Appalachian Student News Agency Receives Numerous National Awards | USS News

The Appalachians participated in three prestigious collegiate media competitions: the ACP Pacemaker and Individual Awards, the CMA Pinnacle Awards and the ACP Best in Show Awards.

The ACP Individual Awards “recognize the highest levels of national achievement within an academic year,” and nominations are judged by “professionals with experience and expertise” in each category, according to the ACP. In this competition, The Appalachians received eight accolades for their work during the 2020-2021 academic year.

The CMA Pinnacle Awards “honor top academic media organizations and individual work,” according to its website, and include two broad categories: organizational and individual. At the Pinnacles competition, The Appalachians received five awards for his work during the 2020-2021 academic year.

“The past year has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone, and it has been an equally difficult time running a student-run newspaper with COVID-19, fights for racial justice and a savage election affecting our lives. daily on campus, ”said Jackie Park, who was editor-in-chief of The Appalachians during the academic year 2020-2021. “However, these ACP and CMA awards demonstrate that our hard work in educating the student body and the App State community was worth it and was of high quality. I’m so proud of everyone at The Appalachians for all this recognition and it is such a joy to see all the work that is going on this school year.

Park, who graduated from App State in May 2021, now works as a content marketing specialist at Ekos, a software company run by App-alum and based in Charlotte.

The ACP Best in Show award winners “represent the best student media represented at the virtual convention,” said Ron Johnson, director of communications for ACP. Over 600 students and advisors were registered at the convention, representing universities across North America, from San Diego, California, to Ontario, Canada.

The Best in Show Awards recognize achievement in organizational and individual competition categories, ranging from Best Newspaper to Best Social Justice Reporting, and every university registered at the convention is eligible to compete for the Best in Show Awards. The Best in Show Awards are intended for works mainly produced from June to October 2021.

The Appalachians competed in the categories for grandes écoles, for student populations of over 10,000. In the ACP Best in Show competition, The Appalachians won eight awards and Peel’s Literature and Art Review received a distinction.

“I am extremely proud of every student in The Appalachians not just for these awards, but for the work they do every day to keep our campus and our community informed, ”said Emily Broyles, editor-in-chief of The Appalachians for the academic year 2021-2022. “Through social, academic and even organizational transitions this year, our staff have remained focused on serving readers. The Appalachians wouldn’t be nationally recognized today if it weren’t for the many student journalists and leaders before. It is an honor to represent The Appalachians and App State today, and it is a lesson in humility to see the quality journalism produced by these staff be applauded.

The following awards were presented to The Appalachian by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) for their annual national Pacemaker & Individual Awards competition.

ACP individual awards 2021

Advertisement of the year:

Special Section of the Journal / Advertising: Honorable Mention, The Appalachian, Best of Boone 2021 edition, staff (

• Rate Card: Honorable Mention, The Appalachian, Media Kit 2020-2021, Shelly Banz (issuu.com/theappalachian/docs/media_kit_20_21)

Broadcast story of the year:

Sports History: Honorable Mention, “Boone Bigfoots”, Garrett Davenport, Appalachian Weekly News / The Appalachian

Breaking News: Honorable Mention, “Enforcement State Student Dies from Complications of COVID-19,” Mickey Hutchings and Jackie Park,

Report on social networks: fifth place, “Covering the impasse of the police”, Jackie Park, Emily Broyles, Jake Markland, Xanayra Marin-Lopez,

Multimedia story of the year

Multimedia Sports History: Second Place, “State Football Super Seniors App: How the Pandemic Created a Rare Opportunity”, Silas Albright,

Honorable Mention, “Dashboard: Number of COVID Cases in Enforcement State and Watauga County,” Moss Brennan and Abi Pepin,

The following awards were presented to The Appalachian by the College Media Association (CMA) for their annual National Pinnacle Awards competition.

Four-Year TV Station of the Year: Honorable Mention, Staff,

Best Online Infographic: Third Place, COVID-19 Scoreboard, Moss Brennan and Abi Pepin,

Best Multimedia News Article: Second Place, “An Afternoon of Disagreement”, Jackie Park, Jake Markland, Max Correa, Andy McLean, Becca Bridges,

Best Editorial: Second Place, “EDITORIAL: Students, Administrators, We Call on You to Stop COVID-19 in Boone – It’s a Matter of Life and Death,” personal,

The following awards were presented to The Appalachian by The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) for their annual Best of Show convention competition.

2021 ACP Best in Show Awards

Journal, Four-year campus with over 10,000 students

• spring 2021 edition, staff

Website, more than 10,000 students

• , Fee schedule 2021-2022, Shelly Banz, Jessica Kimes, Efrain Arias-Media Jr.

Advertising Special Newspaper Section

• Best of Boone 2021 Edition, staff

“Appalachian Dispatch, COVID-19 Edition: Student Media and the Year Like No Other”, Jackie Park and Mickey Hutchings

Presentation of news / multimedia articles

• “Building the plane while we fly it”, Jackie Park and Mickey Hutchings (theappalachianonline.com/building-the-plane-as-we-fly-it/)
• Sixth place,

, “Shots of history”, Emily Broyles, Jake Markland, Jesse Barber, Max Correa (theappalachianonline.com/shots-of-history/)