Whitman Pioneer named “Best in Show”
Pictured with the national “Best of Show” trophy and certificate are (from left) Gillian Frew ’11, Pioneer’s director of writing; Kim Sommers ’11, editor-in-chief; Logan Aimone, executive director of Associated Collegiate Press and Molly Smith ’11, city editor.
The Whitman College Pioneer was awarded ‘Best of Show’ Web site for 2009, by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of college journalists, at their 25th annual National College Journalism Convention. The Pioneer also received second place for ‘Best of Show’ Podcast.
Entrants for the ‘Best of Show’ Web site were judged by a panel of professionals based on general design, navigation, writing/editing, content, graphics and interactivity. The Pioneer took first place over much larger schools with established journalism programs such as the University of California Berkley, the University of California Los Angeles, and the University of Miami, among others. A complete list of runners up can be viewed on the ACP’s Web site.
The Pioneer’s Web site was recently redesigned and launched in January 2009, through an independent contract with Whitman College’s Web Content Specialist, Phil Silouan Thompson. In remaking the site The Pioneer wanted to create something that could be used as the homepage for Whitman students. By getting a fresh Wordpress design and by creating a place for photo galleries, a campus calendar, student forums, featured videos, and athlete blogs, among other interactive multimedia elements, they were able to do this.
Since the new site was launched, The Pioneer and KWCW, Whitman’s student radio station, have entered into a partnership to create a weekly News show. The show, Pioneer/KWCW News, airs bi-weekly on Fridays and Mondays at 5 p.m. and can be heard on KWCW at 90.5 KWCW FM or on The Pioneer’s Web site as a podcast. Only three shows into existence, the new podcast took second place at the convention.
The 2009 National College Journalism Convention was held in San Diego, California from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 and featured guest speakers from The San Diego Union Tribune and The LA Weekly, among others. The convention provided students opportunities to attend journalism workshops and to network with professionals and peers.
Over 900 student journalists from 130 colleges and universities nationwide were in attendance. This was the first year Whitman participated in the convention.
The Pioneer was able to attend this conference and redesign their Web site with the support of Whitman alumna Megan Salzman Medica, ‘81, and John Medica.
