Category 30: General Excellence
Judges:
Jodi McFarland Friedman, University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism
Gary Heinlein, St Ignace News/Mackinaw Island Town Crier
Ragen Foster - CM Life Adviser
DIVISION I: first place
The lookout, lansing cc
Judge Feedback:
(1) Love the layout and use of color for ease of navigation. Cover teasers offer additional points of entry. Consider varying page design- perhaps adding a gutter for vertical story play? Campus comments speak to audience by letting members speak!
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(2) This is a nice, clean and consistently good-quality publication that exhibits superb copyediting and headline writing; solid news judgment, reporting and design; and good writing. It utilizes original, staff-generated photos rather than overly relying on contributed or stock images, which is a difficult thing for many non-visual people so kudos to the team members for pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones!
A few thoughts on visual storytelling: We know from reader research that it is hugely critical to drawing readers into the story, so I would encourage your emerging staff writers/photographers to push even further in their thought processes regarding photography. Rather than rely on the posed portrait of a student or staff/faculty member standing in a window or leaning against a wall, for example, join them in their space and capture them demonstating their subject-matter expertise. When doing a business profile or a story about an institution or program, move past the image of the storefront or building, and see about getting a photo that shows what the company, institution, course, program actually does. Remember, at heart all great stories are human, so let’s get the humans into that visual element and let them showcase their expertise. Also, don’t be afraid to get many variations of a photo so that you have different angles, lighting options and clarities from which to choose. Pictures on newsprint tend to come out less crisp than they appear on computers, so getting a few dozen, rather than a few, will give your editors and designers more chances to find the sharpest-focused and most compelling image in the bunch.
Also, a quick design suggestion, while I can see the benefit of doing a color-screened cover, remember that the cold press will lay down those colors very heavily in the printing process. This can alter the color in the photos and potentially change the context of the image (note the blue tinges in the cleverly named ‘Snow Place like LCC’ cover image that make white snow appear purple) and color altar facing pages and those that share the cover plates. If you haven’t been to a press run to stand with the press operators and learn how the system works, I highly recommend it. You will develop a new appreciation for the system that will only improve your already strong design.
(3) This publication is the most like a traditional tabloid newspaper among all entries. The front page always is devoted to one large photo and a stack of three others, all referring to the main stories inside. I’m old-school and would prefer to see the top news stories start on Page 1, but The Lookout does check most of the other boxes for me. It’s an inward-looking paper that strongly covers its campus with news-filled issues that average about 20 stories per 12-page edition. It has clearly-labeled sections, including Sports and Opinion, in each issue, headlines with active verbs, and photos that focus on what’s most important: people and their faces. Many of the story leads are crisp, active, and to-thepoint, which I like as a reader. In articular, I’d cite Mallory Stiles’s four-source story about the RSV outbreak, and the robust sports coverage provided by Julie Newell. Editorials are about real issues of concern to students: stronger gun laws, police brutality, and Michigan’s abortion ballot proposition. A quibble: “The winners of the . . . have been announced” is not a news lead; “Joe Smith, Bill Jones, and Emily Miller are first-place winners in the . . . awards” would be a real news lead (not the real winners; just an example, of course).
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DIVISION I: SECOND PLACE
DELTA COLLEGIATE
DELTA COLLEGE
THE WASHTENAW VOICE
WASHTENAW CC
Judge Feedback, Delta College:
(1) The Collegiate is a well-organized tabloid, packed with stories about the campus and its surroundings. The sampled issues of 16-20 pages carried 16-22 stories and features, accompanied by photos and art, producing a crisp business-like feel. Stories tend to be short, but newsy and adequately sourced. The staff tried a cutline technique featuring white print on a black background, but the small typeface tended to get lost and some of them were hard to read. I liked the breadth of coverage, found the writing to be of an even quality and quite readable. The stories seem relatable not only to college students and their issues, but to an outsider like me, leafing through. I learned from Sarah Ritcey’s story about friends with benefits, hookups and sneaky links; Misty Barron’s opinion piece on campus pay; and Noah Brasseur’s two-pages spread on Black History Month. Delta’s news hounds are doing a very good job.
