The student journalist spotlight is an occasional feature focused on some of the most influential, innovative, and outstanding college media superstars making a difference in print, online, and on air worldwide. To nominate a student (or yourself!) for a spotlight, e-mail Dan at dreimold@gmail.com.
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Sarah Hutchins
Recent graduate, Indiana University School of Journalism
(In the spotlight September 2011)
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During the last academic year, Indiana University senior journalism student Sarah Hutchins dreaded what she called The Question, capital T, capital Q. “The conversations always start the same,” Hutchins wrote a month before commencement for The Indiana Daily Student’s quarterly magazine Inside. “‘So, what are you doing after graduation?‘ I’ve been asked by family, friends, old high school acquaintances I mistakenly friended on Facebook and never deleted.” (To see Sarah’s full spotlight, click here.)—
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Vinny Vella
Editor-in-chief, The La Salle University Collegian, La Salle University
(In the spotlight September 2011)
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The legend of Vinny Vella is built atop strippers, censorship, and a partially blank front page. This past spring, administrators at Philadelphia’s La Salle University attempted to stonewall its student newspaper from publishing an embarrassing story about a professor hiring exotic dancers to participate in an extra-credit seminar for students. The La Salle University Collegian, run by Vella (since graduated), had the scoop but was forced to hold off on publishing due to a temporary embargo imposed by school officials. (To see Vinny’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Arez Hussen Ahmed
Editor-in-chief, The AUIS Voice, American University of Iraq, Sulaimani
(In the spotlight August 2011)
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Among individuals who have helped create and nurture student journalism during its infancy in Iraq, the most passionate has been Arez Hussen Ahmed. (Kurdistan Fatih, Namo Kaftan, and Jackie Spinner are tied for close second.) (To see Arez’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Victor Luckerson
Editor-in-chief, The Crimson White, University of Alabama
(In the spotlight August 2011)
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On a weekday afternoon in late April 2011, Crimson White editor-in-chief Victor Luckerson heard the tornado sirens. He left the University of Alabama student newspaper’s newsroom near Bryant-Denny Stadium and went to the office building’s basement. A few minutes later, he watched on local TV news as parts of Tuscaloosa were leveled by an historic torrent of wind and rain. And then he got to work. (To see Victor’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Connor Toohill
Founder and editor-in-chief, NextGen Journal
(In the spotlight August 2011)
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Connor Toohill is the student media mogul of the moment. The Notre Dame University sophomore is responsible for the launch and oversight of NextGen Journal, the only national news and views outlet by students, for students. The site is a college media revelation– proof that the student press can think and act BIG without outside ‘adult’ help (with all respect to News21, UPIU, Local East Village, and others). (To see Connor’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Max Hasan
College music correspondent, NextGen Journal
(In the spotlight August 2011)
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Three major musical buzzwords have emerged this summer among students: Moombahton, Tumblr, and Mac. The first is a genre. The second is a social network. The third is an increasingly popular performer. Max Hasan, NextGen Journal’s college music correspondent, regularly tracks the trends, people, and platforms impacting all-things music– especially within the underground and student scenes. (To see Max’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Proma Khosla
Arts Editor, The Michigan Daily, University of Michigan
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At page 699, Proma Khosla almost threw up. While reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the University of Michigan student and HP superfan simply could not stomach the drama playing out on the pages before her. (To see Proma’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Wiktoria Parysek
Former columnist, The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania
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On Sunday, New York Times Magazine published a much-discussed mini-memoir by Jose Antonio Vargas, who secretly lived in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant while rising up the journalism ranks. It spurred fresh chatter about the plight of the undocumented in America and the journalistic ethics of someone in Vargas’s position covering potentially related stories. (To see Wiktoria’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Kelly Stroda
Editor-in-chief, The Daily Kansan, Kansas University
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One of my favorite college newspaper stories of the past year was a powerful four-part Daily Kansan report that tells the tales of three Kansas University students who lost a parent during their time in school. It is, as the series headline states, a “tragedy in transition.” As Kelly Stroda reported for the Kansan, one in 10 individuals deals with the death of mom or dad before turning 25. (To see Kelly’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Madeline Huerta
Founder & overseer, College Problems
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Madeline Huerta is a genius. She has turned other people’s problems (and some of her own) into Internet gold. Huerta is the creator and overseer of College Problems, a Tumblr site that offers undergraduates a spot to vent about everything related to higher ed. that irks or annoys them. The user-submitted entries typically run only a sentence or two, almost always with a set-up and a punchline and sometimes without proper capitalization and grammar. (To see Madeline’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Andrew Deitrick, Victoria Shirley & Samantha Thrift
Student journalists & filmmakers, Christopher Newport University
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“Documenting Disaster” is a must-see film for student journalists and their supporters. The documentary gives us a glimpse into the newsroom of The Collegiate Times, the student newspaper at Virginia Tech, in the immediate aftermath of the April 2007 shootings. (To see the students’ full spotlight, click here.)
