Team of Noblesville student journalists wins national award

Submitted

Four student journalists from Noblesville High School won top honors last Thursday, May 15 at the 2026 National Federation of Press Women’s (NFPW) annual high school communications contest.

“Perils of Parlays” is the cover story for the March 24, 2025, issue of Mill Stream. The story was written by Max Arnold, Aiden Caddell, Rebecca Garber, and Jude Naville. The story also won first place in the sports writing category of the national contest before being selected as the best entry in the national contest.

Mill Stream is the newsmagazine produced by the student journalists of Noblesville High School. The “Perils” story offered readers a look into the rapidly expanding world of online sports betting, and how sports books have recently found methods to target teen gamblers. This is an audience that is legally prohibited from the gambling world, but betting corporations have developed systems that allow younger students to bypass the systems that are supposed to prevent them from wagering. The story looks at how online gambling addiction is rapidly becoming a national health crisis, and how teenagers are particularly vulnerable targets for unscrupulous wagering corporations.

“Our student journalists tackled an important and urgent story that was incredibly challenging to report and write,” Noblesville High School Journalism Adviser Joe Akers said. “They had to navigate issues like how to refer to the students they spoke to, who were technically breaking the law, and in some cases, showing signs of gambling addiction. They aggressively pursued the local and state lawmakers who ignored the issue, and who refused to cooperate with the story. They worked to clearly explain the complex, confusing processes that teens use to slip through the cracks in the systems that are supposed to protect them from the online corporations looking to scam them out of their, and in many cases their parents’, money.”

Akers continued, “The story that resulted from their efforts shines a light on a secretive world that many readers had no idea existed. It’s a story that’s as smart and well-crafted as any piece done by any professional publication out there, and Max, Aiden, Jude, and Becca are deserving of every accolade they receive for their work.”

Mill Stream’s magazine and website, MillerMediaNow.org, are recipients of multiple state and national awards, including the prestigious Hoosier Star designation from the Indiana High School Press Association.

“Scholastic journalism is done right in Joe Akers’ program in Noblesville,” said Elizabeth Granger, director of Indiana’s high school journalism competition. “His students are curious, courageous, tenacious, thorough and ethical in covering difficult topics – topics that readers need to know about but are too often not covered. Congratulations to Noblesville’s young journalists and their adviser.”

The entry competed against nearly 2,000 student entries in this national contest sponsored by the NFPW Education Fund. Student entries first competed in a statewide communication contest. First-place winners were selected to advance to the national round of competition. In states where a contest was not offered, NFPW hosted an at-large contest with the first-place winners also advancing to the national competition. The first-place winning entries all 23 categories in the contest then are judged by new judges who selected the Noblesville High School entry as the “Best of the Best” entry.

National first-place winning entries receive a $100 prize, and the Best of the Best award prize is $500.