Student newspaper wins national Best in Show award

The student-run Baker University newspaper, the Baker Orange, received the Best in Show award in the Newspaper Four-Year Less Than Weekly category at the Associated Collegiate Press Midwinter National Convention in San Francisco. In winning the division, the Orange beat out publications from larger schools around the country, including Northeastern Illinois University, California State University, and Pace University in New York.

Orange editor Sarah Baker said that she and the rest of the newspaper staff are proud to be part of a long line of successful mass media students at Baker.

“We have at least two awards cases in Pulliam Hall along with a fireplace mantle full of awards in the newsroom itself,” Baker said. “It definitely drives staffers to put their best foot forward. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute a few more awards to the overflowing awards cases.”

Baker also said that going to conferences allows staff members to see how the Baker Orange compares to publications at other universities, as well as gain exposure to new ideas about how to innovate and improve their own publication. Dave Bostwick, associate professor and advisor for the Baker Orange, believes that Baker’s leadership has also served the staff well.

“Sarah has reignited the staff’s interest in print content and design,” Bostwick said. “We feel like the Baker Orange is an ongoing experiment to make print media seem fresh, modern, and relevant to a millennial audience. We don’t know what the future holds for the print media industry, but we received plenty of expert advice during the San Francisco conference. We are excited about this award because it suggests our program is on the right track.”

Baker University’s mass media program consistently wins state, regional, and national awards. The Orange staff garnered awards at several other conferences this academic year:

• Kansas Collegiate Media conference
  • 40 individual awards
• Great Plains Journalism conference
  • Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year
  • Great Plains Student Website of the Year
  • Great Plains Student Editor of the Year
• Tulsa Press Club
  • Student Editor in Chief of the Year
• Society of Professional Journalists regional conference
  • Seven total awards