November 06, 2017

Daily Egyptian earns top online collegiate award

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Daily Egyptian, Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s student-produced newspaper, earned the online Pacemaker award at the National College Media Convention in Dallas. 

The newspaper received the award Oct. 28 at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College Media Convention. The Daily Egyptian was recognized earlier this year as one of 25 online news and magazine sites in the Online Pacemaker competition. ACP is the nation’s largest and oldest national membership association for college student media, according to the organization’s website. The organization initially received 105 entries from colleges and universities.

“It’s an honor for our staff, and really shows how much a small, dedicated group can achieve,” Eric Fidler, the newspaper’s faculty managing editor said. Fidler noted that Gary Lundgren, associate director of Associated Collegiate Press said in a news release announcing the finalists: “Today's best online sites are platforms for rich multimedia storytelling. Deep and diverse coverage with strong engagement and interactivity distinguish the best student-produced sites.”

Interestingly, the award came 101 years to the day of the Daily Egyptian’s original publication on Oct. 28, 1916.  The newspaper is now printed once a week but operates daily online at dailyegyptian.com/ 

In addition to the Daily Egyptian’s award, four students also earned awards:

  • Ryan Michalesko, sophomore, journalism, from Carbondale, a previous staff photographer, was third in environmental portrait and received an honorable mention in spot news photography.
  • Brian Munoz, junior, photojournalism, Collinsville, received an honorable mention in spot news photography for a photo he took prior to transferring from SIU Edwardsville. He is the DE’s photography and multimedia editor.
  • Jacob Wiegand, a May 2017 journalism graduate from West Frankfort, received honorable mention in the sports photograph category. He was a previous managing editor and photography and multimedia editor.
  • Abby Wilhelm senior, graphic communications, from Mascoutah, a member of the DE’s ad production department, earned honorable mention for an ad campaign.