Eagle wins 10th consecutive top award

The Eagle’s website, csceagle.com, was judged third in Best Overall Website.

All students from NPCMA-member institutions were judged for work published Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2020, a year upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Journalism and advertising professionals outside of Nebraska, from Massachusetts to Wyoming, served as judges.

“It was extremely nerve wracking to be waiting for this year’s results,” said Brandon Davenport of Chadron, who served as editor from January to December 2020, when he graduated. “The Eagle has a long-standing tradition of winning Best Overall, and I am just glad we could maintain the same high standards of excellence set by those who came before us.” 

Davenport also shared credit with the entire staff.   

“I think the staff deserves extra recognition for having achieved this in such a challenging year,” he said. “Despite the pandemic, they worked hard to make sure that the Eagle was as good as ever. It was nice for me personally to go out on such a high note. The (10th) win gives me confidence in the future staff going forward.”

Bob Unger, an award-winning editor of The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and now a media consultant, judged the Best Overall Newspaper category.  

“The Eagle is a smart, well-designed and well edited newspaper. Its photography is the best in its class, and the overall design makes it a pleasure to read,” Unger wrote in his judges’ comments section. “The opinion pages are excellent, there are lots of student voices throughout. This is an excellent newspaper.”

Current Editor Aubrie Lawrence, sophomore of Alliance, Nebraska, who filled the position in January after Davenport graduated in December 2020, said she was excited about The Eagle’s 10th consecutive Best Overall title.

“I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish this past year,” Lawrence said. “I look forward to seeing everything we’ve got coming next year and continuing our streak.”

In addition to capturing first in the Best Overall Newspaper category, The Eagle staff won 11 first-place, 11 second-place and nine third-place awards – spread among eight different student journalists – in the Print and Online Division’s 20 individual categories recognizing individual excellence in news, sports, and feature reporting; opinion writing; photojournalism; advertisement design; and newspaper layout and design.

The Eagle’s Adviser Michael D. Kennedy said he was proud of the student journalists.

“Putting this in athletic terms, NPCMA’s Golden Leaf Awards competition is our conference championship. For any team to win 10 consecutive conference titles is, in my mind, an astonishing milestone. But to win that 10th title amid the height of a pandemic, well now, that’s just plain incredible.” 

In addition to Chadron State, other NPCMA-member institutions are Concordia University; Doane University; Hastings College; Nebraska Wesleyan University; Peru State College; Wayne State College, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Kennedy said a significant factor contributing to The Eagle successfully maintaining its standards is a key philosophy the staff embraces.

“I have always told the staff members to focus on their readers,” he said. “If you do the best job you can possibly do for your readers, the rewards will take care of themselves. Years ago, the staff members embraced that philosophy in the beginning, and each year the outgoing crew has handed it down to the incoming crew, and it has paid off for all of them.”

—The Eagle staff