BOONE—Members of the student media outlets The Appalachian and The Peel Literature & Arts Review at Appalachian State University received nine awards at the fall 2015 National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas, held Oct. 28 through Nov. 1.

The convention serves members of the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association.

The entire delegation from The Appalachian and their adviser also presented sessions at the national convention.

The Peel Literature & Arts Review received a Pinnacle Award in the four-year literary magazine of the year category. The spring 2015 printed edition of The Peel also won 10th place in the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Best of Show Awards in the literary magazine category.

Members of The Peel’s editorial board for the 2014-15 academic year were: Hannah Parker, editor-in-chief; Lauren Andersen, associate editor; Dave Dykes, public relations; Sarida “Sam” Scott, graphic designer; Kyle Hazard, visual editor; Lovey Cooper, poetry editor; Emma Carte, prose editor; and Justin Perry, web designer.

Students from the student newspaper The Appalachian were honored by both the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and the College Media Association (CMA).

The following awards were presented by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP):

• Michael Bragg, former editor-in-chief and enterprise editor of The Appalachian and 2015 graduate, won third place for 2015 Reporter of the Year, in the four-year college reporter category.
• The Appalachian website was named a finalist for the 2015 Online Newspaper Pacemaker Award in the category for schools with an enrollment of 10,001-20,000.
• The Appalachian InDepth piece about diversity, “A representation of race,” won third place for 2015 Multimedia Story of the Year, in the multimedia news category. The multimedia story was produced and reported by Michael Bragg, with video by Chris Deverell, photos by Bragg and Paul Heckert, and web design by Justin Perry.
• Emily Howard received an honorable mention for the 2015 Design of the Year Award in the illustration category and an honorable mention for the 2015 Cartooning Awards in the editorial cartoon category for her editorial cartooning for The Appalachian.

The following awards were from the Pinnacle Awards presented by the College Media Association (CMA):

• The Appalachian InDepth piece about diversity, “A representation of race,” won first place for Best Multimedia News Story for 2015. The multimedia story was produced and reported by Michael Bragg, with video by Chris Deverell, photos by Bragg and Paul Heckert and web design by Justin Perry.
• The Appalachian’s YouTube channel, with videos produced by the 2014-15 video desk, won second place in the Four-Year Television Station of the Year category. The video desk was managed by video editors Chris Deverell and Jackson Helms.

In addition to the awards, the entire delegation from Appalachian’s Student Media — two students from The Peel, four students from The Appalachian, the adviser and the graduate assistant —presented a total of eight sessions during the national convention.

Malik Rahili, editor-in-chief of The Appalachian, presented two sessions: “Somehow I Manage” about how to deal with different personalities and effectively manage peers in a newsroom; and “Designing a Winning Logo,” for which he was requested to present by the convention coordinator for the fall 2016 convention, as a kick-off to the logo design contest for that convention.

Rahili also presented with Samantha Cordialini, graphics editor for The Appalachian. They presented a session on how to translate graphic design skills into other leadership positions in a college newspaper.

Stephanie Sansoucy, marketing director for The Appalachian, and Dylan Dow, web manager for Student Media, presented “The Worst of the Best of.” The session covered the trials and tribulations of putting together The Appalachian’s first readers choice issue in spring 2015, what they learned along the way and how they plan to improve the process for the spring 2016 issue.

Dave Dykes, editor-in-chief of The Peel, and Kyle Hazard, associate editor of The Peel, presented “Publication Public Relations: The Least Important Most Important Thing.” The session covered how to use public relations to increase a literary magazine’s presence on campus throughout the year, garnering more support from faculty and staff and more submissions of art and writing from students.

Allison Bennett Dyche, assistant director for Appalachian’s Student Media and adviser to The Appalachian and The Peel, and Danielle Watkins, graduate assistant for Student Media, presented “Do Newsrooms Matter?” Watkins and Bennett Dyche polled universities from across the country about their newsroom setups, and the presentation shared that data with the audience. The session also discussed whether physical newsrooms still matter in a digital media age, and how to make sure they continue to matter and are utilized by students.

Bennett Dyche also presented two literary magazine sessions – “Funding Your College Literary Publication” and “Literary Magazine Editors Roundtable” – with Rhonda Ross, student media adviser from Texas Woman’s University.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.