Another national Pacemaker Award under the Orion's belt
By Haley McHenry
The Orion won a Pacemaker award at the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas in October making a total of 11 Pacemakers on its shelf.
The annual convention hosted more than 2,200 college journalism students and advisers.
“It’s pretty unusual to have a record of such consistent excellence,” said Dave Waddell, The Orion adviser.
The Orion won an Online Pacemaker for the second time since 2007. It also won second place for a Newspaper Pacemaker in the 4-year non-daily division and second place in Convention Best of Show for a 4-year weekly broadsheet.
The Orion has been a finalist 18 times in the past 21 years. This record earned it a spot in the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame in 2005.
Individuals were also recognized for their excellent work.
Esmeralda Ramirez, who recently transferred to Chico State, won second place for her design in The Sun for Southwestern College, in Chula Vista, Waddell said.
Chad Lewis from The Orion received an honorable mention for his illustration of the current trend of illegally downloading music instead of buying records.
Jennifer Siino, managing editor at The Orion, accepted the Pacemaker on behalf of the 2008-2009 staff.
“After getting the award, I immediately got on the phone to call the people who won,” Siino said.
She attended the ACP convention with a group of Chico State students and Waddell.
“Sometimes it can be like a bonding experience for the staff,” she said.
The convention was filled with journalism students plugged in and working on their laptops, Siino said.
“It was fun because it was so nerdy,” she said.
The newspapers are judged on coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership on the opinion page, evidence of in-depth reporting, design, photography, art and graphics, according to ACP’s Web site.
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