CP Grantee Wins Highest Honor in College Journalism

A Campus Progress-funded magazine has won what's widely considered the most prestigious award in collegiate journalism: a Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.

Fusion, an LGBT magazine at Kent State University, won big by taking home one of only five Pacemakers awarded to college student magazines. Fusion won a second award as well, an honorable mention in the "Feature Story of the Year" category for its spring cover piece [PDF] about 19-year-old Aaron Darr's battle with AIDS. Fusion was also named CP's Best Overall Publication at our 2010 National Conference this past summer.

"Fusion's only been around for seven years, and in less than the past three, it's grown to be the biggest magazine at Kent State and now reaches across the country. Our Pacemaker is a great acknowledgment of everyone's work—the stories, the photos, the ads, the promotion—that fueled the latest generation of growth for a once-tiny campus publication," said Adam Griffiths, Fusion's former editor in chief. "It's been a great experiment in student media, and I hope we've inspired others to do great journalism that's relevant and engaging. This award is a testament to the staying impact of niche publications with a specific voice that have the ability to draw a wide, diverse audience, online and in print."

Another CP-sponsored magazine, Ethos at the University of Oregon, won 2nd place in the "Diversity Story of the Year" category for its beautifully-written article, "El Poder del Inmigrante (The Power of the Immigrant)," about immigrants working as horse grooms. Ethos was also a finalist for a general magazine Pacemaker.

"Winning 'Diversity Story of the Year' is a testament to how committed our staff is to preserving our dedication to important and relevant multicultural conversations," said Rachael Mitchell, Ethos' publisher. "We are so very thankful the ACP recognizes that."

Campus Progress' victories continue an award-winning trend for our journalism network. In May, another one of our grantees, North by Northwestern, was the sole national winner of the "Best Student Magazine" award from the Society for Professional Journalists.

CP is incredibly proud of its winners, who collectively toiled for thousands of hours over the last school year to share such important stories with readers. These budding journalists' outstanding work renews our faith that the future of journalism is not so dim after all.

More about the Associated Collegiate Press awards can be found on the organization's blog.

More on our journalism grant program, including instructions for joining, can be found here.

David Spett is the Journalism Network Associate at Campus Progress.

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