The Deseret News' Newspapers in Education Department has received two prestigious awards.
The newspaper's program is the first ever to be named twice to the Newspaper Association of America Foundation NIE Hall of Fame. To enter the Hall of Fame, a program must be selected as winner of the General Excellence Award in its circulation category two years in a row. Only seven NIE programs have reached that level. The Deseret News program has now been named twice.
The Deseret News NIE's Utah Student/Parent Mock Election Project was also named first-place winner of the 2000 CNN/National Student/Parent Mock Election Award for Media Excellence.
The Deseret News NIE Department was one of the founders of the Utah mock elections project several years ago, forming a coalition that included the Lieutenant Governor's Office, Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake County Clerk's Office, League of Women Voters, Utah PTA and some individual school districts.
The department produced a special educational section and conducted a credit class for teachers. Nearly 24,000 students participated in the mock elections just before the general election last November.