BG Falcon Media took home multiple awards at the Ohio News Media Association (ONMA) on March 26 because of its creative designs, videos and writing. They won the overall award, the Frank E. Deaner Award for Excellence in Collegiate Journalism, and seven individual awards.
“That is the second time in three years that we’ve won this award [Frank E. Deaner Award for Excellence in Collegiate Journalism]. It’s cumulative; you get points for all the awards you win, and that gives you the overall,” said Karl Smith, BG Falcon Media manager.
BG Falcon Media won first place in the multimedia package for coverage of three BG football players being arrested, newspaper design, headline writing and best website.
News Content Director, Ava Thoman, is in charge of the website for BG Falcon Media and is proud of everyone.
“I’m extremely proud of the work BG Falcon Media has done as a whole. The website is where everything can be found, so the fact that the website won an award is a win for all of us,” Thoman said.
Some of the judges’ comments on the newspaper design said, “flows well with its use of fonts, article dividers, and photos” and “engaging use of artwork on the cover.”
The Editor-in-Chief of the BG News, Gabby Monk, who is in charge of the newspaper, is happy with the relationship with the design team.
“I’m very proud of both my team of reporters, but then also the design team. We’ve had a really good relationship with them this year, and they’ve worked very hard on their design and graphics,” Monk said.
BG Falcon Media won second place in in-depth reporting for data-driven story on parking citations and third place for two multimedia packages: A Falcon, a father, a husband: Aiden Messinger’s journey to one final season and Taylor Green: The junior leader of the youngest team in the MAC.
Judges’ comments about the in-depth reporting are “identified interesting questions and a “controversy” within the campus community” and “this is what in-depth reporting is about.”
“It was really cool to see stories that reporters wrote come to life. I thought they just did a really good job. They were super creative,” Monk said.
Smith said he is proud of all of BG Falcon Media and how far they have come.
“The growth over the last couple of years, they’ve really embraced the idea of setting the bar higher. They’ve embraced the idea of working together across platforms,” Smith said.
