Central Michigan Life wins 23 MPA awards, recognized as national Pacemaker finalist
Central Michigan Life won 23 Michigan Press Association awards this year for quality in news writing, investigative reporting, feature stories, sports writing, multimedia reporting, editorials, photography, design and general excellence.
“It’s really humbling,” said spring 2013 Editor-In-Chief Aaron McMann. “It’s nice to know we’re still doing good things here and it’s nice to see them be recognized.”
Overall, CM Life was awarded with eight first-place awards, eight second-place awards, three third-place awards and four honorable mentions throughout 11 Division 1 categories.
“At the time, I think we were caught up in our work,” McMann said. “It’s nice to see that recognition a year later.”
Each collegiate newspaper was divided into three categories: Division 1 for newspapers publishing more than once per week, Division 2 for weekly publications, and Division 3 for two-year colleges or schools publishing less than once per week.
Earlier this year, CM Life was also selected as a finalist for the national Associated Collegiate Press’ Pacemaker award, which recognizes coverage, content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership on the opinion page, evidence of in-depth reporting, design, photography, art and graphics.
“The Pacemaker is big time,” McMann said. “It’s definitely validating the work we’ve been doing. It’s the biggest newspaper award in the country. We weren’t expecting it, but it’s nice to be recognized.”
CM Life is one of the 22 finalists for the Pacemaker in its four-year, non-daily newspaper division. It is the only Michigan newspaper in its division to be nominated and the first time CM Life has been nominated since 2009-10, when it won.
CM Life Division One MPA award winners:
News Story
Second place: "Professor charged with child porn possession, suspended" by Eric Dresden and Aaron McMann
Third place: “Suspect shot, killed following abduction, rape of CMU student” by Aaron McMann and Justin Hicks
Investigative Reporting
First place: “International students often greeted with troubles upon CMU arrival” by Ryan Fitzmaurice
Second place: Six-part athletics and academics investigative series by Justin Hicks
Honorable mention: “Beating the street: A look at the drug-chasing Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team” by Tony Wittkowski
Feature Story
First place: “Young at heart: At 105, Bill Burden helped build Barnard Hall; still handy, active” by Adam Niemi
Second place: “Back in time: 1860s culture, lifestyle displayed at weekend Civil War encampment” by Adam Niemi
Third place: “Soldiers in the making: ROTC members put in work over weekend at Fort Custer” by Tony Wittkowski
Honorable mention: “Moving forward: Kathy Ling, Sharon Tillmann serve as Mount Pleasant’s first mayor-vice mayor duo" by Emily Grove
Sports News/Features
First place: “Track & field program in disarray, Randolph under fire by players” by Justin Hicks
Second place: “Do or Addae: What is going on under those dreads?” by Matt Thompson
Third place: “Ghost town: Attendance issues plague home football games, athletics confident tickets will reach NCAA benchmark” by Ryan Zuke
Multimedia Reporting
First place: “Women’s basketball season ends with 78-73 loss to Oklahoma despite Bradford’s monster effort” by Brandon Champion, Adam Niemi, Seth Newman and Matt Herrod
Editorial
First place: "An E for Enos" by Eric Dresden, Aaron McMann, Catey Traylor, Hailee Sattavara, Justin Hicks and John Irwin
Second place: "No to Knight" by Aaron McMann, John Irwin, Catey Traylor, Hailee Sattavara and Kristopher Lodes
News-Only Photo
Second place: “A Special Athlete” by Zack Wittman
Honorable mention: “The Haunted Yard” by Charlotte Bodak
Feature of Sports Photo
First place: “Fire Up, Chips!” by Adam Niemi
Honorable mention: “Bad Call” by Chuck Miller
Front Page Design
First place: April 26, 2013 by Mariah Prowoznik
Second place: Jan. 18, 2013 by Mariah Prowoznik
Non-Front Page Design
First place: Feb. 20, 2013 inside page design by Mariah Prowoznik and Victoria Zegler
General Excellence
Second place: CM Life
