Grove City College’s student newspaper The Collegian can add “award-winning” to its masthead.
The weekly won two Student Keystone Press Awards for work published in 2017, the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) announced this week.
The paper’s staff captured first place honors for General News for coverage of the College’s choice to have Vice President Mike Pence speak at commencement. The newspaper’s entry included stories, photos and graphics from the April 7 edition under the headline: Comm-Pencement.
Collegian Photographer Andrew Stein ’18, a Business Management major from Monaca, Pa., won first place News Photo for a picture capturing the emotional celebration of members of the Wolverine football team after they won their first game in three years. The photo was published Sept. 29.
The awards “recognize student journalism that provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers” and drew a record 975 entries across all categories this year, according to PNA.
Earning recognition like this is a significant achievement for The Collegian’s staff, according to Collegian Adviser Nick Hildebrand.
“The Collegian exists to inform, entertain and enlighten its readers on campus and train students in the art of ethical journalism. The newspaper is blessed to have a talented and dedicated staff that takes that mission seriously and strives to do excellent work,” Hildebrand, senior editor in the College’s Office of Marketing & Communications, said. “It is gratifying to see their professional-level work recognized, especially in light of the stiff competition from colleges and universities with strong journalism programs, such as Point Park, Messiah and Duquesne. It’s a real feather in Grove City College’s cap.”
Current Editor-in-Chief Karen Postupac ’19, a Computer Information Systems major from Export, Pa., said the awards were a vindication for the newspaper’s hardworking staff.
“The best thing about The Collegian staff is their aspiration for excellence. Section editors strive for the best content and designers experiment with new layouts. Writers report strong stories and express well-informed opinions of various perspectives. These pieces of the puzzle have brought the newspaper to the new level in the past few years and I am beyond excited to see the work of our team be commended for the dedicated work I see every day,” Postupac said.
“It is an honor to win Keystone Student Press Awards, and I am humbled to be part of such a fantastic staff,” Managing Editor James Sutherland ’20, a Political Science major from Broadlands, Va. “It is gratifying to see the work of our student journalists and photographers rewarded and I am happy that our staff has been recognized for the great work that they do week in and week out.”
The Pence story was a big one for the newspaper, which broke what became a national story online with a Facebook post that was picked up by The Associated Press and led to The Collegian being cited by The New York Times. The newspaper’s staff had just days to put together a multiple story package for the print edition that included news stories on the selection of Pence and campus reaction, pro and con; point-counterpoint editorial columns; letters to the editor; and even a satire in the form of a Grover Life column.
The Collegian is produced and managed by students and published weekly by Grove City College during the academic year. First established in 1891, the newspaper has been in regular publication since 1914.