Catholic Media Association Student Journalism Awards

The Beacon is a winner or finalist in several awards from the Catholic Media Association.

Congrats to @Andrew Gotshall, whose 2021 video “Easter Mass during a pandemic” won First Place in the video category for Best Presentation of Faith on Campus. Not only that, the prize is worth $500 in cash to Andrew! Woo hoo! 

William Seekamp took First Place for Best Writing-Sports for this athlete profile.

Andrew Gotshall, no doubt, also played a big role in The Beacon placing Third for team coverage of the massive power outage last year. Ryan Reynolds’ photos were also part of that entry, along with photography and reporting by now-alum Molly Lowney (’21). 

Austin De Dios won Second Place for Best Writing-News for his story about nursing students in the aftermath of the police shooting at Lents Park

Austin also won Third Place for Best Use of Graphics with an article for this story about last year’s Covid furloughs among UP staff.

University temporarily cuts salaries, furloughs staff as COVID-19 takes financial toll

Carlos Fuentes received an Honorable Mention for Best Writing-Feature for this story about profs parenting and working from home during COVID

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2022 farewell and passing on the plastic crown

A bittersweet occasion: The 2021-22 Beacon staff gathers for one last time, and EIC Austin De Dios passes the traditional Beacon plastic crown to his successor, Brie Haro.

2021-22 Editor-in-Chief Austin De Dios with his successor Brie Haro

2021-22 Beacon Editorial Board

Graduating Beacon seniors with Beacon adviser Nancy Copic

One final time together: 2021-22 Beacon staff

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Gold Circle Awards 2022

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) at Columbia University in New York has honored The Beacon with several Gold Circle Awards for digital media publications:

First Place:

Personality Profile- “Kirk Mustain: Bridge between Food and Community” by Janea Melido

Computer-generated art/illustration- “Are you experiencing social anxiety? You are not alone” by Brennan Crowder

General Humor or Commentary- “All You Never Wanted to Know About the Banjo” by Will Mulligan

Second Place:

Sports News- “The Shantay Legans Era is Officially Underway” by William Seekamp

Personal Opinion- Off-campus issues- “Jesus Would Have Been a Liberal” by Havi Stewart

Photo Slideshow- “Snow on The Bluff” by The Beacon 2020-21 Multimedia Team

Third Place:

In-depth news/feature story- “New COVID Dashboard May Not Give Full Picture” by Kate Cuadrado

General humor or commentary- “It’s Time to Rethink To-Do Lists” by Sadie Wuertz

Personality Profile- “Financial Phenom Update” by Brie Haro with additional reporting by Michael Lang

Video news Package- “Bon App Scrambles to Feed Students During Massive Power Outage” by Andrew Gotshall

Interactive graphic- “TIMELINE: On Honor of the Class of 2021, Watch The Last Four Years Unfold” by Gabi DiPaulo

Certificates of Merit:

Sports news – “UP Basketball Scouts Locations Outside Oregon After Governor Denies COVID-19 Exemption” by William Seekamp

General feature- “Battling Cancer in a Global Pandemic” – by Havi Stewart, Molly Lowney

Editorial Writing– “Administration Secrecy Unacceptable During Pandemic” by Jennifer Ng and Gabi DiPaulo

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Austin De Dios wins Brian Doyle Student Media Award

Beacon EIC was given the Brian Doyle Student Media Award as this year’s Student Affairs Awards Banquet. He was selected by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Student Media. Fellow staffers exploded in thunderous applause when Austin’s name was announced.

Austin De Dios, always a class act, gives fellow staffers credit for his success as EIC this year/

Adviser Nancy Copic with Beacon staffers after the banquet

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Current community engagement editor promoted to EIC

Read more about Brie Haro here. Scroll to see the staffers Brie promoted to be on next year’s editorial board.

2022-23 Editorial Board:

News and Managing Editor Kate Cuadrado

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Editor/Sr. Reporter Chiara Profenna

Multimedia Editor Emma Sells

Living Editor Laura Heffernan

Opinions and Faith Editor Michael Lang

Sports Editor Wilder Isom

Copy Editor/Sr. Reporter Janea Melido

Community Engagement Editor Kimberly Cortez

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Beacon makes its mark in SPJ awards

UPDATE June 21, 2022– The Beacon ended up winning First Place nationally in two categories: Breaking News Reporting and Sports Photography (university enrollment below 10,000).

The Beacon was also a national finalist for Feature Writing and Video Game Reporting.

Announcement from the Society of Professional Journalists and full list of national Mark of Excellence Award winners here.

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Another year, another stellar performance by Beaconites in the regional Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Awards. The five-state competition evaluated content from the 2021 calendar year, choosing one winner and two finalists in several categories.

Beacon staffers with work in the winning column: Will Mulligan, William Seekamp, Havi Stewart, Austin De Dios, Andrew Gotshall, Ryan Reynolds, Carlos Fuentes, Sadie Wuertz, Molly Lowney. Several other staffers were finalists. Details:

Breaking News Reporting (university with enrollment under 10,000)
(NATIONAL and regional) Winner: *Massive power outage forces cancellation of classes and operations for second day + Shipstad Flooding — coverage by William Seekamp, Havi Stewart, Andrew Gotshall and Molly Lowney

General News Reporting (university with under 10,000 enrollment)
Finalist: Nursing students and faculty see aftermath of Lents Park police shooting — by Austin De Dios

Finalist: ‘I’m actually going to get home’ — by Carlos Fuentes

In-Depth Reporting (university with under 10,000 enrollment)
Finalist: New COVID dashboard may not give full picture — by Kate Cuadrado

Finalist: University of Portland faces staffing issues beyond labor shortages — by Austin De Dios

Feature Writing (universities with enrollment under 10,000)
Winner: Yuri Hernandez Osorio: Past and present — by Will Mulligan

Editorial Writing

Finalist: 3 Editorials by Jennifer Ng and Mia Werner

EDITORIAL: Student voices will persist

EDITORIAL: There is safety in surveillance; it’s time to test the unvaccinated

EDITORIAL: Flexible is fair

General Column Writing
Winner: Columns — by Sadie Wuertz and Carlos Fuentes

Finalist: Columns — by Austin De Dios

OPINION: A good walk spoiled: It’s time to abolish golf

OPINION: Find your magic

OPINION: It’s time to rethink to-do lists

Sports Photography (universities with under 10,000 enrollment)
(NATIONAL and regional) Winner: Men’s team celebrates with fans — by Ryan Reynolds

Video Game/Tabletop Game Reporting
Winner: Keep chasing bonfires — by Austin De Dios

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Communications strategist alum Cheyenne Schoen (’17) shares how she uses the skills she learned at The Beacon

Cheyenne Schoen, who was 2016-17 Beacon Copy Editor/Sr. Reporter, now lives in Pittsburgh and works on the communications team for the United Steelworkers Union. Her responsibilities include writing for the union magazine and responding to media inquiries.

Cheyenne was a recent guest at a Beacon staff meeting, where she talked about how she uses the skills she learned at The Beacon in her current role, and what it’s like to be on the other side of reporting.

Cheyenne’s responsibilities include writing for this magazine

THROWBACKS TO CHEYENNE’S BEACON DAYS:

Cheyenne in The Beacon newsroom on election night 2016

Cheyenne with fellow Beacon staffer Clare Duffy in 2016 at a reception celebrating their completion of their summer internships through the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism

Cheyenne and the rest of The Beacon staff in the newsroom in 2016

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