2017 Newspaper Pacemaker finalists announced

MINNEAPOLIS – The Associated College Press has named 43 collegiate student newspapers as finalists in its annual Pacemaker competition.

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award and is often called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism,” said Laura Widmer, executive director. “ACP is honored to recognize the best of the best.”

The 43 newspapers represent 21 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada.

In all, 150 student newspapers entered the Pacemaker competition. Two teams of three judges devoted two days to the judging and studied every entry, discussing its strengths and weaknesses.

When the process was finished, the 43 Pacemaker finalists were named. From that group, 23 will earn the Pacemaker award placing those newspapers in the top 15 percent.

In addition to demonstrating excellence in key areas including coverage, writing, editing, design and photography, the winning newspapers took risks and served as a strong voice for its student audience.

“The best newspapers didn’t just recap campus events, they delivered tenacious in-depth reporting and impartial and objective coverage,” said Gary Lundgren, associate director. “It was a presidential election year and the top newspapers found fresh, campus angles to this national story.”

A video sharing insights and observations from the judges will be posted when the Pacemaker winners are announced.

Newspapers competed against those publishing the same number of issues per week.

Of the 43 Pacemaker finalists, 18 publish more than one issue per week with five finalists publishing five days per week. Another 18 newspapers published one issue per week. Seven published less than weekly.

Five two-year colleges were represented among the 43 Pacemaker finalists.

In this competition, only the print product was judged. A separate ACP Online Pacemaker competition recognized 25 finalists this spring. Several colleges and universities earned Pacemaker finalist honors for both their print and online products.

Both print and online Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners announced at the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention, Oct. 25-29 in Dallas.


The Auburn Plainsman, Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Editor: Corey Williams
Adviser: Alec Harvey
Frequency: One day per week


Arizona Daily Wildcat, University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Editor: Sam Gross
Adviser: Brett Fera
Frequency: Three days per week


The Bison, Harding University
Searcy, Arkansas
Editor: Joshua Johnson
Adviser: Katherine Ramirez
Frequency: One day per week


The Daily Californian, University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Editors: Melissa Wen, Michelle Pitcher
Frequency: Four days per week


The Sun, Southwestern College
Chula Vista, California
Editor: Mirella Lopez
Adviser: Max Branscomb
Frequency: Less than one day per week


Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Editor: Tanner Walters
Adviser: Abigail Goldman
Frequency: Five days per week


Daily Trojan, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Editors: Matt Lemas, Danni Wang
Adviser: Mona Cravens
Frequency: Five days per week


The State Hornet, California State University, Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Editors: John Ferrannini, Barbara Harvey
Adviser: Stu VanAirsdale
Frequency: One day per week


el Don, Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, California
Editors: Laura Garcia, Aurielle Weiss
Advisers: C.W. Little Jr., Sarah Bennett
Frequency: Less than one day per week


The Bottom Line, University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Editors: Gwendolyn Wu, Shomik Mukherjee
Adviser: Leah Bartos
Frequency: One day per week


The Corsair, Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, California
Editors: Zin Chiang, Christian Monterrosa
Advisers: Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins, Gerard Burkhart
Frequency: Less than one day per week


The Roundup, Pierce College
Woodland Hills, California
Editors: Salvador Fariaz, Victor Rodriguez
Frequency: One day per week


The Advocate, Contra Costa College
San Pablo, California
Editor: Roxana Amparo
Adviser: Paul DeBolt
Frequency: One day per week


The GW Hatchet, The George Washington University
Washington, DC
Editors: Ellie Smith, Lillianna Byington
Frequency: One day per week


The Columbia Chronicle, Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Editors: Megan Bennett, Arabella Breck, Zoe Eitel, Charlie Connelly, Lauren Kostiuk, Alex Aghayere
Advisers: Chris Richert, Len Strazewski, Stephanie Goldberg
Frequency: One day per week


The Knox Student, Knox College
Galesburg, Illinois
Editor: Rachel Landman
Adviser: Tom Martin
Frequency: One day per week


