Spring National High School Journalism Convention
April 4-6 • Kansas City, Missouri
About the convention
Sponsored for more than 50 years by Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association, the event attracts more than 5,000 attendees on site. It’s the nation’s largest gathering of high school journalists, advisers and journalism teachers.
The fall convention is one of two annual conventions sponsored by the organizations. The Fall National High School Journalism Convention is nov. 7-10, 2024, in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Marriott.
The convention offers hundreds of instructional sessions, keynote speakers from national newsmakers, dozens of media critiques, JEA’s popular on-site media contests and the announcement of NSPA national winners for Pacemaker Awards and Individual Awards. NSPA also offers a convention Best of Show competition that celebrates current student media work.
Connecting with the attendees will be dozens of sponsoring vendors, at an exhibit area in the primary gathering space. Sponsors include companies with products and services for student media, educational institutions marketing to prospective students and organizations seeking to connect with the scholastic journalism community.
Partner organizations
Journalism Education Association
Journalism Education Association is the largest scholastic journalism organization for teachers and advisers. Put simply, we educate teachers on how to educate students.
We fulfill this goal through numerous activities: We provide training around the country at national conventions and conferences. We offer national certification for teaching high school journalism. We publish print and online resources on the latest trends in journalism education. We provide avenues for virtual discussion among teachers, as well as curriculum and mentoring to learn best practices. We monitor and actively defend First Amendment and scholastic press rights issues across the country.
Among JEA’s more than 2,600 members are journalism teachers and publications advisers, media professionals, press associations, adviser organizations, libraries, publishing companies, newspapers, radio stations and departments of journalism.
Since 1924, JEA has been leading the way in scholastic journalism and media education.
National Scholastic Press Association
National Scholastic Press Association, based and incorporated in Minnesota as a non-profit educational association, provides journalism education services to students, teachers, media advisers and others throughout the United States and in other countries.
NSPA provides journalism education training programs, publishes journalism education materials, provides media critique and recognition programs for members, provides information on developments in journalism and student media and provides a forum for members to communicate with others and share their work. Through these activities, NSPA promotes the standards and ethics of good journalism as accepted and practiced by print, broadcast and electronic media in the United States. NSPA also endorses and advocates free expression rights for student media.
NSPA cooperates with other student media associations and other non-student groups and businesses that share its mission to educate and recognize the work of student journalists, to improve the quality of student media and to foster careers in media.
Our past conventions were approved by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, though the association no longer manages its listings.
Upcoming conventions
Spring 2024 • Kansas City, Mo.
Fall 2024 • Philadelphia
Spring 2025 • Seattle
Fall 2025 • Nashville, Tenn.
Spring 2026 • TBD
Fall 2026 • Orlando, Fla.
Past conventions
Fall 2023 • Boston
Spring 2023 • San Francisco
Fall 2022 • St. Louis
Spring 2022 • Los Angeles
Fall 2021 • spring 2021
Fall 2020 • spring 2020
virtual
Fall 2019 • Washington, D.C.
Spring 2019 • Anaheim, Calif.
Fall 2018 • Chicago
Spring 2018 • San Francisco