Best Newspaper (Private Colleges)

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Best Newspaper (Private Colleges)
     Winner of the past three "Best of Florida Schools" Awards in this category, Stetson University’s Reporter, which produces a feisty weekly, earns our kudos for what it does with what it has.
     The Reporter has found a secret weapon to overcome the usual annual staff turnover and quality-dip quandary: most key Reporter editors are second-year students. Editor in Chief Kevin Hale, a sophomore, says he may be the youngest Reporter editor ever.
     Along with these young leaders come lots of fresh ideas. "When we go through slugs, our story ideas, we focus on the angle," Hale says. "What’s the impact to students? Why is it important? We never write anything that we don’t strongly believe in, and we don’t pull back punches."
     Hale says the paper is trying to better portray the atmosphere of what’s happening on campus. "We actually ran two sports articles on the front page recently, as we had just beaten our big rival UCF in basketball," he says.
     Director of Student Life Darald Stubbs says the paper has continued to improve. "They have implemented a variety of follow-up and accountability measures so that students and administrators see them as a credible and unbiased source of information," he says.
     The editors say they’re proud of "Making the grade," a look at the school’s new consensual-relations policy, says former Editor in Chief Jeff Hamrick, who served as for two years until December 2000. "Our designers called on staff members to stage quasi-sexual photographs to attract attention. To make the story accessible, the package included hypothetical scenarios about various potential policy violations."
     Hamrick says another series had a profound impact. The first indicted the academic quality of Stetson’s honors program. "The honors program director called for the program’s mission to be re-examined and for the program’s curriculum to be changed," Hamrick says. Two more editorials followed: a staff-penned piece blasting academic quality and another offering a five-point plan for solving the problem. "These columns produced responses from faculty members and helped focus a growing discussion," he says.
     The Reporter’s electronic companion can call itself the "best-looking site" among any campus paper in Florida. Hale and Chief Designer Brian Campbell scrapped the previous format, using their digital arts class skills to come up with a clever new look.
     In her short six-month tenure, Advisor Holli Berry says she’s seen the paper improve in key areas. "It looks like they’re moving to constructive criticism and not beating down," she says. "They’re an unbelievable paper for what they crank out."
     Even though The Reporter is riding a four-year "Best of" winning streak, Hale says his team often feels under-appreciated. "People kind of expect the news to get out," he says. Contact The Reporter at reporter@stetson.edu or visit http://reporter.stetson.edu.

Runner-up

Honorable Mentions

     The Crimson of Florida Institute of Technology is back on track and on schedule after a number of years of spotty reporting quality and an inconsistent publishing calendar.
     Organization may be where The Crimson made its most impressive strides. James Liakus, who served as chief from January to December 2000, says last year’s editors were merely glorified writers. "This year our editors assign stories, recruit new writers, and manage their section," he says. "For a paper at a tech school of our size where the staff is made up of mostly engineers and scientists, our paper can’t be beat."
     Faculty Advisor Bill Gabrenya complimented his students for their foresight in planning for the inevitable staff transition. "The staff planned to do a mid-year change so that the new editor wouldn't be starting out cold," he says.
     The Crimson assesses reader opinion through e-mail, letters, and word of mouth—but this year the paper reached further. "We enlisted the help of the science and technology classes," Liakus says. "Groups of students have agreed to do research and give us proposals on how we can improve the paper."
     In Spring 2000, The Crimson criticized Florida Tech’s plan to drop physical education classes, sparking protests by students. "That eventually led to the administration reversing their decision," Liakus says. The top story in one Fall 2000 issue, "The cost of washing rising," explored why the charge to use campus laundry machines spiked.
Contact The Crimson at http://crimson.fit.edu or at crimson@crimson.fit.edu.
     In Lakeland, The Southern at Florida Southern College has become the pulse of campus, says Managing Editor Raymond Beasock. "People actually smile to see the paper," he says. "I see everyone reading The Southern with interest and not just skimming over it. Last year, I thought the paper was vanilla, this year our editorial writer has attacked campus problems, while our news staff has brought more credibility."
     The Southern’s report on deficiencies in the Association of Campus Entertainment brought about the most change, Beasock says. "Students had complained about being treated like children at ACE events and that the performers weren’t that good," he says. "After several letters to the editor, ACE stepped up and started bringing better entertainment to campus."
     Advisor Marie Hardin says the paper doesn’t shy away from tough issues such as the college’s recent decision to explore becoming a university. "Although not always a favorite of the administration, the paper certainly has its respect," she says.
     Beasock says The Southern has achieved the ultimate equilibrium on campus. As he says, "We attack and support with equal ferocity."
Contact Beasock at gnova@aol.com.

     At Jacksonville University, The Navigator has slipped slightly, but still produces a fun-to-read weekly. Editor in Chief Emily Baran says her paper’s coverage of the murder of a JU football player most-impacted the campus community. The paper published a special "Remembering Rico" photo spread in the issue reporting wide receive Rico Tillman’s death.
     On a lighter note, Baran claims The Navigator’s weekly column "Babbling with Bridgette" has been her publication’s hottest feature. "The column offers frank, real-life advice to a myriad of problems facing students," she says.
Contact The Navigator at navigatorju@hotmail.com.

     At Nova Southeastern University, the current Knight incarnation is, oh, about a billion-times better than two or three years ago. The weekly, led until this spring by Piper Griff, mainly serves the NSU’s undergraduate population. Some constructive criticism: Knight editors should try smaller headlines and avoid the dreaded tombstones [headlines published side-by-side].
Contact The Knight at (954) 262-8455.

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