FROM STAFF REPORTS, Northwestern News
The Northwestern News and its staff members won several top awards in the Oklahoma Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.
The News competed in the college division and won first place for news content. The News also won second place in layout and design, photography and sports coverage.
Seven news staffers won individual awards. Editor-in-Chief Jordan Green, former student reporter Nick Dill and former sports editor Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche were present at the press association’s convention June 12 in Oklahoma City to accept the awards.
“I am honored and humbled by the awards the Northwestern News earned during the Oklahoma Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest,” Green said. “The News is home to Northwestern’s best and brightest, a group of students who passionately tell this university’s stories.
“We don’t put out a newspaper to win awards, but earning them proves that we’re serving our readers and our community well. We always have room to improve, and we will continue to tell the stories that matter at Northwestern.”
The News submitted various editions from 2020 to be judged. In awarding the news content award, judges wrote that the paper offered “strong local coverage, good solid writing” and “the best use of photography in the competition.”
Staff members earned three first-place awards, two second-place awards and two third-place awards.
Dill and former assistant editor Kevin Ford earned a first-place award for in-depth reporting about recycling programs at universities.
Green earned a first place award in photography and a first place award in column writing.
Former photo editor Leah Darnell and former reporter Logan Meriwether earned second-place awards for in-depth reporting about the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on education.
Former photographer David Thornton won a second place award for sports reporting and a third place award for news photography.
Former editorial editor McKayla Holson won a third-place award for column writing.
The news of the OPA awards came just weeks after the News was named the best overall newspaper in its division in the Oklahoma College Media Association’s annual competition.
The News won 14 first-place awards in the competition, meaning the News won the top slot in every category it entered content in.
The paper also won nine second-place awards and four third-place awards. In three categories, the News won the top three slots, adding up to a total of 27 awards.
That’s the highest number of awards the News has won in recent history. Each year, the OCMA hosts the competition to recognize the work of collegiate newspapers across the state from the previous year.
Newspaper staff members enter their best stories, pictures and graphic design work in numerous categories, hoping to win the Best Overall Newspaper Award. The Diamond Division is comprised of regional universities like Northwestern.
Green praised the work of the newspaper’s 2020-2021 section editors — Michelle Willson, Devyn Lansden and Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche — as well as the paper’s reporters, photographers and staff members.
“There aren’t many times in life when we are surrounded by talented, dedicated, hard-working, caring, compassionate, considerate people — but at the Northwestern News, I am,” Green said. “This team is comprised of some of the best people I’ve ever met. They love Northwestern, and more importantly, they love serving their peers and providing them with the information they need to succeed.”
Reporters and editors who earned awards received certificates commemorating their accomplishments.
“I’m so proud of these students,” said Dr. Kaylene Armstrong, adviser to the Northwestern News. “Everything that goes into making a paper every week – from writing and editing to photography, layout and design – takes so much more time than most people realize.”