CSU, Chico News

The Orion, California State University, Chico’s student newspaper, has won first place in General Newspaper Excellence for non-daily newspapers in the second annual California College Media Competition, sponsored by the California College Media Association. The competition honors the outstanding work of student journalists at four-year colleges in California.

This year’s winners were chosen from more than 300 entries in 30 newspaper and Web site categories. The competition was divided into daily papers (those published four or more times per week) and non-daily papers, and was judged by professional journalists at The Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register and Sacramento Bee.

“This award is special, in part, because the judging was done by four of the biggest and best newspapers in the state,” said Dave Waddell, Orion adviser. “The first place in general excellence speaks to the overall quality of The Orion, but it is also nice to see our students shine in so many individual categories.”

The California College Media Association (CCMA) is an organization dedicated to fostering cooperation and collaboration among college journalism programs in California and the West.

“The judges were impressed by the quality of entries and had a great deal of difficulty deciding among the winners,” Sylvia Fox, president of CCMA, said. “This year’s decision to add awards for individual staff members’ work really showcases the caliber of what is being produced by college students in our state.”

In individual awards for nondaily papers, Orion managing editor Scott Jason won for best breaking news story, and entertainment editor Brian Kennedy came in second place in best news feature. Jason and Kennedy came in first and second, respectively, for best arts and entertainment story. Sports editor Travis Souders came in second for best sports story.

In design and photography awards won by Orion staffers, Jason Halley won for best photo illustration, while Bailey Wobshall came in third. For best sports photo, Halley came in second place. Phillip Boden won for best news page design and best infographic. Wobshall took second place for best sports page design. Courtney Backer won first place for best features page design. Features editor Kelly Parker and Kelsey Kittle were second and third, respectively, in the best headline competition. Editorial design manager David Waldorff and Mat Held were first and second in the best cartoon category, while Held and Waldorff were first and third, respectively, in the best illustration category.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2005 at 8:30 am and is filed under 2005 Spring.