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Melissa Silverberg
Editor-in-chief, The Daily Illini, University of Illinois
(In the spotlight February 2011)
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Head football coach Ron Zook is raking in $1.06 million this year. University president Michael Hogan is earning a little more than half of that. And the highest-paid employee at UIUC not in athletics, medicine or the highest reaches of the administration: Michael Moore, a law professor whose base pay is close to $300,000 this year. (To see Melissa’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Alexandra Churchill
Staff writer, The New Hampshire, University of New Hampshire
(In the spotlight February 2011)
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Alexandra Churchill loves ballet, summertime camping trips, espresso shots, James Dean, and the smell of old books. The junior j-student at the University of New Hampshire has been in the book publishing business for almost her entire two-decade existence. (To see Alexandra’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Rajesh Srinivasan
Editor-in-chief, The Daily Californian, University of California, Berkeley
(In the spotlight January 2011)
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Rajesh Srinivasan is being forced to skip his classes tomorrow at the University of California, Berkeley, to attend a court hearing 200 miles away. The Daily Californian editor in chief will appear in Fresno County small claims court to fight a lawsuit brought against him by the father of a former UC Berkeley football player who was featured in the Daily Cal and its affiliated blog The Daily Clog roughly four years ago. (To see Rajesh’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Michelle Monroe & Luke Money
Editor-in-chief & news editor, The Arizona Daily Wildcat, U. of Arizona
(In the spotlight January 2011)
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Top editors at The Arizona Daily Wildcat were preparing for a staff meeting last Saturday when reports first began streaming in about a shooting at a Safeway not far from the University of Arizona campus. The meeting never happened. Instead, the reporting began, and has continued nonstop. (To see the students’ full spotlight, click here.)
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Rob Tricchinelli
Public editor, The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell University
(In the spotlight December 2010)
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In an April 2009 introduction, Rob Tricchinelli asked readers of The Cornell Daily Sun, simply, “What do you like? What do you hate? What’s fair? What’s not? What is the Sun doing well? Poorly? What’s being missed?“ The questions, in many ways, define his job scope. (To see Rob’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Jen Minutillo
Designer, The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University
(In the spotlight December 2010)
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“It was like I was in Harry Potter’s wizarding world,” said Jen Minutillo, “even if it was just for a day.” The Ball State Daily News chief designer recently spearheaded the creation of a special issue for the student paper:The Daily Prophet, the newspaper of record in the land that Rowling built. (To see Jen’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Kyli Singh
Opinion Editor, The Miami Hurricane, University of Miami
(In the spotlight November 2010)
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Smokers’ rights. Students’ sexual health. Digital textbooks. The arts in higher education. Illegal music downloading. Weapons possession in restaurants and bars. Campus parking. The campus shuttle service. The campus police Emergency Notification Network. The Amish. The Tea Party. President Obama. Greg Giraldo. Marco Rubio. Lauryn Hill. What do all these issues and individuals have in common? Kyli Singh. (To see Kyli’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Nora Simon
Editor in chief, The Oregon Daily Emerald, University of Oregon
(In the spotlight October 2010)
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Amanda Podgorny
Reporter, The Northern Star, Northern Illinois University
(In the spotlight September 2010)
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According to Amanda Podgorny, The Northern Star at Northern Illinois University sports a handful of student journalists known simply as “the muckrakers.” “During any given school year, you will see the Star break anywhere from two to five in-depth investigative stories that the local papers seem to be lacking,” said Podgorny. ”These people take their roles as watchdogs very seriously, and continue to file FOIA after FOIA to get all the facts.” (To see Amanda’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Whitney Mountain
Editor in Chief, Flux, University of Oregon
(In the spotlight August 2010)
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A New Way to Groove. A Celtic Pioneer. Flirting with Fate. Carving a Musical Niche. Destination Surgery. Definition of Crazy. The headlines on its homepage merely hint at the eclectic excellence of Flux, a student news magazine at the University of Oregon focused on using words and visuals to “tell the untold, alternative stories of [the] incredible region” its staffers and host school call home. (To see Whitney’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Michael Holtz
Blogger, The Foreign Telegraph, Kansas University
(In the spotlight August 2010)
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In his own words, Michael Holtz is a “roving student journalist and wannabe foreign correspondent.” The Kansas University student begins a separate bio of himself online with only one word: wanderlust. (To see Michael’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Suzanne Yada
