About Us
The Pitch Online
Founded in 2009, The Pitch Online is Walter Johnson High School’s digital newspaper. In order to keep up with new media trends, the originally print-only newspaper The Pitch went online while still producing its monthly, award-winning print newspaper. After a year of working with barely any web design help, the editors wanted the appearance of the site to match the high quality of its content. So, The Pitch Online partnered with School Newspapers Online, a Minnesota-based company focused on the web design of specifically online high school newspapers, and launched a completely new website in 2010. The Pitch Online continues to keep its subscribers informed and entertained through new and updated content.
As we are still adapting to our site and trying to attract readers, we would appreciate any reader input for The Pitch Online. Co-online Editors-in-Chief Ely Snow, Audrey Ring and Allison Xu are always open to your feedback, so please e-mail [email protected] with questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns.
Mission Statement
The mission of The Pitch is to:
- Keep the student body, parents, staff and community informed on important school/community events
- Represent the voices and opinions of individual students, student groups and staff members of the WJ community
- Allow students to create meaningful connections and relationships with one another, reaching out and strengthening the community as a whole
- Highlight student athletes, artists and accomplishments
- Teach interested students about the ethics, purpose, and skills of journalism
Social News Gathering Ethics Code
Staff Contract
Staff members sign a contract at the start of the school year to ensure that they are committed to representing The Pitch in a way that promotes accountability, respect, and journalistic excellence and integrity.
Comment Policy
Readers are welcome to comment. We reserve the right to moderate, delete, or edit comment threads as we see fit. Comments are monitored and spam comments will be deleted. Attacks on other commenters or Pitch staff members will not be tolerated. The opinions presented on this website do not represent the opinions of the WJ student body as a whole.
Byline Policy
Any significant contributions by a Pitch staff member or editor will be credited in a byline or a tagline by the story. If multiple staff members contribute to a piece, their names will be notated by the story.
Correction Policy
Clarifications and corrections should be clear, concise and direct. They must be comprehensible to anyone who reads them, including readers who may have missed the story that is being corrected. Anyone reading the correction should be able to understand how and why the mistake has been corrected.
2023-2024 Staff
Online Editors-in-Chief: Audrey Ring, Ely Snow, Allison Xu
Print Editors-in-Chief: Seyun Park, Joshua Singer, Rachael Wolfson
Print Managing Editors: Elizabeth Finn, Cecilia Saltzman
Online Managing Editors: Ada Hillman, Nicolas Opipari
News Editors: Abby Kee (Senior), Sara Elster (Print), Maya Panicker (Print), Geetanjali Raju (Online)
Feature Editors: Lily Fisher (Senior), Elli Karistinou (Print), Zoe Ottenritter (Online), Keira Poersch (Online)
Arts & Entertainment Editors: Mia Halper (Senior), Gil Gordon (Print), Josh Hananel (Online)
Opinion Editors: Benjamin Kim (Senior), Rhea Noumair (Print), Shae McCloskey (Online), Sophie Linkie (Online)
Sports Editors: Lily Tapparo (Senior), Mateus Bouquet (Print), Mackenzie Norris (Print), Anna Zucconi (Online), Jose Tovar (Online)
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Editor: Sara Karbowski
Layout & Copy Editor: Becca Freda
Photography Editors: Michelle Kim, William Murphy, Sam Mayster
Business Managers: Mia Magone, Mackenzie Norris
Film Editors: Leo Holma, Torben Muchetti
Podcast Editor: Liam Barrett
Social Media/Marketing Managers: Kendall Murphy, Kate Kreisle, Isabella Suarez
Illustrator: Rhea Noumair
Staff Writers: Ian Alves, Cal Davies Topalian, Suzanne Hancock, Peter Kahrl, Mayaan Keren, Brady MacBride, Sophia Ruefli, Hillevi Schine, Michal Shmaya, Jeremy Silberglied
Awards (Print)
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Gold Medalist
Print: 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020
Hybrid: 2023
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Silver Medalist
Print – 2014, 2015, 2018
Hybrid – 2021
Columbia Scholastic
Bronze Medalist
2011
American Scholastic Press Association
First Place
2011
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Marylander Award
Newspaper Division C
2011
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown
2016
Howard Kwong • Apr 7, 2017 at 11:20 pm
Good Website Keep Up The Good Work