The Ram and The Observer student newspapers walked away with an armful of awards this academic year. The editors-in-chief at both publications said that regardless of whether an award went to an individual writer or for the staff, the entire masthead wins.
“Everyone understands that it’s a team effort and that a missed deadline affects everyone,” said Adriana Gallina, editor-in-chief of the Observer. She added that this year’s staff was particularly coordinated with freshmen who “came in super motivated and willing work hard,” and are hopeful about pursuing careers in media.
“We all have a passion for storytelling and it’s what we want to do with our careers, so it hasn’t been hard to keep everyone motivated,” she said.
Laura Sanicola, editor-in-chief at The Ram, said that it’s been a banner year for them as well. She expressed particular thanks to the papers’ business department, which is overlooked during awards season but is integral to keeping the newspaper humming in the black.
Most of her staff is not pursuing communications careers, which makes the awards even more gratifying, said Sanicola.
“Our people are really going in a lot of different directions, like science or business degrees, but the student newspaper does so much to help each of us develop,” she said.”
“I’m really proud of the staff from this year and I look forward to seeing what we can do in the future.”
Both editors credited their advisors, Beth Knobel at The Ram, and Elizabeth Stone at The Observer, with helping them secure the awards .
The awards are listed below:
For The Observer:
Society of Professional Journalists
Finalist, Region 1 Mark of Excellence for in-depth reporting to Adriana Gallina
New York Press Association
First Place for Best Web Site
Second Place for Design
Third Place for General Excellence
Second Place for Sports Coverage to Mohdshobair Hussaini
Honorable Mention for Best News Story to Stephan Kozub
College Media Associations National Media Convention
Third place for the Best Overall Newspaper
For The Ram:
2016 Scholastic Newspaper Awards from the American Scholastic Press Association
First Place with Special Merit
Outstanding Editorial
Outstanding Investigative Reporting to Laura Sanicola
Society of Professional Journalists
Region 1 Finalist: All Around Best Non Daily Student Newspaper
