Santa Monica College's student-run newspaper The Corsair earned 45 national and regional awards this month, including the prestigious Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award for overall excellence.
The Corsair was one of only five California student newspapers to receive the Pacemaker, joining UCLA, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Los Positas College and Southwestern College. Out of 90 competing colleges and universities nationwide, only 17 earned Pacemaker recognition.
"The prestigious Pacemaker recognizes overall excellence and distinguishes the top student media produced during a particular school year," according to ACP. The award, established shortly after the association's founding in 1921, is considered the most competitive and honored award in collegiate journalism.
The Corsair also won first place for Best Periodic Newspaper among community colleges nationally from the College Media Association, earning the Pinnacle Award. CMA describes Pinnacle Awards as "flagship national honors, recognizing the best student work in collegiate journalism, media production and organizational excellence."
Awards were announced at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges SoCal Conference at Cal State Northridge Oct. 11 and at MediaFest25 in Washington, D.C., Oct. 15-18.
SMC students excelled in multimedia coverage, with Jeffrey Berrios, Rafael Lopez and Jared Blair winning second place for Campus Media Engagement from CMA. Their "Corsair Corner" Instagram reels introduce staff members behind bylines.
"I looked through our Instagram, and I thought people would care more about the stories if they knew more about the people behind them," said Berrios, who commutes three hours by bus from Northridge and plans to transfer to USC.
The Corsair earned 21 state awards from JACC, six honors from ACP and 18 awards from CMA, including multiple first-place recognitions.
The advising team includes journalism instructor Sharyn Obsatz, photojournalism instructor Gerard Burkhart and social media journalism instructor Samantha Nuñez.
"These students have put in long hours, tackled difficult stories, and stayed committed to doing the work the right way," Nuñez said.
More information about joining The Corsair is available at smc.edu/journalism.
Edited by SMDP Staff