CWU student paper gets national recognition
The Observer, Central Washington University’s student-run weekly newspaper, has been named a finalist for the prestigious 2010-2011 Pacemaker Award, given by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) to honor the nation’s top college newspapers for “general excellence.”
The Observer was the only paper in Washington or Oregon to be named a Pacemaker finalist.
The newspaper’s coverage of last fall’s Four Loko incident also won an honorable mention in ACP’s national “Story of the Year” contest in the Breaking News category.
“Few college papers are even named as finalists for the Pacemaker, so it’s a high honor for myself and the staff,” said Bremerton senior Anthony James, who was the editor-in-chief last year. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of dozens of editors, reporters and photographers.”
The ACP’s national contests are considered the equivalent to the Pulitzer Prizes for college journalism. The Observer is one of 25 finalists in the category for four-year colleges publishing less frequently than daily, the contest’s biggest category. Winners will be announced at the 90th Annual ACP/CMA [College Media Advisors] National College Media Convention in Orlando on Oct. 29. ACP said 217 papers entered the Pacemaker in both the daily and non-daily categories.
These national honors cap a year in which the Observer won four SPJ Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards and a third place in the Best of Show contest at the 27th annual National College Journalism Convention in Hollywood, California last March.
Katharine Lotze, a Benton City senior who was photo editor last year and is now the editor-in-chief, said she was excited to build on the momentum.
“We’re off to a great start,” she said. “We have a crop of new editors, and even so, we’re putting out probably one of the best first fall issues ever. Our paper should be stronger than ever.”
