The Mirror News, HFC's student-run newspaper, wins 24 state awards
The Mirror News, HFC's student-run newspaper, earned 24 awards at the 2019 Michigan Community College Press Association (MCCPA) conference held at Central Michigan University (CMU) in Mt. Pleasant.
"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of a great team, we walked away with 24 awards this year. This is a record win for the The Mirror News, and a proud moment for us all," said editor-in-chief Fatima Nkata.
The Mirror News won best overall design and third place in overall excellence (Division I). Creative editor Justin Randles won runner-up for “Journalist of the Year.” Along with Randles, online editor Jessica D’Alfonso and former creative editor Sarah Williams each won three awards. Reporter Emily Schroeder and cartoonist Parrish Broadnax each won two awards. Photojournalist Joshua Tufts, sports reporter Dominic Stankiewicz, cartoonist Rouma Khan, and graphic design artists Gabrielle Sisler and Zeinab Saleh each won an award. Editor-in-chief Fatima Nkata won honorable mention for her editorial on free speech.
The Mirror News faculty advisor, Dr. Peter Kim, was elected president of the MCCPA and will assist in coordinating next year’s conference.
The Mirror News Awards:
Nkata and her fellow Mirror News staffers placed in the following categories.
First Place Awards (6)
Category: Overall Newspaper Design
Name: Mirror News staff
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Sarah Williams
Category: Sports Feature Photo
Name: Sarah Williams
Category: Entertainment Cartoon
Name: Parrish Broadnax
Category: Editorial Cartoon
Name: Parrish Broadnax
Category: Infographic
Name: Gabrielle Sisler
Second Place Awards (5)
Category: Journalist of the Year
Name: Justin Randles
Category: Critical Review
Name: Justin Randles
Category: Feature Photo
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso
Category: Editorial Cartoon
Name: Rouma Khan
Category: News Photo
Name: Joshua Tufts
Third Place Awards (9)
Category: General Excellence (Division I)
Name: The Mirror News
Category: Column Humor
Name: Justin Randles
Category: Video Production/Online Audio Slideshow
Name: Mirror News staff
Category: Sports Feature Photo
Name: Emily Schroeder
Category: Feature Photo
Name: Sarah Williams
Category: Personality Profile
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso
Category: First Amendment Reporting
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso
Category: Sports News Photo
Name: Mirror News staff
Category: Infographic
Name: Zeinab Saleh
Honorable Mention (4)
Category: Editorial
Name: Fatima Nkata
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Dominic Stankiewicz
Category: Multimedia Reporting (Division I)
Name: Emily Schroeder
Category: Front Page Design
Name: The Mirror News staff
Michigan Community College Press Association
The MCCPA hosts an annual journalism conference in which student journalists from community colleges throughout the state are judged in 31 categories. The schools that participated this year were HFC, Delta College, Washtenaw Community College, Schoolcraft College, Northwestern Michigan College, Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, Monroe County Community College, and Muskegon Community College.
This year’s MCCPA conference keynote speaker was John Bebow, president and CEO of the Center for Michigan and Bridge Magazine. During his speech, Bebow stressed the importance of independent journalism. Bebow shared the podium with Alexandra Schmidt, public engagement director at the Center for Michigan and Bridge Magazine, and Jim Malewitz, environment reporter for Bridge Magazine. Schmidt shared her experience landing an internship at HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and her reporting on cannabis legislation in Michigan. Malewitz shared his experience reporting in Texas and covering national and local stories. Afterwards, conference attendees participated in breakout sessions on sports journalism, social media, photojournalism, and news writing. The conference concluded with the awards luncheon.
Including this year, HFC’s Mirror News staff have won a total of 81 newspaper awards in the last four years.
The content of the The Mirror News is created, edited, and designed entirely by HFC students. It is distributed monthly September through June across the HFC campus. HFC’s student-run newspaper has been publishing student work for more than 70 years.
The online edition of the Mirror news is at mirrornews.hfcc.edu.
“It’s been an honor working day in and out with such an amazing news staff, and it showed this year," said Abeare. "The Mirror News is going to be a strong force for years to come!”