Two student journalists received individual honors from the Associated Collegiate Press in October at the National College Media Convention in Dallas for work published in by the Iowa State Daily Media Group during the 2016-17 academic year.
Alex Connor, junior in journalism and mass communication, was one of 10 finalists for 2017 College Reporter of the Year, earning honorable mention. Her work evaluated for the award included:
- "Small windows of time: A day in the life of a university president"
- Campustown vendor weighs in on Sunday morning shooting
- Inside Student Government funding, bylaw infringements and alleged campaign violations this cycle
Connor served as the Daily’s politics editor the first semester and managing editor the second semester of last year.
While she was surprised by some of the stories selected, Connor noted that she’s proud each one demonstrates a different aspect of reporting: following up on a source’s offer to be available, searching for an unlikely perspective to tell a story and following up on a tip and digging deeper.
"When I found out I was in the running for Reporter of the Year through ACP, which is an organization I look up to, it was just really cool. Just to be considered was amazing," Connor said.
Emily Blobaum, senior in journalism and mass communication, received honorable mentions in the Multimedia category for her feature,"Shattering Stigmas" and a photo slideshow of images from a day following President Leath.
Blobaum is most excited about getting her work out to a larger audience beyond the Iowa State community, especially "Shattering Stigmas." One of her favorite stories she’s ever worked on, it also helped her learn more about the disability community at Iowa State.
"That was my first story that I really did over a long term. I would spend time with them once or twice a week and do my interviews with them in pieces. I woudn’t take all my photos in one day," she said.
ACP’s Individual Awards honor the best individuals in collegiate journalism as selected by a team of professionals with experience and expertise in the area of each particular contest, according to the ACP website.
Seven contests are open to any student on staff of an ACP member publication, which includes the Iowa State Daily.
Other Iowa State Daily staffers who earned individual awards include:
- Isaiah Johnson, junior in integrated studio arts, first place Design of the Year—Illustration
- Max Goldberg, junior in industrial design, honorable mention, Photo of the Year
The Iowa State Daily was one of 43 collegiate students newspapers named as finalists in ACP’s Pacemaker competition.