Members of the Voice team pose at the close of the Michigan Community College Press Association conference April 7. Students attending included, from left, Charlotte Young Bowens, Islam Ashour, Andrei Pop, Natalie Jarvie, Sal Lombardo, Sara Faraj, Suni Jo Roberts and Pam Hennigan.
The Washtenaw Voice has been recognized as the top news publication at a large community college in Michigan.
The honor came from the Michigan Community College Press Association, which presented awards at its annual conference April 7.
The Voice received first place in general excellence in Division 1, a category that includes community colleges with large enrollments.
The team also won first place awards for overall newspaper design and informational graphics, as well as other awards for photography, news and feature writing, illustration, and informational graphics.
“The Voice team has a lot to be proud of,” said adviser Judy McGovern. “I’m really pleased for students who won individual awards. But the recognition that I’d call attention to is the general excellence award.”
The general excellence award is made based on judges’ assessment of overall quality of writing, photography and design as well as evidence of how well it serves its readers. “The judges review a number of editions, published consecutively,” McGovern said. “You can’t cherry-pick a good paper here and there and throw out something weaker.”
“The judges pay attention to content and the thought that goes into each publication,” she continued. “Does the material reflect the interests and concerns of readers? Can they see the campus community reflected in the stories and photos?”
Judges who selected this year’s winners noted that stories in the Voice were timely and broadly appealing. They also pointed to the variety of story forms and overall solid writing as strengths.
The Voice has been led this semester by Deputy Editor Suni Jo Roberts, assisted by Photo Editor Andrei Pop and Graphic Designer Dorothy Gacioch. Brittany DeKorte served as editor during the fall semester.
Judges are working journalists, academics and other communication professionals. The conference was held at Central Michigan University.
First place
- General Excellence – Division I, Voice team
- Overall newspaper design, Voice team
- Informational graphics, Natalie Jarvie
Second place
- Informational graphics, Dorothy Gacioch
- News story, Brittany DeKorte
Third place
- News photo, Sara Faraj
- Illustration, Dorothy Gacioch
- Inside page design, Natalie Jarvie
Honorable mention
- Feature story, Brittany DeKorte
Preparing for next year
The Voice produces 18 papers each academic year. The news team includes a group of nine student journalists, graphic designers, photo and digital experts who receive scholarships beginning at $2,435 per semester.
That core team is joined by students who contribute stories, photos, illustrations, multimedia and other work on a freelance basis. Advertising revenue allows the Voice to pay those contributors.
There are still scholarship positions open for the 2018-19 academic year.
All students with skills and interest in related disciplines are invited to learn more at tinyurl.com/voice-scholarships or contact Judy McGovern, adviser, at jumcgovern@wccnet.edu
The Voice is particularly interested meeting:
- Students studying graphic design
- Students interested in writing and curious about the world around them
The Voice team meets Mondays at 5 p.m. in TI 106. All students are invited to take part.
The Voice is also holding a series of open houses in TI-106:
- Tuesday, April 24, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 25, 1-4 p.m.
- Thursday, April 26, 1-4 p.m.
- Friday, April 27, 2-4 p.m.
