Student newspaper earns national award
CHADRON – Chadron State College’s student newspaper, The Eagle, tied for first place in the General Excellence-College Division in the 2021 Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the National Newspaper Association (NNA). The Eagle Adviser Michael D. Kennedy said the award indicates CSC students are producing work at a level well above their peers across the country.
The Eagle, with a weekly circulation of 1,500, tied with The Daily Universe of Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, and The Sun of Southwestern College, Chula Vista, California, in the General Excellence category.
Kennedy, who has advised The Eagle since fall 2008, said this was the second time the staff entered the NNA’s contest during his tenure.
The Eagle student staff members submitted 21 entries and earned eight individual awards competing against professional journalists and one entry in the General Excellence-College Division class. In the individual categories, The Eagle’s former Co-Editor Brandon Davenport of Chadron, who graduated in Dec. 2020, won four awards, including first place in Breaking News Photo, for his picture of an air tanker dropping retardant on the Aristocrat Fire south of campus in late Aug. 2020.
In Best Use of a Double-Truck, Non-Daily Division, Davenport earned an Honorable Mention for his design of a two-page layout of the Nebraska Game and Parks Department’s annual bighorn sheep capture near Fort Robinson in Feb. 2020.
Davenport also took second place in Best Feature Photo for his picture of three bighorn sheep dangling from a helicopter during the bighorn sheep capture, and third place in Best Sports Photo for his picture of a bulldogger wearing a COVID mask during CSC’s rodeo in Sept. 2020.
Former Sports Editor Devin Fulton, who also graduated in Dec. 2020, captured third place in Best Sports Column, Daily and Non-Daily Division-Circulation less than 3,000, for his piece about Kobe Bryant.
The Eagle staff captured third place in Best Front Page Design, Daily & Non-Daily Division (all circulation sizes), for its Nov. 12 edition. The front page featured a photo of the Nebraska National Guard raising a flag on Veteran’s Day, by Davenport, and a lead story written by Co-Editor Aubrie Lawrence, junior of Alliance.
Former Ag and Range Editor Zachary Carlson, junior of Hyannis, who now works as a student photographer for CSC Athletics, teamed up with Davenport to write a piece about the Game and Parks Department’s annual bighorn sheep capture. The two earned Honorable Mention for Best Environmental Story, Daily and Non-Daily Division-Circulation less than 9,000.
—The Eagle staff
Category: Campus News, Student Awards & Achievements