Journalism students receive awards at college media convention

The Augustana Mirror and EDDA received national recognition after earning a number of College Media Association awards at the Fall National College Media Convention in Atlanta on Oct. 30-Nov. 1.  

The College Media Association is the largest organization in the U.S. serving collegiate media advisers. Its mission focuses on supporting student media programs by providing education, research and resources. 

Each year, the College Media Association holds Pinnacle Awards to honor the best college media publications and individual student work. 

Representatives from the Augustana Mirror and EDDA traveled to the convention to attend award ceremonies, receive critiques on their work and learn from professional journalists and other student newsrooms.

According to Jeffrey Miller, adviser of the Augustana Mirror, the university’s yearbook and newspaper have attended the conference since before he arrived at Augustana in 1997. 

“The convention isn’t just about winning awards, though we were happy to have done well,” Janet Blank-Libra, adviser of the EDDA, said. “Over the course of three days, students attended sessions taught by experts — both academic and professional — whose goal was to introduce them to new ideas and to inspire them to new levels of excellence and originality.”

Among four divisions and two-year colleges and across varying media categories, students nationwide submitted over 4,000 pieces of work to be considered for the Pinnacle Awards.

The EDDA earned three first-place awards, two seconds and a third. The Augustana Mirror earned one first-place award, two seconds and a third. 

“Our students work hard, so very, very hard, and they are more than deserving of this recognition,” Blank-Libra said. “It’s such a thrill to see EDDA or Mirror and Augustana University in massively big letters up on the screen at the front of the room.” 

In the collegiate design awards, sophomore Ryleigh Tupper claimed first place for division III “Best Infographic” for a graphic she designed for the EDDA on deaf awareness. 

“It’s pretty surprising. Being it was my first year, I didn’t think I was going to be up for anything,” Tupper said. “I think, overall, I’m really proud of myself.” 

Andrew Kronaizl, a 2023 graduate, received first place for division III “Best Feature Photo.” Kronaizl’s photo captured a football player cheering at a home game. 

Junior Jackson Dircks, the current co-editor-in-chief of the EDDA, earned first place for divisions II and III “Best Yearbook Sports Page/Spread.” His design focused on the swimming and diving teams. 

“It was a good opportunity for EDDA,” Dircks said. “Especially since it is in division II and III, so we’re against a bunch of way bigger schools with way more resources, and it’s just kind of cool to see that we do have a lot of really good things going in the EDDA.” 

Laura Johnson, the former EDDA editor-in-chief and a 2023 graduate, secured second places for divisions II and III “Best Yearbook Cover” and “Best Yearbook Feature Page/Spread.” 

The EDDA also earned a third place honorable mention in division II and III “Best Yearbook.” 

Olivia Bertino, a 2023 graduate and previous editor-in-chief of the Mirror, earned first place in division III “Best Newspaper Front Page” for her design of winter costs for the university. 

In the individual reporting awards, the Augustana Mirror had three stories place in the top three of their respective categories. 

“It has very little to do with the adviser,” Jeffrey Miller, the adviser of the Augustana Mirror, said. “It has everything to do with the talent and the spirit and the energy of the students who regularly work very hard to put out a product of which they, and we, can be proud of. And they’ve done that quite well this year.” 

Junior Jack Erickson earned second place in the category of “Best Feature Story” for divisions III and IV. Erickson’s story, “GSA club creates security for LGBTQ+ students,” covered the Augustana Gender and Sexuality Alliance and its role on campus. 

“I was really proud of the end story,” Erickson said. “I was proud because I knew that I put in a lot of work, and I was happy to have even gotten the opportunity to potentially be a recipient of that award.” 

Senior Abbey Stegenga took home second in division III “Best Profile” for a story she wrote on Spanish professor Pilar Cabrera Fonte and her first novel.

Sydney Denekamp, who graduated in May 2023, finished third in the division III “Best General News Story” for her story “Angelus cut from Vespers." 

The Augustana Mirror earned ninth place in the Associated College Press’s “Best of Show” category of four-year schools with 15,000 students or fewer for its Oct. 13, 2023 print issue. 

“I think pretty clearly, we stack up well against other schools our size,” Miller said. “As our ‘Best of Show’ shows, we also stack up against schools that are significantly larger than we are.” 

Blank-Libra said the awards are especially meaningful this year considering the range of majors and minors among the Augustana students who received recognition. The students’ fields of study include journalism, education, Spanish, English, biology, anthropology, media studies, business and marketing.  

“I love working with our students on these publications. They make my life better. I especially love that they make me laugh. A lot. They’re geniuses at that,” Blank-Libra said. “In the end, I say this: Thank heaven for journalists. They remind us of who we are, and they challenge us to do better and be better.”