The ACP Pacemaker 10

THE PACEMAKER
Recognizing excellence in student media since 1927.
ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS
Logan Aimone, Executive Director
Saturday, October 30, 2010

INTRODUCTION
The Pacemaker is the highest honor
in collegiate journalism. For decades, it has
recognized trend-setters and go-getters, effort
and enterprise, achievement and talent.
Today, the Pacemaker continues to recognize
the best college student work in the nation.

KEEP IN MIND…
The images seen in this presentation are
Pacemaker Finalists from the 2009-10
academic year plus 2009 yearbooks.
Winners will be announced
at Saturday’s awards ceremony.
Inclusion of a publication in this presentation does not
indicate status as a winner. Do not read anything into
whether an example was included here.

WHO’S JUDGING?
Pacemaker judges are professionals working in media as
well as a range of experts familiar with student media.
Judges for the 2010 ACP Pacemakers included working
professionals from the Washington, D.C., area;Texas
Monthly; and Milkweed Editions.

WHO’S JUDGING?
Judging is by team.We ask the media organization to
compile a group with representation from various
departments (writer, editor, designer, photographer, etc.).
Entries are judged holistically.There is not a rubric with
points attached to certain criteria.
Judging is by nature somewhat subjective based on
established standards of collegiate journalism.

HOW DOTHEY JUDGE?
• The number of Pacemaker finalists and winners is
proportional to the number of entries.
• The number is not fixed each year, but about half of the
finalists will be named winners.
• This is a contest, not a critique.
• ACP asks judges to provide general feedback on the finalists.
Some teams are more thorough. Comments will be shared on
our website as part of the winners gallery and inThe
Pacemaker book.

WHAT DOTHEY JUDGE?
• Content
• Quality of writing and editing
• Presentation: Layout and design
• Photography, art and graphics
• Reporting:Type and depth (newspaper)
• Editorial Leadership (newspaper)
• Overall concept or theme (yearbook, magazine)

CONTENT & COVERAGE
• The publication should accurately reﬂect all aspects of student
life, from academics to sports, arts to community news.
• College newspapers should emphasize the use of locally
generated copy (nonwire).

CONTENT & COVERAGE
The newspaper should reﬂect
a combination of what’s
happening with other
information the audience
needs to know.Treat different
sides of the story fairly.
Golden Gate [X]press
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, Calif.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
The newspaper is a watchdog
of the campus leadership and
power centers. Place the news
in tangible terms, in context
and in perspective. Help
readers understand what the
news means.
Red & Black
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
A news section should
present a nice mix of hard
and softer news stories. Page
One supplies a good
opportunity to display this
variety and to set the agenda
or prioritize the news items.
The Eastern Progress
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, Ky.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Graphic representations and
alternate story forms are
increasingly popular ways to
communicate the news.
Poynter research also says
they increase reader
understanding of the topic
and retention of the news.
The State News
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Mich.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Use headlines and other
display text to deliver the
summary of the news in a
concise way.
The Nevada Sagebrush
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nev.

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Feature magazines — either
stand-alone or news
companions — allow an
opportunity to showcase an
important topic that may or
may not be pegged to a news
event.
Fusion
Kent State University
Kent, Ohio

CONTENT & COVERAGE
Yearbooks have the ability to handle topics as
trends rather than daily or weekly updates.
Royal Purple
Kansas State
University
Manhattan, Kan.

WRITING & REPORTING
• Writing should be crisp. Reporting must be thorough.
• Copy should be clean and edited for consistent style.

PRESENTATION:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
• The publication should have a clean and contemporary look.
• Visual hierarchy is established.

PRESENTATION
It’s not always about the words.White space and
images set the tone.
Flux
University of
Oregon
Eugene, Ore.

PRESENTATION
The cover image has to sell
the reader and inform about
the contents.Tease interior
stories without distracting
from the centerpiece content.
Spinnaker
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, Fla.

PRESENTATION
Classic modular design gets
tweaked with a half-page
photo above the fold, a
nontraditional ﬂag and
numerous entry points.With
similarity to a Web site, this
page feels contemporary.
The Daily News
Ball State University
Muncie, Ind.

PRESENTATION
Several stories compete for
attention on this page, but
each gets a fair shot at
readers’ attention.Again, white
space provides the emphasis
for a softer centerpiece
package.
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind.

PRESENTATION
Inside section fronts can be a
place to experiment and
show off talent in
presentation.This page lays
out the weekend in sports for
the reader.
Central Michigan Life
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Mich.

PRESENTATION
An anniversary is marked with
a bold centerpiece package.
Discipline with type and color
is evident on this page.
The Advocate
Contra Costa College
San Pablo, Calif.

PRESENTATION
Clever graphics, a controlled color palette and
strong use of white space attract attention.
American River
Review
American River
College
Sacramento, Calif.

PHOTOGRAPHY,
ART & GRAPHICS
• Visuals enhance the verbal content and draw in the reader.
• Quality of photos and art is technically excellent.

PHOTO,ART & GRAPHICS
Illustrative art gets noticed.
The small detail of the
maroon-and-gold tie clue the
reader the story is about a
campus ofﬁcial.
The State News
Arizona State University
Tempe,Ariz.

