SPJ award, Florida Leader mention, AOL

I have some good news to share: I won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists in the category of editorial writing. Also, the FLorida Leader, a magazine that each year takes a look at Florida’s college newspapers, had some nice things to say about my section. (Not to mention the weird AOL-thing)

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Second place. That’s one step up from last year when I made third place.

In case you want to read the editorials the award were for, here is a list:

Martinez misquotes The Oracle in campaign ads (link)

Students have every right to question Bush’s word on draft (link)

Price of Sept. 11 memorial not justifiable for USF (link)

On top of that, the Florida Leader released their verdict on whom they deem the best Florida-based college newspaper The paper I work for didn’t make the first place, but I am more than happy with what they had to say about the paper, particularly my section: Opinion.

Best of Florida Schools 2005 Issue - Best Public College Newspapers: Runner-Up

The Oracle?University of South Florida

By our count, there are only two daily student newspapers in the state, and when you take into account design quality, level of reporting, and staff size, The Oracle at the University of South Florida is the clear winner. The difficulties associated with publishing a newspaper every weekday, even one of low quality, are innumerable. That?s why The Oracle?s consistent success is so inspiring. With a staff of only 25, a surprisingly small number for the demands of a daily, USF?s student paper has produced a superb product for years now. ?We have a hardworking and dedicated staff that tries to put out the best paper they can every night,? says Brad Bautista, associate editor.

Managing Editor Stefanie Green rightly claims that the paper?s two most popular sections are Sports and Opinions. ?Both sections provide daily coverage of local, campus-wide, nationwide, and worldwide issues that generate comment and feedback from students at the university,? she says. Opinions especially is a consistently solid department with a lively letters section and well thought-out columns.

The paper?s most problematic pages are its News section, which often encompasses only two pages. Even a daily with a small staff can get more creative with its news coverage. Florida Leader

Completely unrelated, but also quite nite: On April 5, the column I wrote on the passing of the pope (link) was picked up by the AOL News Web site.

No idea how and why they picked my column, but I certainly didn’t mind.

All in all, the last few days were pretty good. Seems like I am on the right track.