The Courier wins eight awards at the 2024 Illinois College Press Association ceremony
Members of The Courier staff attended the Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) convention in Chicago on February 16 and 17. The Courier received eight awards, including a third-place award for general excellence in print for small schools (3,000 students or less).
Junior Kiersten Fuhr won second place for feature photo for small schools, and sophomore Elena Fry-Hernandez won second place in podcast entertainment and culture. Sanaia Jenkins, a senior, won the third-place award for general news photo. Four honorable mentions were awarded to the staff. Senior Lydia Perez won two honorable mention awards for her sports page design and news story. Junior Mia Martino received an honorable mention for her feature page design, and freshman Nayeli Perez-Cruz received an honorable mention for her sports photo.
The awards recognized The Courier’s work from Spring 2023 through Fall 2023. During that time, two staff rotations put in work, along with the contributing writers. The staff came a long way, from receiving no awards at the ICPA convention in 2023 to eight at this year's.
Aside from the awards, the staff attended informational sessions, where they heard from professionals in the journalism field. During a social media management session, the staff learned practical planning and tips for media platforms from Digital Producers Tori Rubenstein of NBC Sports Chicago, and DS Shin of NBC Chicago.
“The best session I went to was ‘Writing editorials and op-eds that matter’,” said junior News and Opinion Editor Karli Strom. “Learning about the proper ways to go about writing opinion pieces and different ways that it could be incorporated into our newspaper was exciting. The session leader emphasized the importance of writing editorials and op-eds on all college campuses and not being afraid to take a stance, because that is what journalism is about, speaking up for those who do not have the power or voice to do so and being an advocate for them.”
On Friday night, the staff heard from the keynote speech presented by Eric Meyer, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Marion County Record in Marion, Kansas. During his speech, Meyer discussed what happens when the police force obtained crime details from the raid on his newsroom to intimidate the reporter. Meyer explains what happened when this situation made headlines nationally and left time afterward for questions from the audience.
Overall, The Courier staff brought back eight awards to add to their collection, along with tips and tricks they learned at the convention. The Courier is proud to represent small schools and the Monmouth community with their achievements.
Emilie Cain Editor in Chief