Nov. 18, 2020
CWU Student Media Continue to Shine on the National Stage
Central Washington University student print and broadcast journalists and designers have received top honors for their work in national competitions sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Association (CMA).
ACP Pacemaker awards are judged by teams of professionals based upon coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography, and graphics.
CWU’s student-run lifestyle magazine, PULSE, received a 2020 Online Pacemaker award for its website, managed last year by Joanna Santana, of Quincy, who graduated last June with her bachelor’s degree in marketing, and this year by public relations major Taylor Johnson, Stanwood.
The magazine also earned two ACP Individual Awards—third place in Magazine Cover Design of the Year for “Being Native American,” by June art graduates Shoshanah Davis, of Puyallup, and Krista Kok, Vancouver, with the photo by fellow film production graduate Zahn Schultz, Olympia; and honorable mention for Multimedia Feature Story of the Year for “Trout Conservation in the Teanaway,” written by digital journalism graduate Kyle Wilkinson, of Selah; photographed by Schultz, and edited by social services major Madeline Wilson, of Roseville, California.
CMA Pinnacle Awards honor the best college media organizations and individual work, including print, broadcast, and online outlets, during an academic year.
PULSE received two Pinnacle Awards, taking top honors in the House Ad cateorgy for the ad, “follow PULSE on social media,” crafted by Sara Roach, of Auburn, who is majoring in graphic design. PULSE picked up an honorable mention for the Multimedia Sports Story “From Football Player to Father,” written by Wilson; photos, Schultz; design, Kok; videos, Helen Nguyen, Seattle, who is finishing bachelor’s degrees in apparel, textiles, and merchandising; interdisciplinary studies, and nonprofit organizational management; and a podcast hosted by digital journalism major Jared Bessett, Soap Lake.
"I’m thrilled to see the PULSE staff recognized in a variety of categories, from web page to multimedia stories that run with student-created text, video, photos, and audio, to topical reporting and professional-quality designs,” said Jennifer Green, the PULSE faculty adviser. “This underscores the creative collaboration taking place among students on the magazine staff.”
CWU’s student newspaper, the Observer, also received two honorable mention Pinnacle Awards in the Newspaper Feature Page/Spread category for "Delivery Methods Change Amidst Pandemic," by Bekah Blum, Bainbridge Island; and in the Newspaper Sports Page/Spread competition for "Wildcats Find Success in Nampa," by Aiden Knabel, Puyallup, both graphic arts majors.
"For the Observer, these awards are the culmination of the bridges we've built to the [CWU] Art + Design department, where professors and students are realizing they can get great professional-caliber experience designing for the newspaper," said the Observer Advisor Cynthia Mitchell. "It's great to see the hard work of both of these talented graphic artists, Bekah and Aiden, be rewarded at the national level."
At the ACP-CMA Fall National College Media Convention, held virtually earlier this month, PULSE added a sixth-place print design honor for the cover of the “Living in the Year 2020” summer edition, designed by Roach, and a ninth-place award for COVID-19 reporting by the 12 contributing writers to that edition.
Also, the university’s weekly, student-produced television newscast, Central News Watch, received a third-place honor in the Broadcast News Story category for “Political Rallies in Ellensburg” by senior digital journalism major David Snyder, of Wenatchee.
“David found the balance between two diametrically opposed viewpoints and shared their stories,” said Central News Watch Advisor Terri Reddout about the award-winning piece. “His story demonstrated the unbiased reporting we want all our students to produce.”