The University of Wisconsin-Stout student newspaper and its writers recently won three state awards.
The Stoutonia, a bi-weekly publication, took a first, second and third in the collegiate Division B of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association annual contest. An awards ceremony was held April 12-13 in Madison.
The awards were based on content produced during the 2016-17 academic year.
The first place was in the in-depth story category. Stoutonia was recognized for its coverage of the October 2016 death of student Hussain Alnahdi, of Saudi Arabia.
The writers were Ryan Cook, of Chanhassen, Minn.; Joseph Gulotta, of Franklin; Matthew Gundrum, of Franklin; Megan Hazuga, of Eau Claire; and Shannon Hoyt, of Baldwin. Cook and Gundrum graduated in 2017.
Gundrum, who was Stoutonia editor in 2016-17, said the staff approached its coverage as “one comprehensive story that was consistently updated with new details. We tried to be as thorough as possible with our reporting and photography.
“The tragic nature of this event prompted us to leave no stone unturned, and I think that's why we ended up winning for in-depth coverage. We had people on it constantly, hence the reason why there are multiple authors tied to the story,” Gundrum said.
The second place was for general excellence. Gundrum, a May 2017 graduate now employed as a communications specialist at UW-Stout in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, said his goal was to improve the quality of the paper.
“I came into my editor-in-chief position with a vision for a better paper, and I hired the best people possible to execute that vision. Talent definitely played a role because we had some great people working on the paper's design, web presence and writing. I would attribute this award to team synergy as well. I made it a priority to build our team early in the semester, and the result was a productive group of people who were able to successfully solve problems and create quality content,” he said.
The third place was for an arts and entertainment story, written by Hoyt, who is Stoutonia’s 2017-18 editor. She reviewed the Bon Iver album “22, A Million,” calling it “a layered soundtrack of new discoveries, ones found through productive mayhem.”
The Stoutonia, founded in 1915, has a staff of more than 30 students. Many of them are majoring in professional communication and emerging media, which has a concentration in applied journalism.
“We are continuously searching for stories and angles that are meaningful to the campus community,” said Hoyt, who has worked at the paper for three years. “We are a voice on campus for those who don’t have the ability to reach outside their communication pools.”
Hoyt will graduate in May and begin work full time as a multimedia journalist for WQOW TV 18 in Eau Claire.
The Stoutonia adviser is Associate Professor Kate Edenborg, English and philosophy department.
“The Stoutonia staff has had some complex breaking stories these last few years, and I’ve been so proud with how they’ve handled them. I’m so glad that their work is being recognized,” Edenborg said.
“Our campus newspaper is different than many I’ve seen at other colleges. While many on the staff are from our professional communication and emerging media program, we have students from a variety of other programs on campus as well, and I believe this makes the Stoutonia a stronger publication.”
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