The Observer won third place in the Division I "Newspaper of the Year" category at the Indiana Collegiate Press Association (ICPA) awards ceremony held Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington. Staff members took home 20 other awards.
Former Assistant Managing Editor Andrew Owens was named the Brook Baker Collegiate Journalist of the Year, making him the third Notre Dame student in four years to be honored. The award, which began in 1999, is named for a deceased student journalist at Vincennes University.
Owens placed in the "Best Entertainment Feature Story" category as well, winning second for his Oct. 22 piece "College GameDay."
The Observer took second place in the "Best Single Issue" category for the Nov. 27 issue "Miami Bound," published after the football team's victory over USC. First place in the "Best Stand-Alone/Pullout Section" category went to The Observer's "Pre-national championship coverage."
The 2011-12 Observer Editorial Board took first place in the "Best Staff Editorial" category for its April 27, 2012, piece "Jenky should issues a formal apology." The former board also won second place in the same category for the Sept. 14, 2012 editorial "Getting serious about sexual assault."
Former Assistant Managing Editor Sam Stryker won second place in "Best News Feature Story" for "Gay students discuss coming out at Notre Dame," the second in a three-part series in The Observer last year. Stryker also took third place in "Best Entertainment Feature Story" for his coverage of Student Union Board's Seth Myers comedy show in September, titled "Seth Myers brings the laughs at Stepan."
2011-12 Managing Editor Sarah Mervosh, class of 2012, won third place in the "Best Breaking News Reporting" category for "University addresses LGBTQ concerns," published April 26, 2012.
Assistant Managing Editor Matthew DeFranks took second place in "Best News or Feature Series" for "Waking the Echoes," a series highlighting past Notre Dame football players and their lives after graduation.
Scene Editor Kevin Noonan took second place in "Best Entertainment Column" for his piece on the film saga's move to Disney, titled "Star Wars moves to the dark side."
Kirby McKenna, multimedia editor, won second place in "Best Feature Photo" for her August Boys Like Girls concert photo "Boys Like B1." Former Multimedia Editor Sarah O'Connor took third place in the same category for her September photo "Seth Myers at Notre Dame."
Former Photo Editor Suzanna Pratt took first place in "Best Sports Photo" for her action shot during the Oct. 27 football game against Oklahoma, called "Statement win."
Second place in "Best Blog" went to "Observer Passport," featuring the study abroad experiences of former Editor-in-Chief Allan Joseph, former Managing Editor Megan Doyle, Assistant Managing Editor Marisa Iati, Saint Mary's Editor Kaitlyn Rabach, Photo Editor Grant Tobin, News Writer Mel Flanagan and Scene Writer Troy Mathew.
O'Connor and Web Editor Kevin Song won first place in "Best Video" for "Bengal Bouts 2012," showcasing the experiences of members of Notre Dame's men's club boxing team.
Former Graphics Editor Brandon Keelean won first place in "Best Design of Black-and-White House Ad" for "Congratulations." Keelean also took first in "Best Design of Full-Color House Ad" for "Final Four."
The Observer took third place in "Best Rate Card," crediting Keelean, Joseph, Advertising Manager Emily Kopetsky and former advertising manager Monica McCormack. All four were also honored with first place in "Best General Media Kit."
Other University publications represented at ICPA were Scholastic, which took first place in "News Magazine of the Year," Dome Yearbook, which won second place in the Division I "Yearbook of the Year" category and The Juggler, which took second place in "Literary Magazine of the Year."
The Observer's award-winning submissions are available on its website, www.ndsmcobserver.com.
