The Kent Stater, Kent State University’s independent student newspaper, is the best student newspaper in the nation in its class, according to the College Media Association.
The organization announced the annual Pinnacle Award winners at the National College Media Convention, held Oct. 25-29 in Dallas, Texas. The Kent Stater beat out competition from Northwestern University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Pennsylvania to take the Pinnacle Award for Newspaper of the Year for 2016-17.
“I am absolutely thrilled to see The Stater judged to be the best student newspaper in the country,” says Kevin Dilley, director of Student Media at Kent State. “It doesn't surprise me at all because I regularly see the dedication, talent and hard work on display by our students in the student media newsroom, so I know this recognition is well-deserved.”
The Newspaper of the Year Pinnacle Award recognizes excellence in coverage and content; design, graphics and illustrations; photography; service to the campus community; and reporting, writing and editing.
Over the course of the 2016-17 academic year, student reporters for The Kent Stater covered the men’s basketball team’s trip to the NCAA National Tournament, the 2016 presidential election and the national and local protests that followed, an in-depth look at racial profiling and a weeklong examination of the heroin epidemic in Northeast Ohio. Stories about these national issues were included in the three issues The Kent Stater submitted to be judged. Read them here:
- Oct. 20, 2016: “Leaving addiction behind”
- March 13, 2017: “Flashes go dancing”
- March 15, 2017: “Hoodie. Black. Male. University alert sparks racial profiling debate”
Alumnus Jimmy Miller served as editor of The Kent Stater during the fall and spring semesters last academic year.
Kent State Student Media also earned the Pinnacle Award for Best Promo Video/Public Service Announcement for a video produced by digital media production alumni Mike Fowler and Ryan Dunn. The first-place winning video highlights Kent State Student Media and the opportunities it provides students.
TV2, Kent State’s independent television station, also took home national honors at the convention. It earned second place nationally in two categories: Best Newscast and Best Sportscast. KentWired.com earned an honorable mention for Website of the Year.
“I’m proud to see the accolades that TV2 and KentWired, as well as our marketing and promotions team, received,” Mr. Dilley says. “These awards show off the breadth of our students’ talents and hard work across Kent State Student Media.”