Student Journalist Extraordinaire, San Jose State University
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Suzanne Yada’s motto while toiling as a copy editor at a daily paper in Visalia, Calif.: “Errors. Must. Die.” Her new three-word motto, the one that has put her on the new media radar, is a call-to-arms to student journalists of generation now. As she puts it simply, “Grow some cojones.”… (To see Suzanne’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Madison McCord
Web Editor, The Communicator, Spokane Falls Community College
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In 2007, when Madison McCord enrolled at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington, The Communicator student newspaper sported a two-year-old clunker of a website. As McCord, the newspaper’s web editor, recalled, “It was very basic with an outdated color palette and a lot of text.”… (To see Madison’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Zain Pasha
Executive Editor in Chief, The Triple Helix Online
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Zain Pasha is an interesting mix. He is Chinese and Pakistani. He has an incredibly kind, corporate demeanor- and woolly hair worthy of an eighties rock band. He enjoys tennis- and researching nuclear weapons proliferation. At Cornell University, the rising senior touts three academic majors- economics, government, and information science. He is a veteran Web programmer, *prolific* writer, and successful college debater… (To see Zain’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Nathan Giebel
Reporter, The Current, Carthage College
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Last month, reporter Nathan Giebel wrote a pair of pieces for The Current, the student newspaper at Wisconsin’s Carthage College- a news report touching on Carthage’s tuition increase, expenses, and professor salaries and a separate editorial on the college president’s salary… (To see Nathan’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Derek Flanzraich
Founder & Executive Director, HUTV, Harvard University
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On a cold day in Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University psychology professor Steven Pinker lifts a television above his head and then smashes it into the ground. With the TV’s innards exposed, he proceeds to stomp on it and whack it repeatedly with a metal pole. The uber-aggression aimed at this old media outlet served as the central feature of a promotional video last spring touting the arrival of Harvard Undergraduate Television… (To see Derek’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Amina Elahi
Editor, Al Bayan, Northwestern University
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In fourth grade, Amina Elahi’s teacher gave her a journal and told her simply, “You write very barebones. You need to learn how to write.” More than a decade later, the current Northwestern University senior is a writer, editor, and designer extraordinaire, overseeing a prominent magazine aimed at highlighting contemporary trends and issues impacting the Muslim community- from the student perspective… (To see Amina’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Josh Shannon
Editor in Chief, The Review, University of Delaware
(In the spotlight February 2010)
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In Josh Shannon’s words: “I wanted to be a journalist long before I ever knew I wanted to be a journalist.” He has long saved newspapers from historic moments in contemporary history (including presidential elections and the start of the Iraq War) and his own journalism history (including reporting clips), leaving one of his bedroom walls almost overrun with paper and ink… (To see Josh’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Cameron Henderson
Publisher, Northwestern Art Review, Northwestern University
(In the spotlight February 2010)
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Eight Northwestern University students. A “cheap pizza joint.” Spirited conversation about a shared love of art and architecture. An idea for a publication whose aim would be nothing less than to “provide a forum for greater exchange among an expanding community of students who devote their time to studying, thinking and writing about art.” The Northwestern Art Review was born… (To see Cameron’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Zephyr Basine
Founder & Editor in Chief, College Fashion
(In the spotlight January 2010)
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Zephyr Basine is a candy fiend who considers vanilla cupcakes (with extra frosting) manna from heaven and Sour Patch Kids fit to rule the world. She is also “a fan of fearless style” whose name has become synonymous with College Fashion… (To see Zephyr’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Jonathan Anderson
Special Projects Editor, The UWM Post, U. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
(In the spotlight November 2009)
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Jonathan Anderson is a terrific journalist. He has the records to prove it– most of which he requested himself. Simply put, Anderson is the ultimate college press freedom fighter. He may not be Braveheart, but he’s the epitome of Mel Gibson’s famous scream. (To see Jonathan’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Bryan J. Roy
Web director, Arizona Daily Wildcat, University of Arizona
(In the spotlight September 2009)
