Student Newspaper Named Finalist for National Award

The Pacemaker - the highest award given to college media and considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism - will be awarded to the top 20 newspapers at the National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C., Oct. 24-28, 2007.  The Pacemaker judges were editors and reporters from The Washington Post. This marks the first time that Cardinal Points has been named a Pacemaker Finalist.

Newspapers from the 2006-2007 academic year were judged for this competition. The staff consisted of the following: Dan Shepard '07, Editor in Chief; Ryan Hutchins '08, Managing Editor; Ryan Hayner '09, News Editor; Michelle Besaw '08 and Sam Hollingsworth '07, Associate News Editors; Josh Cameron '09, Fuse Editor; Carolyn Strauss, Associate Fuse Editor; Colleen Sheehy '08, Sports Editor; Mark Misiak '07, Associate Sports Editor; Todd Costello '07, Opinions Editor; Holly Boname '07 and Michael Pitts '08, Photo Editors; Shawn W. Murphy, Faculty Adviser.

Dan Shepard, Editor in Chief during the 2006-07 academic year, got the news while at work as a copy editor at Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y. "Almost everyday, the Pacemaker award came up in conversation, but it was always just in passing," he said. "I always thought All-American was attainable each semester, but never thought I'd get the call that we were in the race for Pacemaker. The staff was absolutely amazing, and I couldn't have asked for any more from them. Congratulations to everyone on the staff - you did a wonderful job."

Ryan Hutchins, the paper's Managing Editor last year said, "I was ecstatic when I realized we were among this year's crop of Pacemaker finalists, some of the most respected college newspapers in the nation. It is refreshing to have our work recognized at a national level and I hope we can continue to produce a phenomenal newspaper that best serves its readers."

Ryan Hayner, last year's News Editor, noted the sweat equity that goes into putting out 22 issues of Cardinal Points each year. "I won't say something like 'I can't believe it' because that would mean I thought we were a long shot. We earned this," he said. "This staff works hard day-in and day-out to put together the newspaper. It's especially nice after all that we've done, especially the long, sleepless nights and the 50-70 hour work weeks."

Cardinal Points' Faculty Adviser Shawn W. Murphy said, "While a Pacemaker plaque will be handed to last year's deserving staff in recognition of the efforts of the entire staff, it is an award to be shared with a decade's worth of hard-working Cardinal Pointers who made incremental improvements to the paper to get it to the level of quality at which it is currently." The is the second Newspaper Pacemaker Finalist award for Cardinal Points' faculty adviser Murphy, who also was adviser to The Midland at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Neb., in 1995.

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