Senior and co-Editor-in-Chief Scarlet Gitelson was named the 2026 Chicago Journalist of the Year at Medill’s Scholastic Press Association of Chicago (SPAC) award ceremony on Friday, earning one of the publication’s highest individual honors and leading a strong paper-wide showing for The Forum.
The award was presented by Katie Fernandez, Senior Program Coordinator for Teach for Chicago Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School. According to Ms. Fernandez, judges were especially impressed by Scarlet’s recent article, “Nazi Mind's 2025 Nuremberg Trials, Hour by Hour,” which stood out among the work submitted by student journalists across the city.
Scarlet’s recognition as Chicago Journalist of the Year capped off a successful afternoon in which she also received additional honors for her reporting, earning recognition for work in special coverage and feature stories.
Upper School English teacher and faculty advisor to The Forum, Lori Kloehn, said, “Scarlet is the backbone of The Forum, a natural leader who has guided our paper for years. Her leadership as a journalist lies in the consistent coverage of the community, in the search for the newsworthy story, in the history of Latin.”
Scarlet’s reporting has helped define The Forum’s journalism this year, particularly through ambitious, deeply researched stories that take on complex historical and contemporary topics. The judges’ praise for her Nuremberg piece highlighted the kind of thoughtful, original reporting that has become a hallmark of The Forum.
“Scarlet’s portfolio is impressively vast,” Ms. Kloehn said. “She has written 78 stories in the course of her three-and-a-half years at Latin. Scarlet writes stories about ideas that matter, but most importantly, she wants to bring in everyone.”
Scarlet was not the only Forum staff member recognized at the ceremony. Several editors, writers, photographers, and web designers received awards for work across a wide range of categories, highlighting the depth of talent on the paper’s staff:
Superior
Excellent
Photography
The awards reflected the strength of The Forum as a whole, a culture shaped in large part by Scarlet’s leadership. That influence, Ms. Kloehn said, is what sets her apart as both a journalist and a person. “Because Scarlet was once new to the school, she feels keenly the plight of the outsider, and her warmth and joy and curiosity guide her reporting and leadership. She has changed The Forum forever and deserves this recognition as Chicago's Journalist of the Year. We are very proud of her!”
gen • Mar 31, 2026 at 3:26 pm
congrats scarlet!! so deserved!!
Vivian LY • Mar 31, 2026 at 1:35 pm
Congrats Scarlet!