UC student newspaper named best in its class

The Patriot, the student newspaper at the University of the Cumberlands, has been named the best in its class.

Members of The Patriot staff hold up some of their awards, including a first place award for General Excellence, after the Kentucky Press Association’s annual awards dinner Friday.

The paper received 22 Excellence in Kentucky Newspaper Awards during the Kentucky Press Association’s annual awards banquet Friday, including a first place General Excellence award in the student publications class one category.

The Patriot received a total of eight first place awards, nine second place awards, three third place awards and one certificate of merit.

“It was an honor to see my student staff receive so many awards from the Kentucky Press Association this year. We were thrilled to bring home a first place award for the best college newspaper in the state.” said Jeremiah Massengale, assistant professor of communication at UC and The Patriot’s faculty advisor.

“It’s encouraging for these talented student journalists, and I’m happy they earned some recognition for their countless hours of hard work at The Patriot.”

This is the first time the paper has received the first place General Excellence award.

The paper bested its total of 14 awards last year, including a second place finish in the General Excellence category.

For the first time in its 15 years of existence, The Patriot newspaper became a weekly publication in the fall semester of 2017.

“I’m tremendously proud of the team I get to be a part of and it’s fantastic to see all of their hard work pay off in such a validating way.” said Eric Ford Edwards, a UC senior and The Patriot’s editor-in-chief.

“We couldn’t have achieved what we did without the hard work and direction of the previous editors, Ashton Rector and Trenton Canada. Moving forward our goal is to continue to improve upon what others have done in the past.”

Edwards lead the way with eight awards. He swept the category for best feature picture earning the first, second and third place awards.

“Wow, the emotions and clarity of their jump at the same time was mind blowing. EXCELLENT work! What the heck type of camera caught this?!” judges wrote of his first place entry.

Ford also swept the best sports picture category winning both first and second place awards.

In addition, Ford garnered second and third place awards in the category of best general news picture.

“Excellent cover photo. Simply stands out from the rest of the entries. Doesn’t look staged or unframed,” judges wrote of his second place entry.

He also received a certificate of merit for best sports picture essay.

Canada received three awards, including first place awards for best feature story and best investigative story.

“This piece was very in-depth and well-written. Great job using quotes from various sources and covering various aspects of the issue well,” judges wrote about Canada’s investigative piece.

Canada also received a third place award for best graphic.

Sarah Rainous received a first place award for best sports feature story.

“This was very well-written! You did a great job setting the scene and connecting the reader with your main character in the story,” judges wrote.

Megan Willoughby received a second place award in the same category.

“Good job. Good transitions between paragraphs, good job using proper A.P. Style and in introducing the character to readers,” judges wrote.

Lydia Huggins received a first place award for best picture essay.

“This photo essay hit all the points I want answered. The who, what, when and why. Thanks for including the mention of when the photos were taken and when the play begins. Should have included a date of when the show ends, too, though. Still, excellent photos and makes we want to go see the show,” judges wrote.

Rector received second place awards for best editorial and best investigative story.

“Good job setting the scene in your opening paragraph,” judges wrote of Rector’s investigative story.

Zane Ross received a second place award for best sports story.

“Interesting! Good job getting multiple quotes from various sources and fully explaining the concept,” judges wrote.

The Patriot staff received a first place award for best use of social media, and second places awards for best front page and best headline.