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Bryan J. Roy is aglow against an early nighttime sky. The University of Arizona student journalist’s name is the most prominent feature of the metropolitan-themed graphic header on his Web site. The portfolio site is an ode to his numerous (and varied!) journalistic accomplishments. The 20-year-old’s most recent, and impressive, addition to the list: a fantastic redesign of the online Arizona Daily Wildcat… (To see Bryan’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Windsor Hanger
Publisher & president, Her Campus, Harvard University
(In the spotlight September 2009)
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Windsor Hanger recently endured one of the longest hours of her life. On the night before last week’s launch of Her Campus, a new online magazine for college women co-founded by Hanger and three Harvard University classmates, an unexpected error message appeared on the home page… (To see Windsor’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Katelyn Polantz
Editor in chief, The Pitt News, University of Pittsburgh
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Katelyn Polantz once went on a liquid diet as a college freshman. It lasted a week. She fell in love with journalism as a sophomore. It appears this love will last a lifetime. As editor in chief of The Pitt News over the past year, Polantz led a staff of roughly 120 student reporters and editors, oversaw the formation of a multimedia department for PittNews.com, and collected a ton of devotees… (To see Katelyn’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Julie Steinberg
Columnist & editor, The Daily Pennsylvanian, U. of Pennsylvania
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Julie Steinberg digs former U.S. President Martin Van Buren. “I think he is underrated and deserves credit for his sideburns,” she said. “I have no idea what he did politically.” Van Buren was a chief architect of the Democratic Party and is one of only two individuals to serve as Secretary of State, Vice President, and President. But he never interviewed Robert Pattinson. Meet Steinberg, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who wrote an award-winning, ravenously read column for The Daily Pennsylvanian over the past year that touched on topics serious, random, and sideburn-free… (To see Julie’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Georgia Adams
Managing Editor & Sports Editor, The Voyager, U. of West Florida
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Georgia Adams once proudly danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly in Nashville, and her hair is sometimes red “or redder, or blue, or something in between.” Her journalism work is similarly bold and scattered… (To see Georgia’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Jake Donahue
Editor in chief, The Sentinel, North Idaho College
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Jake Donahue loves Little League. He has coached five Little League baseball, three basketball, and three soccer teams, amassing an above-.500 won-loss record and a not-so-secret desire to serve as a high school or small college athletic director. He also just may be the country’s most talented young news designer. (To see Jake’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Meredith Shiner
Reporter, columnist & editor, The Chronicle, Duke University
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Meredith Shiner is an über-sports-hound and Chi-town gal at heart. In her words, “As an unapologetic White Sox fan who grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, my high school superlative was, ‘Most Likely to Start a Brawl at a Cubs/Sox Game.’” As a sports reporter, columnist, and editor at The Chronicle at Duke University, Shiner traded Chicago for Krzyzewskiville, Cameron Indoor, and Wallace Wade, covering every Blue Devil who could run, throw, and jump over the past four years and making a few standout memories along the way… (To see Meredith’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Matthew Bunch
Editor in chief, The Miami Hurricane, University of Miami
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Matthew Bunch has broadcast in his blood and background and paper-and-ink under his current control. The 21-year-old University of Miami student is a broadcast journalism and economics double-major who loves “Anchorman” and “Network” and previously won the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers’ national high school announcer of the year award. (Try to say that three times fast, give up before the second attempt, and simply take in that it’s a big deal.) . . . (To see Matthew’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Jackie Hai
Co-founder, The Amherst Wire, UMASS
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Jackie Hai is a hybrid- a student journalist extraordinaire with competing interests in (ready for this?) philosophy, anthropology, economics, music, physical discipline, and information technology. Growing up in greater Boston, the UMASS Amherst senior considered careers in archaeology, online game development, film, and music. The news media prevailed, and are the better for it. Spread the word: Hai, 21, is a journalistic and new media wunderkind who should be on anyone’s short list for collegemediatopia’s j-student of the year… (To see Jackie’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Briana Bierschbach
Reporter, The Minnesota Daily, University of Minnesota
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The academic transcript: forged. The English accent: faked. A majority of stories from his past: fabricated, or at least greatly exaggerated. The candidate’s campaign for city council: over. As recently as a few weeks ago, Charles Carlson, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, faced few hurdles in his race for a Minneapolis city council seat, besides an incumbent opponent. Then he met Briana Bierschbach. The University of Minnesota junior, a journalism junkie and closet “Star Wars” fan, covers city government for the Minnesota Daily… (To see Briana’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Georgia Perry
