UMaine Student Newspaper Delivers Three Journalism Awards
Contact: Rick Redmond, (207) 991-1543, George Manlove, (207) 581-3756
ORONO — The Maine Campus, the University of Maine’s student newspaper, recently collected a first place and two second place awards in a national collegiate competition in Stamford Conn. in April.
In the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 1 “Mark of Excellence Awards” competition, the UMaine twice-weekly newspaper picked up first place for Best All Around Non-Daily Newspaper and a pair of second place awards for Spot News and In-Depth Reporting for stories written in 2004. The Maine Campus shares Region 1 with colleges and universities in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Other Region 1 finalists included Penn State, Yale, Quinnipiac, Northeastern, Norwich, Boston, Syracuse, Hofstra, Fordham, Rowan and Southern Connecticut State universities, Emerson, Ithaca, Smith, Boston, Mercy Hurst, Lyndon State, Lebanon Valley and Washington and Jefferson colleges, and Indiana State University of Pennsylvania and University of Hartford.
“There was some pretty stiff competition from some pretty big schools,” says Rick Redmond, who was news editor last year at The Maine Campus. Prizes were awarded on articles and newspaper samples from 2004. “It doesn’t matter how big the university is,” Redmond notes. It’s the talent and dedication of your staff. It’s inspiring that we can compete and hold our own in the big leagues.”
The Maine Campus typically is staffed by 30-40 students serving as writers, editors, photographers, artists, production personnel and advertising salespeople. Many, but not all are journalism majors, according to Redmond. Some, for instance, bring skills from sales and marketing classes, or photography. The newspaper pays some staff members and others volunteer their services as a way to get experience in the newspaper business, Redmond says.
Winning awards “looks great for the university and it’s something writers can put in their resumes,” Redmond says. “The writers and photographers work hard all year and it’s rewarding to get some recognition for that.”
The newspaper is managed entirely by students. While there is an advisory board, which includes faculty from the UMaine Department of Communication and Journalism, there is no faculty or administration oversight.
Students learn their journalism skills from journalism courses and from each other, says Redmond, a member of the Class of 2005 who most recently has been the news director for WMEB student radio on campus. The editor in chief for the 2005 fall semester is Matt Conyers.
John Sherblom, chair of the communication and journalism department, says reporters and editors at the student newspaper learn the fundamentals of writing and reporting from classes that cover topics including ethics, fairness, accuracy and objectivity, in addition to basics of news reporting.
“I’m impressed with the awards,” Sherblom says, “but I wasn’t surprised when I saw the names. They’re all capable of producing good writing.”
The first place award for Best Newspaper was an overall award. The spot news award was for the story, “Bumstock Security Investigation,” written by Redmond. A team effort led to the award for in-depth reporting for a series, “Race and Diversity at UMaine,” by writers Tracy Collins, Jackie Farwell, Redmond and Matt Shaer.
A list of award winners and categories is listed on the website.
Regional finalists now advance to a broader national competition to be held in Las Vegas in October, Redmond says.