The Observer was named the third-best Indiana daily student newspaper at the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association awards ceremony Saturday, winning awards in 12 categories.
The Observer staff earned first place in the Stand-Alone Section category for its April 6, 2006 issue, which provided special coverage of University President Father John Jenkins' closing statement on academic freedom and Catholic character.
The 2006-07 editorial board also earned first place in the Best Staff Editorial category for "Academic Monologues Belong at ND," which reviewed the "Vagina Monologues" controversy.
Numerous staff members captured a variety of individual honors as well.
Current Editor in Chief Maddie Hanna won first place in the Best News Feature Story category for "ND evacuees return from Lebanon," a profile of the journeys a Notre Dame student and a professor and his family took to the U.S. from Lebanon after Israel invaded the country last summer.
Other first place honors went to current Managing Editor Ken Fowler in the Best Sports News category for "Changing Regulations," an investigation of the Notre Dame athletic department's restrictions on media access to the football program, and to current Assistant Managing Editor Mary Kate Malone and former Assistant News Editor Katie Perry in the Best Non-Deadline News Reporting category for "Administrators question Facebook postings," an examination of Notre Dame's usage of information gathered from Facebook in disciplinary matters.
Second place honors went to former News Editor Kate Antonacci for "ND Senior Killed," for coverage of the November 2006 death of Caitlin Brann.
Hanna, Antonacci, and former Photo Editor Claire Kelley won second place for "Notre Dame connects with Church in Rome," a series of stories and pictures on the University Board of Trustees meetings held last February in Rome.
Fowler also won second place for "The Overachievers," a profile of football walk-ons Matt Augustyn and John Lyons. Columnist Joey Falco won second place for "Brokeback Country," a Viewpoint column about the controversy surrounding the 2006 film "Brokeback Mountain."
Assistant Scene Editor Cassie Belek won second place in the Best Entertainment column category for "Confessions of a soap opera fan."
Third place awards in the Best Stand-Alone Section category went to The Observer staff for "40 years," published on the paper's 40th anniversary.
Current Sports Editor Chris Khorey also won third place in Best Sports Column for "It's all or nothing for the nation's best squad," a reflection on women's soccer at Notre Dame.
Other Notre Dame publications represented at the ICPA convention included Scholastic, named the top news magazine; the Juggler, named the best literary magazine; and the Dome, named the second-best yearbook.
