`DP' nabs top honor at college journalism conference

The Daily Pennsylvanian was named the recipient of one of college journalism's top two prizes, the Pacemaker, on Saturday.

Given in recognition of "general excellence and outstanding achievement in a college newspaper," the Pacemaker is sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press and was presented this weekend at its annual convention in New Orleans.

The convention -- the largest gathering of collegiate editors and journalists in the nation -- brought together hundreds of students from across the country for seminars and workshops, in addition to the awards ceremony.

"It makes you feel good because so many people put so many hours into the DP," said Managing Editor Rod Kurtz, a College senior. "It's a reflection that we do have an impact in this community, and that we try to deliver the highest quality product that we can to our readers."

Among the 22 daily and weekly newspapers that won the award were The Daily Northwestern from Northwestern University, The Daily Tar Heel from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Daily Iowan from the University of Iowa.

The entries are judged each year by journalists from a publication in the convention's host city. This year, staff members from the New Orleans Times-Picayune judged the four issues that were submitted in such areas as reporting and writing, design, layout and depth of coverage.

The DP also placed second in a special category this year for its next-day coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks. The winner was the Ball State Daily News of Ball State University.

"It was an issue that we wished had never happened, but we're enormously proud of it as well," Kurtz said.

DP Executive Editor Michael Vondriska, who attended the conference in New Orleans this weekend, added that it "is a testament to the DP's excellence and strength in covering the way in which the events of the nation and world can affect people at Penn."

In addition to the overall award, dailypennsylvanian.com was also named a finalist for the Online Pacemaker, and the DP won third place in promotional ad design.

Staff cartoonist Nathan Schreiber also earned the best cartoon award.

Earlier this semester, the DP was named America's "Most Read" college newspaper by The Princeton Review. The DP also won the 1989-90, 1996-97 and 1997-98 Pacemakers.

The other top award in college journalism is the the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Gold Crown Award. The DP last won this honor in 1998.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.