Drake was well represented at the Iowa Newspaper Association Awards and Iowa College Media Association Contest this month, an event honoring the best of journalism in Iowa. The annual meeting was held Feb. 2–3 at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines. The two organizations partner to allow student journalists the chance to network with and learn from professionals.
The Times-Delphic received 15 awards from the Iowa College Newspaper Association, including the prestigious Iowa College Newspaper of the Year. The Times-Delphic also won first place for general excellence and was praised by judges as a “quality newspaper from front to back.” Last year, the paper won 11 awards, including the award for general excellence.
Several individual articles also received accolades. The pieces were published in the 2010–11 school year under Editor Lizzie Pine. Three Drake students received coveted first place prizes. Individual students who received recognition were:
• Becca Mataloni – first place
• Lizzie Pine – first and third places
• Ann Schnoebelen – first place
• Mary Bess Bolling – second place
• Dominic Johnson – second place
• Ryan Price – second place
• Jaclyn Wallentin – second place
• Connor McCourtney – third place
• Matt Moran – third place
Students weren’t the only Drake representatives honored. Kathleen Richardson, associate professor of journalism and director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was one of three Iowa Newspaper Association Distinguished Service Award winners. The award honored Richardson — who was a news editor and columnist at the Des Moines Register for 20 years — for her contributions to the newspaper profession and to her community.
“I am very honored and humbled that the newspaper association chose to recognize me this way,” she says.“The list of previous honorees includes many people whom I consider my personal and professional heroes, including two of my mentors, former Drake journalism professors Robert Woodward and Herb Strentz.”
Richardson is a Drake graduate; she earned her BA and MA from the SJMC and her JD from Drake Law School. In addition to her position at Drake, Richardson is executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes open government and is headquartered in Drake’s SJMC.