The Observer took home more than two dozen awards from the 2015 Indiana Collegiate Scholastic Press Association (ICPA) awards ceremony this weekend in Indianapolis, including second place in the Division I Newspaper of the Year category and third place in the Best Overall Design category.
The News department, led by former News Editor and current Assistant Managing Editor Lesley Stevenson, took home first place for Best Continuous Coverage of the Campus Crossroads project, third place in the Best News or Feature Series category for the coverage of Mental Illness Awareness Week and third place for Best In-Depth Story for former Editor-in-Chief Ann Marie Jakubowski, former Assistant Managing Editors Isaac Lorton and Samantha Zuba and senior sports writer Mike Monaco’s coverage of the Academic Dishonesty Investigation earlier this school year.
Additionally, the news staff won second place in the Best Special Issue category for the Mid-year Marks student government Insider, and the staff as a whole won first place in the Best Themed Issue Category for the 2014 Commencement issue.
Sports writer Mike Ginocchio won third place for the Best Sports Feature Story with his story “Hegarty recovers from stroke, becomes starter.” The Sports staff, led by former Sports Editor and current Assistant Managing Editor Mary Green, won third place in the Best Pullout/Wrap Section category for Aug. 29 Irish Insider.
The Observer Editorial Board won third place for Best Staff Editorial for its Oct. 3 Viewpoint “A Call for a Clear Honor Code.”
Six Scene writers won awards over the weekend in a variety of categories. Jimmy Kemper won third place for Best Entertainment Story with “Why Taylor Swift's Spotify power move is the worst.” Matt McMahon and Caelin Miltko won in the Best Review category; McMahon took first with “St. Vincent: Queen of New pop,” while Miltko took second with “‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ blurs line between art and life.”
Miko Malabute and Scene Editor Erin McAuliffe won in the Best Entertainment Column category, McAuliffe won second for “Envisioning Wes Anderson’s Theme Park” while Malabute won third for his piece “To cancel or commend Colbert?” Marc Drake won second for Best News or Feature Series for “Scene in South Bend.”
The Graphics department won second and third for Best Special Issue/Section Front Cover for the Irish Insiders on Sept. 5, which was created by former Photo Editor and current Assistant Managing Editor Wei Lin and former Graphics Editor Keri O’Mara, and Oct. 17, which was created by Online Editor Michael Yu and O’Mara, respectively. O’Mara and former Scene Editor Allie Tollaksen won third place in the Best Informational Graphic category for their “Notre Dame Style Guide.”
The Photo department, led by Lin, earned three awards, including first place in the Best Sports Photo category for former Assistant Managing Editor Kevin Song’s “Corey Robinson: The Catch.” Photographer and news writer Emily McConville won third in the same category for “Redfield Comforts McDaniel,” and former Photo Editor Grant Tobin earned third place in the Best Feature Photo category for “Sad Muffet.”
Song won second place for Best Overall Website design for ndsmcobserver.com, which was launched last January. Song and Yu won third place for Best Special Presentation for the Commencement 2014 feature website, while Multimedia Editor Brian Lach won second place in the Best Video category for “Shamrock Series: Indianapolis.”