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(2) Issues are chock-ful! Content is varied- there's something for every reader. Look at headline size variety- avoid dead space at ends or vary layout to prevent it. The staff's hard work is apparent!
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(3) This is a nice, clean and consistently eye-catching publication that exhibits very well-rounded elements of multimedia journalism. Its staff demonstrates good news judgment and solid reporting skills; crisp, clean pagination and layout showcased by a bold decision to publish this monthly print product on the more-expensive high bright paper; and nice original photos that showcase well on the high bright. Overall, a solid student-run publication.
A few thoughts for growth: * The cover design in the December edition speaks to a strong, and important, cover story: Namely a POTUS visit to the region. The designer used the negative space on the left rail to provide a clever, abbreviated index. The January and February editions broke from that strong cover image format to take a busier approach with multiple photos and two variations -- a sky box and a horizontal list -- on indices. There is no clearly cut cover story on these covers, which eliminates a clear entry point for readers. In an era of media mistrust and diminishing returns on print editions, it is critical we give consumers every possible reason to pick up a product, and a strong lead image and headline are known drivers or readership.
* To that end, we want to make sure that the cover story is actually the first news story a reader comes across. If they pick up a copy of a news edition thinking they will read about Joe Biden in Saginaw or Garlin Gilchrist in University Center, we need to get them that information at the top of the paper. The average reader has about a 90-second attention span, so we want to get them hooked right away to get them to stick with us. *
I like the regional coverage and the excellent mix of features, hard news, sports, entertainment and opinions. Your paper truly offers something for everyone, and that is a wonderful thing. Be very careful, in the writing of news-centric content, that we aren’t encroaching on editorial: For example, it’s OK to say Zehnders Snowfest had “a great turnout,” as long as we’re attributing that statement to someone. Even in low-key and fun event coverage, we need to practice excellent reporting and writing in the form of interviews and attribution. Remember, as reporters it’s critical that we don’t become part of the story, but act as the third-party omniscient voices who provide perspective.
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Judge Feedback, Washtenaw CC:
(1) This is a nice, clean and consistently eye-catching publication that exhibits solid reporting and writing; superb headlines and excellent news judgment. As paper prices increase and attention spans decrease it is a bold decision to embrace a legacy format such as a broadsheet, and I commend the unique approach to pagination. Having worked in the broadsheet format for many years at a daily newspaper, this judge was pleased to see the use of skyboxes in lieu of an index, and standard broadsheet layout. Overall, this is a solid student-run publication with plenty of reasons to be proud.
A few thoughts for growth: * While I like the broadsheet format, I was struck by some inconsistencies in the Sept. 20 edition. It was the only two-section edition; the A&E content in the B section were folded into subsequent editions.
Moreover, in the Sept. 20 editoin, the cover design buried the lead story -- an extremely well reported piece on the Ypsilanti Township meeting by Jordan Scenna -- below a photo essay and below the fold. Best practices tell us to put the biggest story of the edition in the top spot or on the cover, in the case of a tabloid format. The average reader has about a 90-second attention span, so we want to get them hooked right away to get them to stick with us, and it’s clear that this is a controversial issue that has the commuity hot under the colar. The photo essay was interesting and campus-centric, but is it the most important thing you are reporting? It could have easily been a stand-alone centerpiece photo with an extended cutline teasing to an online photo essay. *
To that end, I commend your coverage focus that steps off of campus boundaries, as well as an excellent mix of features, hard news, entertainment and opinions. Your paper truly offers a wide range of readership genres, and that is a wonderful thing. In the interest of professional growth, I would recommend getting back to some of the basics of news writing. For example, we want to be very careful, in the writing of news-centric content, that we aren’t encroaching on editorial. This is something that, as a professor, advisor and professional reporter who has trained hundreds of up-and-coming repoters, I have seen everyone struggle with consistently. We want to make sure that even something that seems self-evident -- e.g. that Chief Lecher was “content with his job in Dearborn and even thought hew as going to retire from law enforcement there” is attributed to a source. A trick that will help with that is to do the interview and use it to let the source speak for themselves. A paraphrase is great, but if the chief said something explaining how much he loved the city of Dearborn and planned to leave only with retirement, why not quote that? *
Another area to keep in mind, and nothing I haven’t seen from emerging writers all over the country, is that when we write for news, we need to keep our sentences and our paragraph structure consise. We’re used to writing for academia, but that five-sentence-per-paragraph standard makes for long chunks of typset that can be difficult to follow in a newspaper. The industry standard is no more than three sentences per paragraph. *
From a copyediting perspective, we avoid embedding quotes into paragraphs for the same reason. Unless it is percipitated by a lead-in clause “Leacher said: ‘Honestly I looked at it and wasn’t going to, but something kept calling me back.’” we would want to set off the quote in a new paragraph. This is all designed to help readers navigate our product and make it as easy as possible for them to stick with us.