Founder & Editor, The Robin, Indiana University
(In the spotlight February 2009)
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Georgia Perry is making a satirical statement, in newspaper form. Last year, Perry, 22, a senior at Indiana University, launched The Robin (online version here), a satirical newspaper that smells a bit like Onion with a local, Hoosier-specific mocking flavor. The publication seems to be the apotheosis of all of Perry’s efforts at IU, including a double-major in journalism and comedy writing (with a political science concentration on the side); four years in a campus improvisational comedy group; and a two-year stint as a columnist for The Indiana Daily Student… (To see Georgia’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Tobias Davis
Editor, Student Newspaper, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
(In the spotlight January 2009)
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As CMM reported late last month, a student-run online publication was recently launched at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by undergraduates aching for a greater conservative voice on campus. It received a minor spate of media attention upon its arrival, including a mention in The Daily Nebraskan. Its name: Student Newspaper… (To see Tobias’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Cody Brown
Publisher, NYU Local, New York University
(In the spotlight December 2008)
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Cody Brown is a journalism revolutionary. As publisher of NYU Local at New York University, “a 24 hour Web site about the school we call home,” Brown is aiming to “remove the distinction of who is a professional and who is a citizen and let everyone contribute in the same way, using their real names and eventually building their own reputations.”… (To see Cody’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Nicole Alvarado
Editor in chief, The Battalion, Texas A&M University
(In the spotlight November 2008)
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In the photo below, Nicole Alvarado appears to be holding a plastic Star Wars-inspired lightsaber. The image is fitting given how little time The Battalion student newspaper editor in chief actually sees sunlight… (To see Nicole’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Bobby Melok
In the picture below, Bobby Melok describes himself as being “in full student-journalist mode: bags under the eyes, gym clothes, you know, stuff that screams out ‘I’ve been up for 48 hours straight, get out of my way!'” As EIC of The Montclarion at Montclair State University in New Jersey, Melok is overseeing the paper’s first semester that screams independence… (To see Bobby’s full spotlight, click here.)
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Paras Bhayani
Managing editor, The Harvard Crimson, Harvard University
(In the spotlight September 2008)
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Twenty-three hours. Riding the Amtrak train between Chicago and Boston takes 23 hours each way. It’s a trip Paras Bhayani knows well. The Chicago native and Harvard University senior has refused to fly back-and-forth between Chi-town and Beantown for the past two years. Why? “Trains can save the world,” he wrote last December… (To see Paras’s full spotlight, click here.)
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To study jornualism has been my lifetime dream since I was a little girl…Its time for me to find aplace where i can study this…To accomplish my dream and move on with life to write and, write and. write till i die is all i want…I know this is what i want my heart tells me this…so if any of you can please recommened some colleges in california that i can go to…Just for 2 years then i plan to transfer out of state just not now due to financial issues …Please write to me and i promise to write back…Thanks for taking the time to read this..
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Hello Everyone, I recently started a universal college magazine – “College PULSE Magazine.” The College PULSE Magazine (CPM) was created with the Whole College Student Body in mind. CPM incorporates all aspects of the “College Life.” Topics dealing with both the male and female Social, Sex, Sports, and Dorm life are all discussed in a fun, college minded, interactive fashion. CPM has also created an inventive new way college students can get their hands on a catalog of upcoming College events; from a musician/DJ representing your school at a local venue, to Greek life parties, to on campus events, as well as events where the greater local college community comes together for a night to remember!
Another aspect of The College PULSE Magazine is a Q & A section, where students can comment, or ask questions, and CPM will address the issue, topics, and questions mentioned.
One of the goals College PULSE Magazine has, is to bring the best aspects of college to the student body’s figure tips, this includes interviews with Artists both from local colleges around your area, but interviews with elite artists as well.
CPM would like participation and interaction with ALL college students!, We encourage EVERYONE to; message us, write on our blogs, post pictures, vote on polls, and share with CPM readers Nation Wide!
I was wondering the best way to go about adding more journalists to my already growing team.
Thank you in advance for suggestions!