STEM Mass Media
Description
Applying leadership and 21st century skills, participants utilize written and verbal communication skills designed for a mass audience to convey a news story revolving around a designated theme in both a video broadcast (preliminary) and a digital written format (semifinals). Participants must demonstrate a strong understanding of journalism etiquette and common practices of the field.
2026-27 Theme
Headline: Scientists link human right-handedness to walking upright and brain evolution
Background:
Most humans favor their right hand, but scientists have long debated why this pattern is so common across cultures. Unlike humans, other primates do not show the same strong population-wide preference for one hand. A new Oxford-led study published in PLOS Biology suggests that human right-handedness may be connected to two major steps in human evolution: walking upright on two legs and the expansion of the brain. Researchers analyzed data from 2,025 individuals across 41 species of monkeys and apes, using evolutionary modeling to compare possible explanations for handedness, including tool use, diet, habitat, body size, social behavior, brain size, and locomotion. Their findings suggest that as early human ancestors became more fully bipedal and developed larger brains, right-handedness became increasingly common. The study also raises new questions about why left-handedness still exists and whether similar patterns of limb preference in other animals may have evolved in comparable ways.
Prompt:
Based on the following headline, develop a news broadcast that includes an introduction of the headline, a summary of the information in the news story, and an explanation of potential future implications of the highlighted work.
Shorecrest HS, Team 1, 2026 1st Place
Redmond HS, 2026 3rd Place National
Event Resources
EVENT EXAMPLES
Click on the links to the right to view past entries for this event! 2025 State 1st Place Winner
Event Deadlines
January 21, 2027
Students will need their Participant ID number, and password, from their advisor. Only the team captain will be able to upload the file.
Students submit completed script of Video News Broadcast as a pdf file for scoring. Scripts will be scored on research, content and story line.
March 18, 2027
This is an Early Entry event!
Completed entry due by 5:00 pm, March 18!
Semifinalists will participate in press conference, and develop a digital (written) news article (max. 500 words)
Washington TSA Rules
To compete, students must:
Belong to a currently affiliated TSA chapter
Be registered (by their TSA advisor) for competition by December 18, 2026 ($35)
Compete in the January 21, 2027 virtual competition (see individual event pages for details)
Be selected as a top competitor in their event(s) and invited to participate at State
Number of competitors is dependent on specific event
Qualifying competitor lists will be published by February 7, 2027
State Conference registration week February 22-26, 2027 (see state conference page for details)
At the state level, 3 teams per chapter may compete.
Additional Information
Event Coordinator: Jennifer Smith, jsmith@washingtontsa.org
Event Manager: Kari Potter, kpotter@washingtontsa.org
