Listen Here
Column by Victoria Hansen, Pulse Student Managing Editor
hansenv@findlay.edu
I’m at a loss for words.
If your entire job consists of finding the right words to say and putting them in the right order, this is a very unfortunate situation. But after coming home from this year’s Ohio News Media Association (ONMA) Fellowship Day, I’m at an absolute loss.
Last year, the Pulse took home one award: second place for Best News Coverage. This year, we brought back seven, including runner-up for the Frank E. Deaner Award for Excellence in Collegiate Journalism.
The Pulse received a third place certificate for our web design, and Richard Mast earned third place in Best Multimedia Reporting for his Sustainability Garden package. Mast never ceases to amaze me with his video skills, and I’m so happy that he was rightfully recognized for it.
The Pulse also earned four first-place awards. I was honored to receive recognition for Opinion Writing and Best Headline (an honor that I happily share with the staff!). However, I am blown away by the two other first-place awards that the Pulse earned: Sports Coverage and News Coverage.
The Pulse was recognized for our outstanding sports coverage through the ongoing sports wraps and its in-depth stories, like the Battle of Ohio. Everybody’s taken a share in our sports coverage, I cannot thank everyone enough for all their work.
But I have to admit, I was most excited to hear that we had won the award for Best News Coverage. Of all the newspapers in our division, ours was the best, and it took every one of us to get there.
We couldn’t have earned that award if we didn’t all show up every Monday and submit our stories every Thursday.
We wouldn’t have half our articles without the help of our Media Writing and Reporting students who contribute articles that they wrote in class.
We would be lost without the help of Andrea Hoffman and Richard Mast, who aren’t official members of the Pulse, but have contributed to the paper more times than I can count.
And, of course, I have no clue where the Pulse would be without Professor Rogan. It would probably be on fire. Thank you so much for your constant dedication to the Pulse and the weekly provisions of chocolate at our meetings.
Of course, Ohio Northern University might have taken the first place Frank E. Deaner Award, but this is the first time that UF has earned the award in its history. And that’s something to celebrate.
I am so proud of this paper. I am so grateful for my colleagues for their hard work and the community for supporting our paper. I’m proud of my school, excited for what we do next, and ready for my next assignment. But maybe after a nap. After all, we had to leave campus at 7 a.m. to get to the conference on time.
Even if I don’t have the words to express how proud I am, I know one thing: On Monday, our reporters will gather, celebrate, and discuss what our stories will be for the next week. The Pulse won seven awards this year, but that’s not the end goal. It’s just the beginning.
