The Centurion, the student newspaper of Bucks County Community College, won a record 17 awards in the statewide Keystone Media contest for 2021, despite the fact that its staffers had to produce the paper from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Centurion, competing in the two-year college division, has won more than 130 awards since 2010 in the contest run by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
Students won awards for articles and news videos on everything from student government elections and a shooting in a Bucks County park to the pandemic and the presidential election.
Journalism Professor Tony Rogers, the faculty advisor to the Centurion, said winning 17 awards was a terrific accomplishment in itself. But the awards, for work done in the spring and fall of 2020, mean even more this year.
“Our campus shut down last March and since then the students have had to write and edit their stories and lay out the paper from home,” Rogers said. “The fact that they did such excellent work under such trying circumstances is absolutely amazing to me. I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Centurion swept the sports story and news video categories. It won second place in the general news category, and second place and honorable mention in ongoing news; first place in public service/enterprise package; second place for feature story; and second place for personality profile.
The paper also won first and second place in the review category; first and second in the layout and design category; and first place for its website.
Working from home forced the paper’s staff to be innovative. Reporters did interviews via Zoom, email or text. Editors downloaded Adobe software to their home computers or laptops so they could lay out the pages.
Rogers singled out two students in particular for their work: Alyssa Moore, the current editor-in-chief, and Sarah Siock, who was last year’s editor-in-chief and is now studying at Rider University.
“Alyssa and Sarah were in uncharted territory when they took on the job of running a student newspaper in the midst of a global pandemic,” Rogers said. “This has undoubtedly been the toughest year for everyone in the history of this college, but Alyssa and Sarah absolutely rose to the occasion and met those challenges head-on.”
Moore said she “became the editor-in-chief this past fall at home. I had to try to replicate the system that we had going in the journalism classroom in my own room, which was a lot more difficult than I expected. But overall, things worked out pretty well and that is thanks to the journalism team that is so passionate about the work we do.”
Rogers mentioned that several graphics students, under the tutelage of graphic design Professor Michael Kabbash, also worked from home in helping to get the paper laid out.
“Professor Kabbash’s students have been a godsend to us this year and we really appreciate their help,” Rogers said.
Normally, the Centurion prints 2,000 copies that are distributed across the college’s three campuses in Newtown, Bristol and Perkasie. But with most students taking classes virtually, the editors have instead produced a PDF of each issue that is emailed to all students.
The Keystone Media Awards contest recognizes high school and college journalism that provides relevance, integrity, and initiative in serving readers. Any student who has had his or her material published in the school newspaper may enter the contest, which has divisions for large and small universities, two-year colleges and high schools.
The Centurion website is located at www.bucks-news.com
The Bucks journalism program website is at www.bucks.edu/journalism
For more information contact Rogers at [email protected]
Here is the list of winners from the Centurion:
General News, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Sellersville Teen Shot Dead at State Park – Payton Schreier
Ongoing News Coverage, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – The 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic – Centurion Staff
Ongoing News Coverage, Honorable Mention, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Special Report: The 2020 Presidential Election – Centurion Staff
Public Service/Enterprise Package, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – The Results and Winners of Bucks’ 2020-2021 Student Body Election – Alyssa Moore, Dakoda Carlson, Olivia Ruddell, Kristen Reiter
Feature Story, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Coping With Boredom During COVID-19 – Alyssa Moore
Personality Profile, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Ethel Rackin is a Professor and a Poet – Shannon Goldhahn
Sports Story, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Spring Athletics Forced to End Seasons Due to COVID-19 – Karagen Kelly
Sports Story, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Mens’ Basketball Fall Short of Playoffs by One Win – Cole Schug
Sports Story, Honorable Mention, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – 2020 Philadelphia Union Season Preview – Skyler Hoffner
Review, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – RDJs Dolittle Does Little – Bradley Hare
Review, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Sonic the Hedgehog Speeds Past Everyone’s Expectations – Bradley Hare
Layout and Design, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Bucks prepares for the Coronavirus (Centurion Vol 55 Issue 9) – Sarah Siock, Alyssa Moore, Shannon Goldhahn
Layout and Design, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Joe Biden Wins Presidential Race (Centurion Vol 56 Issue 5) – Alyssa Moore, Dakoda Carlson, Olivia Ruddell, Kristen Reiter
Website, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion, www.bucks-news.com – Centurion Staff
Video Story, First place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Effort to Provide Low-Cost Textbooks Gains Momentum – Sarah Siock
Video Story, Second place, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Acme Workers Keep Shelves Stocked During the Pandemic – Jon Corley
Video Story, Honorable Mention, Bucks County Community College – The Centurion – Students Make the Adjustment to Online Classes – Sarah Siock