Student newspaper wins top state award
Henderson State University’s student newspaper The Oracle was awarded first place in General Excellence among college newspapers in Arkansas, and Henderson Television (HTV) received second place in General Excellence for television outlets at the annual Arkansas College Media Association conference and awards ceremony on April 9.
The ceremony, held at the University of Central Arkansas, honored the best in Arkansas colleges’ student media. The Oracle and HTV earned 11 awards overall.
The Oracle bested student newspapers from the University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas Tech, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, John Brown University, Northwest Arkansas Community College and Ouachita Baptist University to win the top award.
“It’s really gratifying to see The Oracle go from second last year to first place this year,” Michael Taylor, professor of communication and Oracle adviser, said. “It really shows that the students’ hard work is paying off.”
This was the first time HTV had competed in the Arkansas awards since Paul Glover, associate professor of communication, became its adviser. HTV was named second best television outlet, with first place being awarded to UCA’s Channel 6.
“It’s great to see that we have competed and won awards on both the national level and now statewide,” Glover said. “There’s amazing competition everywhere and we will continue to compete and be competitive.”
In addition to being named top newspaper, The Oracle received awards in the following categories: first place for Art or Illustration in Print; first place for Illustrative Narrative; first place for Cartoon Strip or Single Panel Entertainment Cartoon; first place for Online Sports Photography; second place for Feature Newswriting; second place for Feature News Photography; and third place for News Photography.
HTV also received the awards of first place for Sports Features and first place for Computer Graphics, along with second place in general excellence.
“I’m particularly happy that HTV was recognized for excellence in several categories,” Glover said. “Television and film production is always a team effort and this is a great team.”
Out-of-state panels of media advisors judged entries for the General Excellence awards. For The Oracle, five different issues of the newspaper published between February 2015 and February 2016 were submitted. Two hours of consecutive, original HTV programming that was broadcast during the same time period were judged for the General Excellence in Television award.
Editor-in-chief Moe Skinner, senior mass media major, leads The Oracle staff. The editorial staff also includes: Online Editor Ashley Smith, junior mass media major; News Editor Carmin Wills, senior mass media major; Sports Editor Dominick Cella, junior mass media major; Views Editor Dax Guilliams, senior mass media major; Page Designer Melanie Cole, senior digital art and design major; Graphic Designer Jordan Jones, senior digital art and design major; Copy Editor Madison MacNew, senior mass media major; and Photo Editor Joshua Bradley, junior art education major.
HTV is run by Station Manager Alex Stewart, senior mass media major; Production Manager Randy Perry Johnson, junior mass media major; Lead Editor Kenneth Ibarra, senior mass media major; and Talent and Production Assistant Katie Smith, senior communication and Spanish major.
Here is a complete list of winners from Henderson State:
Oracle
First place General Excellence, Newspaper of the Year
Scott McKinnon (Arkadelphia), Moe Skinner (Bismarck)
First place Art or Illustration
“Battle of the Ravine Infographic”
Joshua Bradley (Ashdown), Jordan Jones (Pine Bluff), Scott McKinnon (Arkadelphia), Katie Smith (Guy)
First place Cartoon Strip or Single Panel Entertainment Cartoon
“The Cycle”
Joshua Bradley (Ashdown)
First place Illustrative Narrative
“Street Smart Spider”
Ashley Bles (Fairfield Bay), Houston Fryer (Hot Springs), Scott McKinnon (Arkadelphia)
First place Online Sports Photography
“All Eyes on Him”
Scott McKinnon (Arkadelphia)
Second place Feature Newswriting
“Keeping it Classical”
Moe Skinner (Bismarck)
Second Place Feature Photography
“Do You Even Lift, Bro?”
Moe Skinner (Bismarck)
Third place News Photography
“Standing Tall”
Scott McKinnon (Arkadelphia)
HTV
Second place General Excellence, Television Outlet of the Year
Alex Stewart (Pine Bluff), Randy Perry Johnson (Pine Bluff), Kenneth Ibarra (Hope), Katie Smith (Guy)
First place Sports Feature
“Henderson Sports Update”
Katie Smith (Guy), Alex Stewart (Pine Bluff)
First place Computer Graphics
“Henderson Today”
Kenneth Ibarra (Hope)