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(2) Professional look, no wasted space, timely, topical, newsworthy stories. Cartoons, games and classifieds are fun and functional features. Articles written well and informative. Clean copy. A pleasure!​
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Division I: Third Place
tHE MIRROR NEWS
HENRY FORD CC
Judge Feedback:
(1) I found 31 stories in the three sample issues ranging from 16 - 24 pages. The Mirror News uses a news magazine format with an appealing format that often matches longish stories with an array of photos, sometimes opposite one another - text on one page, photos on the opposing page. It’s a quality news mage with good photos and student-produced artwork. The Mirror is strongly devoted to the arts and culture scene in Metro Detroit and lavishes space on institutions such as Belle Isle nnd the IM Weiss Gallery, not to mention the college’s own drama productions. The staff does this well, but I might prefer a bit more campus news. I particularly found interesting Aliyah Monsour’s multisource story about Dearborn’s book ban controversy; a nicely done synopsis on the 2022 governor’s election by Andrew Kamp; and the Pipeline to Prison Q&A by Inam Mustafa. It’s a mighty handsome publication, Mirror staffers.
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(2) Cover art an appealing look, color stands out and topics resonate. Good to use photography to attract readers to content; an opportunity here for more staff-generated art. That said, layouts are varied and appealing. Content-wise, variety of story types and volume = so much for readers to explore. HFCC benefits from this news source.
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(3) Your team has overcome a tremendously difficult hurdle to get to the point of competition ready, and I salute each and every one of your hard-working staff. Congratulations on your dogged work ethic, your professionalism and your vision: I can’t wait to see where this revitalized publication heads in the coming years!
That critical first glance impression is that this is a publication that will push envelopes. The illustrated covers are very eye catching and, despite the challenges inherent in cold-set printing, the color variations and shading of your supurb illustrators play exceptionally well. The lines in three vastly different images are clean, the copy reproduces brilliantly; if I were walking by the newsstand and I saw any of these three editions, I would surely pick them up.
A few thoughts for growth: * The cover design in all three editions speaks to a strong, and important, cover story. However, when we open the paper, the cover story is buried behind other content. Industry best practices tell us to make sure that the cover story is actually the first news story a reader comes across. The average reader has about a 90-second attention span, so we want to get them hooked right away to get them to stick with us.
*Your team’s news judgment is exceptional and it covers tough content in the community and beyond. I love that you aren’t just catering to the campus community, but are open to stepping into city and school board meetings. Keep this up! That being said, in this time of a crisis of credibiltiy, it is critical that we don’t stray into editorial territory. Remember, as reporters it’s critical that we don’t become part of the story, but act as the third-party omniscient voices who provide facts. The sources we quote may have space to provide their opnions, we do not.
* Another area to keep in mind, and nothing I haven’t seen from emerging writers all over the country, is that when we write for news, we need to keep our sentences and our paragraph structure consise. We’re used to writing for academia, but that fivesentence-per-paragraph standard makes for long chunks of typset that can be difficult to follow in a newspaper. The industry standard is no more than three sentences per paragraph.
