The Eagle excels in news, digital competition

The Eagle’s student staff conjured its own version of football’s “Pic-6” when it scored its sixth straight “Best in Overall Excellence” title in the Nebraska Collegiate Media Association’s annual Golden Leaf Awards, presented Saturday, this year, at Doane College, Crete.

The Eagle’s website, csceagle.com, kept in stride with the newspaper and captured its second straight “Excellence in Digital Medium,” award the NCMA’s highest honor in its digital medium division. See related story: http://csceagle.com/2016/04/21/csceagle-com-wins-top-prize-for-2nd-straight-year/

The Eagle staff earned awards in 17 of 19 individual categories, and scored points in 15 of 19 categories en route to earning 49 points and its sixth consecutive “Best in Overall Excellence” title.

“This year we were all a little scared. We knew that Doane was improving and we knew the competition would be tough,” said Managing Editor Jordyn Hulinsky, junior of St. Paul. “It’s a lot of pressure when you’re on top for this long to remain on top. But the staff is always working as hard as it can, and I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishment.”

The newspaper competition is broken into 19 individual categories covering writing and visual presentation, such as design and photography. Eligible entries must have been published between March 1, 2015, and Feb. 29 this year. All NCMA newspapers may submit no more than five entries per category; individual students may enter no more than two pieces per category.

Students from the NCMA’s seven member schools who competed this year earned points for their respective newspapers for placing first (5 points), second (3 points) or third (1 point) in each of those 19 categories. The points each student earns are totaled to determine which newspaper earns the “Best in Overall Excellence” title. The NCMA awards no more than two honorable mentions per category. Honorable mentions do not earn points.

Eleven different student journalists from The Eagle scored points across 14 categories, while the “staff” garnered points in three other categories.

The Eagle earned three first-place awards, worth 15 points; eight second places, worth 24 points; and 10 third places, worth 10 points; for a cumulative score of 49 points. That total is 28 points lower than what the staff accrued in 2015, when it scored a staff-high 77 points to capture its fifth “Best in Overall Excellence” title. The Eagle also earned 10 honorable mentions.

“That’s a significant drop in the total points we scored,” The Eagle Adviser Michael D. Kennedy said. “But I think it is important to note our consistency in scoring across all categories.”

Citing NCMA records, Kennedy noted that when the staff won its first best overall title back in 2011, the students did it on the strength of their visual skills in photojournalism and design. He said he then focused on improving reporting and writing, not just among The Eagle staff, but in the classrooms, too.

“Since then we have scored consistently across all three areas—writing, photo and design,” he said.

The NCMA’s newspaper division has eight writing categories and 11 visual categories. Kennedy said The Eagle staff submitted entries in seven of the eight writing categories, earned awards in all seven, but scored in only five. On the visual side, the staff entered 10 of 11 categories and scored points in all 10.

“I think it is still too early to determine whether our drop in points is a result of a decline in our performance or an improvement in our competitors’ skills,” Kennedy said. “On the surface I’d like to think the competition simply got tougher. But I suspect it might be a combination of both, and it is my responsibility to work closely with the staff and with students in the classroom to ensure we maintain the high journalistic standards we’ve set, and achieved.”

Kennedy said he was still proud of the staff members and noted it.

“Of course I am proud of them,” he said. “Hey, this staff brought home The Eagle’s sixth straight ‘Best in Overall Excellence’ title. I know how many long hours they spend covering the campus, then bringing those stories and pictures together to produce a quality newspaper for their readers. The Eagle is a product they, and the college, can and should be proud of.”

Judging for NCMA’s newspaper division is completed by media professionals from states outside Nebraska, and include The Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Cheyenne; The Houston Chronicle; The Topeka (Kansas) Capital-Journal; The Rapid City (South Dakota) Journal and The Standard Times, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

“I’ve said before that these awards are the measuring stick by which our staff is judged,” Kennedy said. “For the sixth year in a row, the professionals who will hire our students have decided The Eagle staff is the best. I cannot think of any better assessment of our students or our program.”

The Doane Owl, Doane College, Crete, finished second in the best overall category with 41 points, while The Collegian, Hastings College, Hastings, finished third with 38 points.

Although no award is given below third place, The Wayne Stater, Wayne State College, finished fourth in the best overall, scoring 28 points. The Peru State Times, Peru State College, earned seven points and the ViewPoint at Northeast Community College did not score.

Hulinsky picked up three second-place awards, two thirds and two honorable mentions and was part of the Editorial Board whose entry finished third in Editorial Writing. Advertising Director Angelina Webb, senior of Colorado Springs, Colorado, captured first and third in ad design. Opinion Editor Janelle Kesterson, junior of Bridgeport, took first in Feature Writing, earned an honorable mention in Editorial Writing and was part of The Eagle’s Editorial Board that took third in that category.

Former Opinion Editor Robert “Spike” Jordan, and former feature writer and csceagle.com Editor Hannah Clark, captured second and third places, respectively, in the Cartoon category. Both graduated in May 2015. Clark is now employed as an office assistant with Joel Hyer, dean of the School of B.E.A.M.S.S., and Jordan is a reporter with the Douglas (Wyoming) Budget.

In his first year as Sports Editor Preston Goehring, sophomore of Carpenter, Wyoming, earned two second-place awards and a third-place award in the design categories, and two honorable mentions in Sports Reporting.

Another newcomer, first-year News Editor Justine Stone, sophomore of Maywood, captured two second-place awards in design – one for infographics and one for inside-page design.

Lifestyles Editor Sarah Townsend, senior of Douglas, Wyoming, also brought home multiple awards. Townsend took second in headline writing and two-page, special-spread design and earned an honorable mention in both newspaper feature writing and use of a digital medium for a public service.

Melanie Nelson, junior of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, took second and earned an honorable mention in News Writing.

Freshman Photo Editor Sara Tweet, of Crawford, took two third-place awards, one in the News Photograph category, the other in the Feature Photograph category. Her predecessor, former Photo Editor Teri Robinson, who graduated in December 2015, took first and earned an honorable mention in the Feature Photograph category. Robinson, a native of Alliance, is now employed as a copy editor at The Star-Herald, Scottsbluff.