The OU Daily returned from the College Media Association/Associated Collegiate Press national convention in Dallas in late October with a slew of honors, including a Pinnacle award for Best College News Outlet and a newspaper Pacemaker.
The period judged was the 2016-17 academic year, which spanned Dana Branham‘s time as Daily editor-in-chief.
The Pinnacle category, in which Ball State and Loyola of New Orleans were the other finalists, was defined by CMA in part as follows, “News is a concept, not a format. We recognize the media outlet that delivers stellar information to its audience through multiple channels: the written word, the spoken word, photography, and video. Judges will consider both print and web design, the use of web tech and even apps, the integration of social media into news coverage, and the day-in-day-out quality and quantity of coverage that students, faculty, staff, and administrators want — and frankly, need.”
The Pacemaker, which has been called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism, is awarded annually by the ACP. In addition to demonstrating excellence in key areas including coverage, writing, editing, design and photography, the winning newspapers took risks and served as a strong voice for its student audience.
In addition, The Daily won fourth place in ACP’s multimedia story of the year category for Waiting Game, a project written by Emma Keith, shot primarily by Bryce McElhaney, edited by Jesse Pound and designed by Branham.
In Best of Show judging, the Daily gathered honors for:
- Large school website, fifth place
- Multimedia package, seventh place
- More than weekly four-year newspaper, eighth place
- Newspaper special edition, fourth place
Sooner yearbook was a Pacemaker finalist for its 2015-16 edition, edited by Rachel Campbell.
Finally, digital/design adviser Seth Prince was presented an honor roll 4-year newspaper adviser award.