Individuals and publications from OU Student Media were honored at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association national convention Thursday and Friday.
HALL OF FAME: Sooner yearbook was inducted in the ACP All-American Hall of Fame. Publications qualify for the honor through various methods. Sooner did so by earning nine Pacemakers (1988, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015) and eight Pacemaker finalist nods (1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013), eclipsing the induction standard of 15 combined honors since 1970. Student Media’s pro staff sought to have Sooner recognized to commemorate the body of work in its 110 editions before it ceased publication in 2019. The features-oriented mission of Sooner lives on now in Crimson Quarterly magazine.
PINNACLE FINALIST: The Daily finished in second place for the CMA Pinnacle Awards’ four-year media outlet of the year. It was the newsroom’s fourth consecutive year to be a finalist in the category, which it won in 2017 and 2019. The other finalists were The Daily Universe at BYU, The State News at Michigan State and eventual winner 14East at DePaul. Work entered spanned the tenures of summer 2019 editor Scott Kirker and fall 2019-spring 2020 editor Nick Hazelrigg. Honorees are celebrated for serving audience through print and web design, integration of social media and the day-in-day-out quality and quantity of coverage.
PACEMAKER FINALIST: The Daily was honored as an ACP Pacemaker finalist. Five print issues produced during the 2019-20 school year were submitted for consideration. In that academic year Hazelrigg served as The Daily’s editor-in-chief and Carly Orewiler was the design editor. ACP honorees demonstrated excellence in coverage, writing, editing, design and photography, while taking risks and serving as a strong voice for the student audience. The Daily has won seven Pacemakers (five for newspaper, two for online) and been a finalist now a collective nine times.
ACP INDIVIDUAL HONOREES: Five Daily pieces contended for the ACP individual awards.
- George Stoia’s profile of gymnast Maggie Nichols won first place for feature story.
- Jana Hayes’ examination of the impact of a professor’s sexual relationship with a student that led to his departure from the university earned fourth place for in-depth story.
- Jordan Miller, Bailey Lewis and Hazelrigg’s coverage of Gaylord College professor Peter Gade using a racial slur in class was an honorable mention for breaking news.
- Stoia’s account of how football families celebrate the holidays away from home during bowl season earned honorable mention for sports feature story.
- And Caitlyn Epes’ image of an OU wrestler who also plays a classical instrument earned honorable mention for environmental portrait.
ADVISER HONOR: OU Daily adviser Seth Prince was honored as a CMA distinguished four-year newspaper adviser after being nominated by students. The award is based on five or more years of advising experience. He started at OU in 2014 and was honored in 2017 as an honor-roll adviser, based on fewer than five years of advising. Per CMA records available online, OU Student Media’s distinguished advising recipients include Judy Gibbs Robinson (newspaper, 2015), Kathryn Jenson White (yearbook, 2001), Susan Sasso (business, 1990), Twila Smith (yearbook, 1989) and Fred Weddle (business, 1981). CMA honor roll advising recipients include Gibbs Robinson (newspaper, 2012), Lori Brooks (yearbook, 2008) and Jack Willis (newspaper, 1995).