Three Chronicle staff members won second place and one former staff member received an honorable mention in the Associated Collegiate Press’s 2020 Individual Awards competition.
Senior Shannon Fang’s story, “‘We are tenacious’: The first-generation, low-income student experience at Duke” took second place in the Story of the Year competition’s “Diversity Story” category. The article featured stories of first-generation, low-income students at Duke—many of whom feel “anomalous, hidden and two steps behind,” but more importantly are “tenacious, deserving and proud of their identity.”
Fang, senior editor for Vol. 115, reported and wrote the story in spring 2019, and it was released in April 2020 as part of The Chronicle’s series about wealth disparities at Duke.
Now Vol. 116 equity and outreach coordinator—a new role—Fang said that she hopes the paper’s coverage and representation continue “to grow and expand.”
“This is what I hope to continue developing moving forward: helping to make The Chronicle a more equitable and welcoming space for all people as well as focusing on stories about the lives of students at Duke—especially those who are underrepresented or might not get as much coverage within The Chronicle—and highlighting their stories and importance on campus,” she said.
Vol. 115 Editor-in-Chief Jake Satisky, a senior, and Vol. 115 Managing Editor Nathan Luzum, Trinity ’20, won second place in the COVID-19 Coverage competition’s “Blog” category for The Chronicle’s coronavirus live blog. The blog compiled The Chronicle’s coverage on how COVID-19 affected Duke from March 11 to April 2.
“The blog allowed us to piece together rapidly evolving coronavirus updates in a way that traditional news stories simply couldn’t,” Luzum wrote in a message to The Chronicle. “This award really reflects a collective staff effort to keep the Duke community informed during turbulent times.”
Satisky wrote in a message that he wants to thank “all the eager, energetic reporters who told the stories that mattered after Duke shut down and gave me amazing articles to fill the blog.”
Michael Model, Trinity ’20 and digital strategy director for Vol. 115, won an honorable mention in the “Multimedia Sports Story” category of the Multimedia Story of the Year competition for his article “CHAPEL THRILL: Duke men's basketball mounts epic comeback in Chapel Hill.”
Model wrote in an email that the award “highlights the professionalism and teamwork that has become a hallmark of The Chronicle.”
“It would not have been possible without the editing necessary to turn an instant buzzer-beating gamer into a masterpiece, the fantastic photography integrated throughout the article and our follow-up podcast,” he wrote. “I am truly honored to receive this award and am certain that it will be one of many to come as we continue to thrive in the digital age of journalism.”
Winners were announced Thursday at the virtual ACP/CMA Fall National College Media Convention awards ceremony. The Chronicle also received the 2020 Online Pacemaker Award, the foremost award for online college journalism.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Mona Tong is a Trinity senior and director of diversity, equity and inclusion analytics for The Chronicle's 117th volume. She was previously news editor for Volume 116.