The Michigan Community College Press Association on Wednesday, April 22, released the results of its annual student newspaper contest.
MCCC’s student newspaper, Agora, captured nine awards, including third place General Excellence in the Division 2 category.
Also highlighting this year’s awards, the newspaper’s editor, Todd Salisbury, took third place in the Journalist of the Year competition. This is a highly competitive category where student journalists compete against all community college schools regardless of size.
The judge for this category praised Salisbury’s skills and leadership.
“When you are editor, your success or failure depends on your staff believing in, and buying into, your vision for the publication and the standards you set,” the judge wrote. “Todd is a solid writer and reporter, but I’m guessing his legacy is present throughout the entirety of the excellent Agora. The paper is following more basic design rules than many of the ‘flashier’ looking publications and I appreciate that. Todd and the staff are consistently delivering a high-quality journalism product online and in print.”
Salisbury said he is proud of his team’s accomplishments.
“To continue the high standard of the Agora has been my goal all year,” he said. “The awards are second thought, but to see my team be awarded is an honor and I am proud of everyone on the staff.”
Matthew Bird-Meyer is in his first year as adviser to the Agora and said he was proud of the hard work the staff has put into the paper and website.
“This is an incredibly dedicated staff, and it’s been great to see how far they have come in just a short amount of time,” Bird-Meyer said. “Awards are nice, but journalism is about serving the community. I think our campus community is well served by some very intelligent, thoughtful and creative students.”
Here is the complete list of awards:
Student Journalist of the Year (All Schools)
Todd Salisbury: Third Place
General Excellence (Division 2)
Third Place
Headline Writing
Claire Bechard – First Place
News
Jerry Meade – Second Place (DTE reassessment)
Feature
Abby Nisley – Second Place (Ghana project)
Sports Feature Photo
Todd Salisbury – Second Place (Golf outing)
Best Blog
Noah Black – HM (Get in the Robot)
Photo Essay/Digital Sideshow
Todd Salisbury – HM (Nurse pinning)
Illustration
Abbie Lancaster – HM (Ballot box illustration)
