The Pioneer wins 'Best of Show' at national college journalism convention

The Pioneer, Whitman College's weekly student-run newspaper, recently won "Best of Show" for its website at the 29th Annual Associate Collegiate Press (ACP) National College Journalism Convention, held Feb. 25-March 3 in San Francisco, Calif. 

The website was ranked first among publication websites for all colleges and universities with a student body population under 10,000. This is the fourth time in four years that The Pioneer has won an award for its website design.

At the conference, The Pioneer also received its second print award in two years. Out of all four-year weekly student newspapers, its print edition placed seventh. More than 100 colleges and universities from the United States and Canada entered the "Best in Show" contest.

Editor-in-chief Rachel Alexander '13 said she is especially proud to see that The Pioneer can compete with non-liberal arts colleges with professional journalism departments. 

"The Pioneer has improved dramatically over the course of my time at Whitman, and it's a testament to the hard work of all of our staff that we're able to compete with schools that have established journalism and communications programs."

At ACP, six students had the opportunity to participate in workshops and critiques and to attend keynote speeches from prominent members of the journalism community. This semester's conference focused particularly on reporting through a variety of platforms.

In addition to Alexander, attendees included web editor Blair Hanley Frank '13; production manager Sean McNulty '14; webmaster Ben Schaefer '14; and staff reporters Lachlan Johnson '16 and Dylan Tull '14.

"It's really gratifying to work with such a talented team every day, and I'm happy to see that recognized at a national convention," Alexander said.