The DePaulia, DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois
Editor: Jessica Villagomez
Adviser: Marla Krause
Frequency: One day per week


Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
Editors: Alison Graham, Hannah Alani
Advisers: Ron Johnson, Ruth Witmer
Frequency: Five days per week


The Daily News, Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
Editors: Breanna Daugherty, Robby General
Adviser: John Strauss
Frequency: Three days per week


Iowa State Daily, Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Editor: Emily Barske
Adviser: Mark Witherspoon
Frequency: Five days per week


College Heights Herald, Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Editors: Brandon Carter, Lashana Harney
Advisers: Chuck Clark, Carrie Pratt
Frequency: Two days per week


The Tulane Hullabaloo, Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana
Editor: Brandi Doyal
Adviser: Tel Bailliet
Frequency: One day per week


The State News, Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Editor: Jake Allen
Advisers: Robert Hendricks, Travis Ricks
Frequency: Two days per week


Central Michigan Life, Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Editors: Dominick Mastrangelo, Kate Carlson
Advisers: David Clark, Kathy Simon
Frequency: Two days per week


Minnesota Daily, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Editor: Dylan Scott
Frequency: Two days per week


The Ithacan, Ithaca College
Ithaca, New York
Editor: Kayla Dwyer
Adviser: Michael Serino
Frequency: One day per week


The Daily Orange, Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
Editor: Justin Mattingly
Adviser: Mike Dooling
Frequency: Four days per week


The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Editor: Jane Wester
Adviser: Erica Perel
Frequency: Four days per week


The Kent Stater, Kent State University
Kent, Ohio
Editor: Jimmy Miller
Advisers: Susan Zake, Mitch McKenney
Frequency: Three days per week


The Oklahoma Daily, University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Editor: Dana Branham
Advisers: Judy Gibbs Robinson, Seth Prince
Frequency: Two days per week


The Daily Barometer, Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
Editor: Riley Youngman
Advisers: Candace Baltz, Steven Sandberg
Frequency: One day per week


The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Editor: Dan Spinelli
Adviser: Eric Jacobs
Frequency: Four days per week


The Pitt News, University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Editor: Elizabeth Lepro
Adviser: Harry Kloman
Frequency: Five days per week


The Volante, University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota
Editors: Malachi Petersen, Ally Krupinsky
Adviser: Chuck Baldwin
Frequency: One day per week


The Shorthorn, University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Editors: Anna Gutierrez; Dylan Bradley
Advisers: Laurie Fox, Beth Francesco
Frequency: One day per week


Foghorn News, Del Mar College
Corpus Christi, Texas
Editor: Natalie Murphy
Advisers: Robert Muilenburg, Scott Beckett
Frequency: Less than one day per week


The Rice Thresher, Rice University
Houston, Texas
Editor: Yasna Haghdoost
Adviser: Kelley Lash
Frequency: One day per week


The Collegian, Tarrant County College
Hurst, Texas
Editor: Katelyn Needham
Advisers: Eddye Gallagher, Christopher Whitley
Frequency: One day per week


The Et Cetera, Eastfield College
Mesquite, Texas
Editor: David Silva
Advisers: Elizabeth Langton, Lori Dann
Frequency: Less than one day per week


The Mercury, The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas
Editors: Nidhi Gotgi, Cara Santucci
Adviser: Chad Thomas
Frequency: Less than one day per week


The Vermont Cynic, University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Editors: Hannah Kearns, Kelsey Neubauer
Adviser: Chris Evans
Frequency: One day per week


The Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
Editor: Caity Coyne
Adviser: Adell Crowe
Frequency: Three days per week


The Calgary Journal , Mount Royal University
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Editors: Jodi Brak, Michaela Ritchie, Deanna Tucker, Josie Lukey, Colin Gallant, Emily Rop
Advisers: Sally Haney, Ian Tennant, Terry Field, Archie McLean
Frequency: Less than one day per week