Student Journalists Beat Elite Universities in National Journalism Awards
Student journalists from Inside Fullerton and The Hornet, publications of Fullerton College’s journalism program, have earned top honors, beating out prestigious universities like Harvard and UCLA at the national College Media Convention. On Oct. 31, 2023, journalists from Inside Fullerton student magazine received first place awards for best magazine cover and best magazine illustration. This is the second year in a row Inside Fullerton has won this first place national award for the magazine cover. The Hornet student news outlet also scored first place wins for best sports multimedia story and best news website front page in competitions among other two-year colleges nationally.
In total, the two publications gained 27 awards from the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association for work during the 2022-23 academic year in design, newswriting, sports writing, feature writing, investigative reporting, diversity coverage, video, photography, headline writing and web layout.
The prestigious Multiplatform Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press was awarded to Inside Fullerton, while The Hornet was a finalist for the Online Pacemaker award. Both publications also secured second place “Best in Show” awards for print magazine and news website.
Inside Fullerton editor-in-chief Mariana Ramos, who is in her final semester on the magazine, shared the first-place magazine cover design award for the conceptual design she created with former editor-in-chief Ian Winstanley and former creative director Jett Shim for the cover story, “The Trials of Critical Race Theory.” Winstanley and Shim also shared the first-place award for illustration for the story “The JuCo Struggle,” and Shim won an additional first place award for magazine spread.
The Hornet’s editor-in-chief Jake Rhodes and sports editor Quinn Cisneros, along with their colleagues, Hornet photographer Yasmin Sotelo and former editor-in-chief Gerardo Chagolla, won first place for their multimedia package covering the Hornets’ men’s basketball team’s state championship.
The Fullerton College journalism program is the oldest collegiate journalism program in Orange County and one of the oldest in the state. The Hornet student news outlet recently hosted its centennial celebration. The newspaper was first published in 1923 and continues as a fully digital operation with daily news stories posted during each semester.
Inside Fullerton magazine is a glossy print and digital publication distributed every semester by Fullerton College journalism students. Print copies are available in the blue newsstands on campus and at local businesses. The Fall 2023 issue is set to launch in December 2023.
The College Media Convention is a biannual event hosted by The Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association, two leading college media organizations in the country.
Below is a complete list of categories for which the students are finalists or award-winners:
Associated Collegiate Press 2023 Pacemaker Awards:
Competing nationally with either two-year or four-year schools, depending on the category
PACEMAKER WINNER – Multiplatform Pacemaker (two-year) – Inside Fullerton
FIRST PLACE – Magazine Cover (competing with four-year schools nationally) – Jett Shim, Ian Winstanley, Mariana Ramos
FIRST PLACE – Illustration (competing with four-year schools nationally) – Jett Shim, Ian Winstanley
SECOND PLACE – Best in Show – Two-year website – The Hornet (competing with two-year schools present at the Fall 2023 Atlanta convention)
SECOND PLACE – Best in Show – Two-year magazine – Inside Fullerton (competing with two-year schools present at the Fall 2023 Atlanta convention)
HONORABLE MENTION – Reporter of the Year, two-year college – Gerardo Chagolla
FINALIST – Magazine Pacemaker (two-year) – Ian Winstanley, Mariana Escoto, editors-in-chief
FINALIST- Website Pacemaker (two-year) – Gerardo Chagolla, Jake Rhodes, editors-in-chief
College Media Association 2023 Pinnacle Awards:
(competing nationally with two-year schools and, in some categories, competing with both two-years and four-year schools with under 3,000 enrollment)
FIRST PLACE – News Website Front Page – The Hornet
FIRST PLACE – Magazine Cover – Jett Shim, Ian Winstanley, Mariana Ramos
FIRST PLACE – Sports Multimedia Story – Jake Rhodes, Gerardo Chagolla, Yasmin Sotelo, Quinn Cisneros
FIRST PLACE and HONORABLE MENTION – Magazine Spread – Jett Shim, Magazine Spread – Jett Shim
SECOND PLACE – News Website of the Year (competing nationally with two-year colleges and four-year colleges with under 3,000 people) – Gerardo Chagolla, Sara Leon, Jake Rhodes
SECOND PLACE – Feature Magazine of the Year – Jett Shim, Ian Winstanley, Mariana Ramos
SECOND PLACE – General News Story – Gerardo Chagolla
SECOND PLACE – Photo Package – Yasmin Sotelo
SECOND PLACE – Profile – Mariana Ramos
SECOND PLACE – Sports Investigative Story – Jake Rhodes, Pedro Saravia, Quinn Cisneros
THIRD PLACE – Feature Story – Mariana Ramos
THIRD PLACE – Three-minute News Video – Bryan Chavez
HONORABLE MENTION – Best Headline – Mariana Ramos & Ian Winstanley
HONORABLE MENTION – Breaking News Coverage of Diversity – Guadalupe Gonzalez
HONORABLE MENTION – Feature Story – Mikey Moran
HONORABLE MENTION – General News Story – Gerardo Chagolla, Pedro Saravia
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Game Story – Jake Rhodes
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Web Section – Jake Rhodes
Journalism Association of Community Colleges 2023 SoCal Publication Awards:
Competing with two-year schools in the Southern California region
FIRST PLACE – Magazine News Feature, Mariana Ramos
FIRST PLACE – Magazine Illustration, Jett Shim
FIRST PLACE – Online Photo Essay, Yasmin Sotelo
SECOND PLACE – Photo Illustration, Logan Stupin & Jett Shim
SECOND PLACE – Video Journalism, Bryan Chavez
THIRD PLACE – Magazine Opinion Story, Denise Grande
THIRD PLACE – Magazine Profile, Olivia Peña
THIRD PLACE – Photo illustration, Jett Shim, Logan Stupin, Ian Winstanley
FOURTH PLACE – Magazine Photo Essay, Logan Stupin, Holden Remme, Jett Shim
FOURTH PLACE – Sports Feature Photo, Yasmin Sotelo
HONORABLE MENTION – Magazine Cover, Jett Shim, Mariana Ramos, Ian Winstanley
HONORABLE MENTION – Magazine Opinion Story, Olivia Peña
HONORABLE MENTION – Opinion Story, Dana Rose Crystal
HONORABLE MENTION – Podcast, Jake Rhodes, Sara Leon, Gerardo Chagolla, Pedro Saravia, Quinn Cisneros
HONORABLE MENTION – Profile Feature Story, Sara Leon
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Feature Photo, Yasmin Sotelo
MERITORIOUS AWARD – Enterprise News Series, Jake Rhodes, Pedro Saravia, Quinn Cisneros
GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD – Online News Site, The Hornet
GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD – Magazine, Inside Fullerton
Journalism Association of Community Colleges 2023 SoCal On-the-Spot Competition:
Competing with attendees from two-year SoCal schools in day-of competitions
SECOND PLACE – Feature Photo, Ronette Johnson
THIRD PLACE – Newswriting, Guadalupe Gonzalez
HONORABLE MENTION – Copyediting, Guadalupe Gonzalez
