Washtenaw Voice special report 2nd in national contest

Adviser, former editor also honored

By The Washtenaw Voice

The Washtenaw Voice placed second in a national college journalism contest, besting some large four-year institutions.

The College Media Association honored the Voice’s work on a May 30 special report on the COVID-19 pandemic. The award, for best written special section of more than four pages, was announced last week (Oct. 23).

First-place went to student journalists at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas; third-place California State University at Chico; honorable mentions to Columbia College Chicago and Syracuse University. (See the College Media Association announcement.)

In addition, the College Media Association honored WCC’s Judy McGovern with an Adviser Award recognizing her contribution to college media advising. A longtime journalist, she began advising the Voice’s student journalists in 2015.

The awards were announced at a conference held jointly by CMA and the Associated Collegiate Press. The event was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Voice editor Lilly Kujawski, a spring 2020 WCC graduate, was also recognized by the Associated Collegiate Press. Kujawski got honorable mention in ACP’s Reporter of the Year contest. It was the second time she was runner-up for the national award.

The student contests honored work produced in the 2019-20 academic year.

The Voice’s special section was prepared as Winter Semester students completed their work away from campus, and from one another, following the onset of the pandemic in Michigan.

Titled “Life in a pandemic: How three months of COVID-19 changed our world,” the 12-page publication included stories about the campus shutdown, the economic fallout and assistance efforts, a WCC nursing instructor working in a hospital COVID unit, first-person stories from WCC students, and photos from a community in limbo.

Comments

comments