The awards were announced Dec. 14th but are for submissions made in October at TCCJA’s annual convention at the University of Houston Clear-Lake. AC students were not able to attend the convention this year and so did not participate in live on-site contests. Their awards are for work they did during the 2015-16 school year.
Students received several awards for work on the magazine, “AC Current,” which is published once each semester. These included a first-place prize for magazine photography for Denisha Kranthoven, third place in magazine cover design for Jp Bernal, and third for non-photographic illustration for Destiny Kranthoven. “AC Current” staff also received honorable mention for overall excellence and Bethany Zalman received honorable mention for magazine layout and design.
It is worth noting that this same fall 2015 “AC Current” also won a prestigious national student media accolade – a Pacemaker Award – from the Associated Collegiate Press last spring.
In other TCCJA completion, Jenna Gibson won second place for her story in The Ranger covering the murder-suicide of two former students. The Ranger staff also took second for headline writing.
In the broadcast category, “Jackson Street Presents,” a student-produced music showcase, received second prize for video production. David Lovejoy, Tyler Williams and Corey Cudney were the students who produced this weekly web series during the 2015-2016 school year.
Austin Ulen won second prize in audio news for his satiric look at Valentine’s Day, and Christie Rankin received honorable mention for her coverage of the student leadership retreat.
Jill Gibson and Maddisun Fowler are the advisers for AC Student Media. Gibson is also the Matney Mass Media Program coordinator and associate dean of AC’s School of Creative Arts. Fowler is the student media coordinator and instructor. Mike Haynes, who retired this summer, served as adviser during the 2015-2016 school year.
“I’m sorry our students didn’t get to compete in the live competition in Houston, but their showing in the previously published and previously broadcast contests reflects their hard work,” Gibson said. “We are looking forward to continuing the tradition of student media excellence established by Mike Haynes during his many years as adviser.”
Student Media is currently recruiting new staff for the spring 2017 semester.
For information about those staff positions or the media program, contact Gibson at jlgibson@actx.edu.