* From a copyediting perspective, we avoid embedding quotes into paragraphs for the same reason. Unless it is percipitated by a lead-in clause “Goodell said: ‘My love of ceramics is somethign that has been an outlet in so many ways and one of hte neastest is the Annual Potters Market.’” we would want to set off the quote in a new paragraph. *On the Q&A Format, I highly recommend differentiating questions from answers with bold font, different alignment, color or a different font entirely. All of these tricks are designed to help readers navigate our product and make it as easy as possible for them to stick with us.
Division i: Honorable Mention
schoolcraft connection
schoolcraft college
Judge Feedback:
(1) “Schoolcraft Connection” is the perfect flag for a student-led newspaper that clearly cares about and is deeply connected to its institution. From the banner to the artwork, this is a friendly, college-focused publication that celebrates its students, staff and faculty. I greatly appreciate the bright tone and look of this paper. Many congratulations to the team for consistently fun headlines and very solid news judgment. Knowing how to differentiate the true news stories and know to tell them are the foundations of good journalism, and there is plenty of reason to be excited about this product and the emerging talents behind it!
A few notes to consider for growth:
* A point I have worked on with reporters from across the country -- so nothing unusual to worry about at all -- when we write for news, we need to keep our sentences and our paragraph structure consise. We’re used to writing for academia, but that fivesentence-per-paragraph standard makes for long chunks of typset that can be difficult to follow in a newspaper. The industry standard is no more than three sentences per paragraph. * From a copyediting perspective, we avoid embedding quotes into paragraphs for the same reason. Unless it is percipitated by a lead-in clause “Leacher said: ‘Honestly I looked at it and wasn’t going to, but something kept calling me back.’” we would want to set off the quote in a new paragraph. This helps readers navigate our product and make it as easy as possible for them to stick with us. *
Another way that journalistic writing flies in the face of the academic style to which we are used is in copyediting. The Associated Press Stylebook has specific standards when it comes to grammar and punctuation that are totally counter-intuitive to academic writing (e.g. that sneaky Oxford comma). These are difficult to wrap you head around, but if this is your career path, it will be beneficial to familiarize yourself with the standards early on. Your editors will love you for it!
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(2) The Connection is newsy and well-organized, typically with 20 stories
and features per 28-page (digital) issue. It has nice photos, active subheads and clearly-
delineated sections: News, Campus Life, Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Opinions and
Diversions. Its colorful graphics pop. I like that this tab has a front-page story that jumps
inside. I especially enjoyed top editor Kathryn Wenske’s page-one story about efforts by the
school’s PTK Honor Society to dismantle stigmas and her profile of alum Maria Celito
Robles, “The One Who Did It All.” Sara Mallory wrote an engaging piece, “Committed to
Inclusion,” that profiles Prof. Helen Ditorous. Year in and year out, students at Schoolcraft
produce a quality campus paper.
Division iI: First place
White pine press
northwestern michigan college
Judge Feedback:
(1) I want to honor this publication, the only entry in the category, and its staff for their persistence at providing a voice for students on their campus through some tough years (COVID, etc). The editions are thin - 8 pages - but the staff makes pretty good use of the limited space. I prefer stories on the front page, especially when you have limited space, but the artistic covers in the sample issues are quite handsome and set a tone for each: mass shootings, Black history, and women’s health and pregnancy resources in the Traverse City area. There are around five stories per issue, some with photos. The photos could be better - particularly those of buildings with no people. Hint: you quote people in the stories; photograph them, and, if you need to show a building, include a quoted person in the photo. The issues are quite newsy. I read with interest the Marcus Bennett story about what it’s like to be a college administrator who’s Black in a community that’s starkly caucasian; the story about a student who took it upon herself to find temporary housing for students who can’t leave during school breaks; and the center spread on the Michigan State University shootings that appears to include quotes from a local parent. Some photos and sketches lack cutlines or explainers.
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(2) Meaty topics tackled here! From low enrollment to childcare struggles to student pregnancy. Cover art is visually arresting. Consider ways to strengthen writing, such as: ledes that are 1-sentence, subject-verb-object headlines. Reserve quotes for graph #2 and thereafter. Consider increasing the cover story teasers/promos. Overall, a newsy publication that keeps its audience front-and-center!
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