National Press Club awards Alanna Felton with the 2019 Richard G. Zimmerman Award for Studies in Journalism

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Aug 19, 2019, 13:45 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club, the world's leading professional organization for journalists, has chosen Alanna Felton as the winner of its 2019 Richard G. Zimmerman Award. The award is for graduating high school seniors and is a one-time scholarship for $5,000.

Felton, who graduated this year from T.R. Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida, will use the scholarship to study journalism at Florida State University.

"Alanna submitted many thoughtful pieces on a wide range of issues," said Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak, President of the National Press Club. "Her article on the effect of a decade of tax cuts by the Florida state legislators on Tampa's school system could have been written by a professional with years of experience. We look forward to seeing her continue to grow as a reporter in college and later."

Felton has already showed she is a very capable reporter and writer, winning national recognition in in the Scholastic Arts Competition, and editing the Knight Writers print and online newspaper site RHSToday.com.

"As a 34-year veteran teach of not only Florida's schools, but of metropolitan Washington DC, I can confidently assert that Alanna is rare student: intellectual, sensitive, a creative thinker, aware of the greater world's concerns, but most importantly --- a fantastic writer," wrote Mrs. Jennell Peteranecz, an English instructor in the International Baccalaureate program.

"Commitment to her craft" was praised by Felton's teachers. Her Journalism Adviser, Ms. Nancy Oben, said "Her writing chops have been rubbing off on the (paper's) staff."

Alanna Felton was also cited for "objectively reporting community issues." One story that Felton submitted was an analysis of the Hillsborough County (Tampa area) school district's relatively low funding for education. "The Florida state government has followed consistent pattern of cutting funds for public education over the past two decades," Felton wrote, adding that per student funding is $7,408 – "Well beneath the national average of $11,500." She said that has led to overcrowded classes, malfunctioning air conditioning, and inability to retain experienced teachers.

Felton is one of dozens of award-winners (please click here for the full list of award winners) to be honored at the National Press Club's 46^th Annual Journalism Awards Dinner on Wednesday, August 28. The National Press Club's Journalism Awards celebrate the best in American broadcast and print journalism, recognizing outstanding reporting at both the national and regional levels across every imaginable beat. To purchase tickets to this year's dinner, please click here.

CONTACT:
Joann Booze for the National Press Club; [email protected], 202-662-7532

SOURCE National Press Club