 27 schools in the United States and United Kingdom to receive the recognition this year.

To earn the award, Weir’s students demonstrated that the school celebrates and honors the First Amendment, encourages student press freedom and promotes media literacy in many classes and content areas through instructional lesson plans, project-based learning, collaborative initiatives and more.

“It is so critical that we all understand our First Amendment freedoms and that we exercise them ethically and responsibly if we wish to uphold a democracy that truly is of, by and for the people,” Bricker said. “Paired with news literacy, I’m not sure there is a more critical need to understand any other concepts as much in our society right now as those. And those are the ideals at the heart of my journalism classes and new dual-credit media literacy course, for which students earn college credit through Marshall University.

“Whether students pursue journalism or any other career field, I know when they leave my classroom, they do so fully understanding their First Amendment rights and responsibilities as citizens, who will go on to make well-informed decisions about their lives and utilize those freedoms to advocate for change and improve their communities,” Bricker added. “Of course, it’s an added bonus if they join the journalist ranks.”

Bricker noted the student media program features hands-on, project-based and collaborative class work, with students reporting on the events, issues and people included in their news coverage.

“My philosophy is that scholastic journalism classrooms and student media programs are incubators of democracy. They are the First Amendment and news literacy in action,” Bricker said. “These spaces provide a safe environment for students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary both to identify standards-based journalism as news consumers and then to turn around and produce it as news creators who use their voices to tell stories about the events, issues and people that matter to them and their audience. Student reporters aren’t just learning; they’re also engaging civically and providing a service for their peers, our school and the community. Beyond that, it does provide them with a career path if they so choose, and our society needs high quality journalists now more than ever. Even without the recognition, that’s justification enough for these programs. The awards and honors are icing on the cake as a reflection of the hard work students have invested in learning and honing skills to do all that and more.”

Hancock County Schools participates in the News Literacy Project District Fellowship Grant, for which Bricker serves as the county fellowship lead. Weir High also offers a dual-credit journalism course, Media Literacy, through Marshall University, which Bricker instructs. Both initiatives serve to further help students understand the First Amendment and navigate the complex news and media landscape in which they live.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)