2016 Newspaper Pacemaker Winners
Winners
Daily Forty-Niner, California State University, Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Well done. The feature on the man, who was deported, is terrific, and the strong story is bolstered by terrific art. It’s always nice to see off-campus articles, and your staff went above and beyond to tell a story that can make a difference. Fine work. Don’t be afraid to take risks with design.
The Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Solid and informative coverage. The deep dive into the immigration issue has everything–from the helpful graphics to the terrific photos and storytelling. Way to go above and beyond.
El Don, Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, California
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Innovative graphics, colorful details and all-around great coverage on and off campus. This paper was a delight to read. Fine work.
The Red & Black, University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: This is a strong all-around newspaper. The layout is clean and reliable but boring. The excellent photography helps. The coverage of the tragedy involving the students was well-executed in all facets, from the mainbar (nice lede) to the photography and sidebars profiling the students who died. We also liked the profile of the only student who hails from his county. Fun!
DePaulia, DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Terrific work. Visually appealing, strong writing and great photography. Nice clean layout.
The Daily Northwestern, Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: This paper features a clean layout, solid writing and some creativity. It could be more innovative and take more risks.
Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Fantastic reporting, colorful details and eye-popping photography. The stories are captivating and well written. Great work!
The Kentucky Kernel, University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Story ideas that care captivating and interesting along with solid weekly coverage. Try to keep text sizes consistent in stories. Overall, great work.
Central Michigan Life, Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Great deep dives into topics. Solid ledes on news and feature stories accompanied with great art. Nice work.
Minnesota Daily, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: As usual, terrific work from the Daily. It’s strong in all aspects, is visually appealing and interesting to read. The feature on the students balancing mental illnesses with school was quite good, and the portraits were terrific. We’d love to see more features like that.
The Daily Orange, Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Wow, what a terrific paper. From fantastic writing to witty headlines and eye-grabbing illustrations, you have it all. The editorial commentary is informed and interesting, with a nice mix of news and features. Good work.
The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Fine work. This paper features not only deep dives (mental health stories) but also solid day-to-day coverage with a beautiful, clean but not boring layout. A little heavy on sports on the cover, but we’re guessing that’s what folks want to read about.
The Oklahoma Daily, University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: This paper includes a nice mix of daily and in-depth stories, taking simple issues such as parking problems or student debt, and diving deeper, supplemented with nice art.
Emerald Media, University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Great paper. Visually appealing, with a nice mix of informative articles and irreverent and lighthearted breaks from hard news–which is interesting and well-covered here. The calendars are a nice touch.
The Shorthorn, University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Great layout design and eye-catching pictures. Good choice of feature stories accompanied by nice art. Nice work!
Richland Chronicle, Richland College
Dallas, Texas
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Well done. Nice illustrations with strong writing and intelligent coverage make this a winner. The explainer articles were well-done and informative. Nice work.
The Daily Cougar, University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Terrific mix of news coverage, from international and national news to campus life. Clean, bold layout and nice photography. Good work.
The Mercury, University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: An all around interesting newspaper to read. It was visually appealing but in some places it was a bit cluttered. Good work!
Finalists
The Auburn Plainsman, Auburn University
Auburn University, Alabama
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Good variety of stories and strong writing. The photography is great, and photos would have been great on the cover story about the student who lost her pets and home in the house fire. Some pages get pretty text-heavy. Don’t be afraid to break that up. Fine work.
The Sun, Southwestern College
Chula Vista, California
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: A good, strong all-around paper. Nicely laid out and clean. Stronger ledes could help in some cases. In the story about the first woman cop hired by campus police we would have liked to see her in the photo, and she isn’t mentioned in the lede. This could be an opportunity for a strong feature on her rather than a straight-up news story.
The Occidental Weekly, Occidental College
Los Angeles, California
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: A solid newspaper with good campus coverage but it could use more eye-catching photos to break up the text. Interesting and thoughtful commentary. Nice work!
Yale Daily News, Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: This newspaper has everything–strong writing, good, intelligent content, and is laid out beautifully. But it could take more risks in design and in-depth coverage.
The GW Hatchet, George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: All around solid newspaper with a clean design layout. Try to include more in-depth features and creative-irreverent story ideas.
The Reporter, Miami Dade College, North Campus
Miami, Florida
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: A solid paper overall with nice art and graphics. The writing is strong, but more risks should be taken in coverage. The feature on the student with cancer was stand out piece.
The Shield, University of Southern Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: This paper took risks in coverage with interesting story ideas and featured a variety of student voices. Visually speaking the layout could be revamped by avoiding large blocks of text.
Iowa State Daily, Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Solid paper with nice graphics and layout. Coverage is reliable and the writing strong but should feature more deep dives into issues affecting students.
The Murray State News, Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Strong and solid day-to-day coverage along with good art and a nice layout. The investigative piece was fantastic. Take more risks.
The Chronicle, Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Terrific newspaper. Visually appealing with a nice clean layout and photos. Don’t be afraid to take risks in writing and coverage, or to take deeper dives into issues.
The Torch, Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Well done. A really nice mix of coverage, from campus issues to the harvest. You took what could have been a boring article on seatbelt stops and elevated by telling an interesting tale about a lucky student. Go easy on the photo illustrations, and if you use them, make sure they’re well done.
The Daily Texan, University of Texas
Austin, Texas
Entry Issues: 1 2 3 4 5
Judge’s comments: Strong daily coverage, and it’s nice to see the community covered as well as the campus. Take more risks with photography and art, and be diligent when it comes to copy editing.