University of North Carolina
Each year, the Associated Collegiate Press recognizes excellence in student media with collegiate journalism’s preeminent award, the Pacemaker. Pacemakers are awarded in each category of publication — online, newspaper, yearbook and magazine.
Entries are judged by teams of professionals based on the following criteria: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.
ACP contacted Erica Perel, adviser of The Daily Tar Heel, the student-run newspaper of the University of North Carolina for a Q&A. The Daily Tar Heel won the 2015 Pacemaker for four-year daily newspaper.
ACP: Tell us a little bit about the editors and staff of your Pacemaker-winning publication.
Erica Perel: We’re a five-day/week print publication that is financially and editorially independent from UNC. We have about 40 editors and assistant editors, plus another 150 or so unpaid staffers.
ACP: How did the staff ensure the quality of the publication?
EP: We have a rigorous process for assigning stories and then editing them. Each story gets five edits — three must be in person with an assistant editor, editor and then member of management, followed by two copy reads.
Our student editors are very cognizant that they are part of a long tradition of excellence, and they’re expecting to keep it up. We also require training in the form of workshops organized by me.
ACP: Is there any one issue, story, photo, package, etc. that stood out during the year?
EP: It was actually a huge year for big news. But the biggest week of our year came in February. UNC Basketball coaching legend Dean Smith died, and we learned about it on a Sunday morning, and rushed to complete a full special edition about his life and death that became a collectors edition across the state.
Two days later, a man shot three Muslim students in an apartment complex just off campus in an incident that became an international story. Once again, the staff was banding together to do justice to a huge story with a paper of special coverage. But instead of writing about the long life and natural death of a special man, we were covering the tragic deaths of three young people whose contributions were cut short.
ACP: Tell us about a hardship or obstacle you felt your staff overcame.
EP: Making it through that difficult week was definitely an obstacle, but it brought everyone together.
ACP: What qualities will you remember the most about this Pacemaker-winning staff?
EP: The ability to rise to the occasion and tackle big news with aplomb. Utter fearlessness, especially on the editorial page. The willingness to tackle social justice issues with fervor.
ACP: What does winning a Pacemaker mean to you and your staff?
We don’t put out papers to win awards. But the Pacemaker means we are doing something right. It means consistency and excellence in all areas — writing, design, photography, opinion, etc. It means our staff went the extra mile and made smart, thoughtful decisions in covering our university community.