Jacob Misener places in Illinois journalism competition

2011 May 16

Jacob Misener, a sophomore at Augustana College from Mazon, Ill., was recently chosen as a winner in the Illinois College Press Association (ICPA)'s annual journalism competition. Misener received first place in the news story category and second place in the in-depth reporting category. Misener is a regular contributor to Augustana's weekly newspaper the Augustana Observer and is majoring in multimedia journalism and political science.

Misener and nine other student journalists from Augustana broke a school record by earning 17 awards, including five first-place awards, from the ICPA. The awards recognize the variety of skills, including writing, photography, design and multimedia reporting, that the students exhibit in their work.

Rachel Warmke, the Features editor of the Augustana Observer, is grateful that she and her peers had the opportunity to participate in the statewide competition. "I think the ICPA competition is a vital asset for student journalists. It not only fosters a drive for personal excellence but also lets us see the amazing talents of our fellow journalists in their fields."

The Observer staff spent several weeks this fall collecting work to submit in the ICPA competition. They entered their work in the non-daily, school enrollment less than 4000 category as well as the open class for all student newspapers.

ICPA is a nonprofit group made up of 40 Illinois colleges and universities that provides journalism training and recognition for outstanding student journalists each year. The Augustana Observer is a student run newspaper published weekly and is advised by James Dyer, co-director of the multimedia journalism and mass communication program in the communication studies department.

For more information on Augustana's department of communication studies or new multimedia journalism program, visit www.augustana.edu/communications or www.augustana.edu/multimediajournalism.