Visual representations of the
news peg help communicate
the message to the reader.
Quality images from past and
present are nice, too.
The Flare
Kilgore College
Kilgore,Texas

A singular, isolated image
often has impact. Here, the
sports preview is displayed
with attention to the images
with backgrounds knocked
out and ample white space.
The Daily Northwestern
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.

Playful use of a contemporary
typeface for text and
ornaments help tell the story.
Note the narrow, restrained
use of color.
Round Up
Baylor University
Waco,Texas

Modeled art gets attention
because it departs from
traditional photo or
illustrations. Good use of type
enhances the page.
F
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Ill.

The type treatment in this division page is on
trend.
Legenda
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Mass.

REPORTING:
TYPE & DEPTH
• Major stories should show evidence of multiple sources.
• Series or in-depth pieces should be prominent.

REPORTING
Provide comprehensive
coverage through enterprise
and depth pieces that
enhance the regular spot
news coverage.
El Don
Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, Calif.

REPORTING
Interesting and useful
investigative reports result
from public records and
databases. Having a section
dedicated to business forces
stories on this topic to be
included regularly, not just
when the news is huge.
Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind.

REPORTING
When the news event merits
comprehensive coverage,
allocating all of Page One is a
clue to readers the event is
signiﬁcant.Approach the story
from multiple angles, and
continue with follow-up
coverage. in subsequent
editions.
The Daily Collegian
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pa.

REPORTING
An enterprise piece on the
university’s use of a small
airplane to transport campus
ofﬁcials, rather than driving, is
exactly the type of watchdog
role for the paper.
Red & Black
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.

EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
• Opinion pages should be alive with a variety of content: staff
editorials, cartoons, letters and personal columns.
• Content should be consequential.

CONCEPT /THEME
• Concept uniﬁes coverage and content.
• Theme is relevant to current year or issue and provides
structure for storytelling.

DESIGN OFTHEYEAR
Finalists in Illustration, Infographic, Newspaper Page One
and Newspaper Page/Spread categories

ILLUSTRATION
Courtney O’Connell
Ibis
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Fla.

ILLUSTRATION
Brett Miotti
SCAN
Savannah College of Art and Design – Atlanta
Atlanta, Ga.

ILLUSTRATION
Erik Rodriguez
The Columbia Chronicle
Columbia College
Chicago, Ill.

ILLUSTRATION
Olivia Liendo
F Newsmagazine
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Ill.

ILLUSTRATION
Tom Tian
Chicago Maroon
University of Chicago
Chicago, Ill.

ILLUSTRATION
Kyle Lewis
The Daily News
Muncie, Ind.

INFOGRAPHIC
Bradley Kasten, Jameson Sempey
Cardinal Points
State University of NewYork at Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, N.Y.

INFOGRAPHIC
Hon Lung Chu
The Chronicle
Duke University
Durham, N.C.

INFOGRAPHIC
Caroline Matthews
Pendulum
Elon University
Elon, N.C.

INFOGRAPHIC
Marissa Hall and Thea Blesener
The Shorthorn
University ofTexas at Arlington
Arlington,Texas

INFOGRAPHIC
Steve Hunt, Marianne Jolley,Alyssa Watson
The Daily Universe
BrighamYoung University
Provo, Utah

INFOGRAPHIC
Colleen Kirsten
The Daily
University of Washington
Seattle,Wash.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Simone Wilson and Reza Farazmand
UCSD Guardian
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, Calif.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Larry Buchanan
Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Kyle Lewis
The Daily News
Muncie, Ind.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Luke Shuman
Echo
Taylor University
Upland, Ind.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
J.D. Swiger and Evan Andrews
The Batallion
Texas A&M University
College Station,Texas

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Colleen Kirsten
The Daily
Seattle,Wash.

NEWSPAPER PAGE ONE
Emily Ku
UCSD Guardian
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, Calif.

NEWSPAPER PAGE / SPREAD
Becky Rother
The Daily News
Muncie, Ind.

Roy Bazan
The Pan American
University ofTexas Pan American
Edinburg,Texas

Joseph Tolman, Jackie Hicken, Leah Wasson, Erin Kulesus and Stephanie Edwards
The Daily Universe
BrighamYoung University
Provo, Utah

Marlee Gross
The Daily
Seattle,Wash.

Madison McCord
The Communicator
Spokane Falls Community College
Spokane,Wash.

SOME WAYSTO IMPROVE
• Work on the content. Dig around your campus and
community for real stories. Don’t overplay or sensationalize.
Cover all aspects and all groups.
• Pay attention to photography and graphics.
These two areas help your publication stand out from others.
Think of the best way to tell a story for readers to read and
understand.

SOME WAYSTO IMPROVE
• Details make the difference. Typography, white space,
style — these are what set Pacemakers apart.
• Have a strong editorial voice. Make the editorial
pages a lively forum on substantive topics.
• Make every story polished. Write tight. Readers will
read long if it’s good. Put columnists on a word count diet.

WHAT’S NEXT?
The 2010 Pacemaker and individual contest winners
will be announced Saturday afternoon.
Enter your student media in the 2011 contests.
Watch your e-mail and our Web site for deadlines
and entry forms.

QUESTIONS?
Thanks!
E-mail: logan@studentpress.org
Online: slideshare.net/loganaimone

The ACP Pacemaker 10

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