Best Newspaper
Public Colleges & Universities

Winner: The Future, University of Central Florida
Runner-Up: The Oracle, University of South Florida
Honorable Mention: The Spinnaker, Univ. of North Florida

Winner
The Future—University of Central Florida
Nostradamus, The Amazing Kreskin, and Florida Leader: What do these three names have in common besides a flair for the dramatic?

They’ve all accurately predicted the future.

At this time last year, Florida Leader predicted in its “Best of Florida Schools” Best Newspaper competition that the Central Florida Future, the independent twice-weekly publication at the University of Central Florida, could win a Pacemaker if it continued to progress as it had over the previous three years. The coveted award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism, is handed out to only a handful of student newspaper nationwide, and this year, the Future was among the nominees. Sometimes, we scare ourselves.

Ok, we’re probably not clairvoyant, but we do know a great student newspaper when we see one. Through a combination of eye-catching design, strong writing, and a student focus, the Future has risen among the ranks of Florida’s best student newspapers and in the process has become an everyday part of the lives of UCF’s student body. This steady improvement over the past four years primarily is due to its dedicated staff and an emphasis on the basics—clean, modular design, good leads, and attention to detail.

However, the paper isn’t restricting itself to the campus. With a solid foundation to build from, the Future has made strides this year at expanding its presence in the community. Although the content is still centered on the UCF students and faculty, Managing Editor Heidi DeVries says that the paper “also serves as the link from the university to the outside world, so we keep up on the major news around the world and in the community.” This doesn’t mean that the paper fills its pages with wire stores—something that’s hardly seen in this completely student-run broadsheet. Instead, they localize national and regional stories by putting a community spin on issues important to the student body.

Despite the fact that UCF is one of the fastest growing universities nationwide, and that there are a myriad of media outlets in the Orlando area, the Future remains the best source for news about the campus and its students. “No other media outlet covers UCF full time, which makes it an important outlet for information,” says Heissam Jebailey, publisher. “Oftentimes, despite the staggered issues, the Future will break a story that the local media covers later.”

Another strong department for the Future is its Op/Ed section. In order for an Opinions page to be successful, the staff editorials need to remain consistent, and the page as a whole should be balanced. According to Shannon Mau, Opinions editor, that’s exactly what this year’s Op/Ed pages have achieved. “The section is liberal, but that's what we are and that's how we like it,” she says. “However, I felt that we needed a little more balance, so we added on two opinion columns and another writer, Nathan Poekert, who is conservative.”

The balanced approach in the Op/Ed section is characteristic of a paper-wide effort to connect with students. “We seek to reflect student opinion through our lively letters page. We survey campus views with a man-on-the-street feature, and we publish the results of timely online polls conducted through our Web site,” Jebailey says. In addition, the Sports section, a department typically reserved for reporting only on the small percentage of elite athletes on campus, features regular coverage of intramural sports, which gives a much larger percentage of the student population a chance to see their names in print.

For all those newspapers with weekly Arts and Entertainment sections or inserts, take note—it’s possible to have a fun and lively section without losing your professionalism. The Future’s Thursday insert, “the indie,” is a shining example of entertainment reporting that doesn’t resort to crass humor and shock value to attract an audience. With solid reporting and tasteful humor, “the indie” adds significant value to the Thursday paper.

Runner-Up
The Oracle—University of South Florida
By our count, there are only two daily student newspapers in the state, and when you take into account design quality, level of reporting, and staff size, The Oracle at the University of South Florida is the clear winner. The difficulties associated with publishing a newspaper every weekday, even one of low quality, are innumerable. That’s why The Oracle’s consistent success is so inspiring. With a staff of only 25, a surprisingly small number for the demands of a daily, USF’s student paper has produced a superb product for years now. “We have a hardworking and dedicated staff that tries to put out the best paper they can every night,” says Brad Bautista, associate editor.

Managing Editor Stefanie Green rightly claims that the paper’s two most popular sections are Sports and Opinions. “Both sections provide daily coverage of local, campus-wide, nationwide, and worldwide issues that generate comment and feedback from students at the university,” she says. Opinions especially is a consistently solid department with a lively letters section and well thought-out columns.

The paper’s most problematic pages are its News section, which often encompasses only two pages. Even a daily with a small staff can get more creative with its news coverage.

Honorable Mention
The Spinnaker—University of North Florida
The Spinnaker at the University of North Florida isn’t flashy, and it doesn’t use color or attractive graphics. But what it does do well, especially considering its small staff, is report the news. “We ask the questions that students and faculty may not be able to ask or may not know to,” says Richard O’Bryant, editor-in-chief.

Through the use of news columns, briefs, and interviews, The Spinnaker produces a lot of content with few resources. In addition, the paper’s photography, led by Martin Buckley, is top notch.

Even though The Spinnaker has limited resources, simple design improvements and paying attention to details can significantly improve the paper’s look. Something as simple as adding a graph or getting creative with the column signatures would help to break up the often text-heavy News section.