The Clarion recently won some awards from the Ohio Newspaper Association for the past year.
The Clarion placed second in their category for News Coverage. They beat out The Ohio State University, University of Toledo, Youngstown University and the University of Cincinnati.
Bev Keller, the judge for News Coverage said, “Great graphics and good marriages of items to stories.”
Barton Kleen, the Clarion’s Executive Editor, placed third for In-depth Reporting, specifically for the “Caught in the act: Academic infidelity” story done last year.
“The initial impression- that this was going to be just another boring student cheating story – was quickly dispelled in the very first paragraph. ‘Caught in the act: Academic Infidelity’ is a thought-provoking examination of the high cost of cheating and the consequential impact on the classroom and ethics,” Bob Krumm, the judge, said.
“The ‘confessions of a college cheater’ segment was particularly enlightening. This was, without question, a level of reporting exceeding what I’ve seen by some these students’ professional peers.”
Gabrielle Sharp, the former Executive Editor, won third for her contributions to Arts and Entertainment.
“Very well written pieces about interesting, local, lesser-known art mediums. Wonderful use of color, great photos and attention grabbing layout,” the judges said.
The Clarion also placed third within their division for best website.
The Clarion was placed in Division One which based upon school size and competes with Ohio University, The Ohio State University, Youngstown University, University of Cincinnati and the University of Toledo.
Those schools, along with Sinclair Community College, have an undergrad enrollment of 10,000 or more students.
This is the first time the Clarion, which is celebrating 40 years in 2017, has placed for four awards and it was done so under the leadership of Avainte Saunders, the Clarion’s advisor and Sinclair’s journalism professor.
Kleen and Sharpe accepted their awards at the Polaris Hilton in Columbus at the Ohio Collegiate Newspaper and Best Website Awards.
While at the awards, Kleen and Sharpe had the opportunity to sit at a student round table where they spoke and interacted with other student journalists such as The Ohio State University’s the Lantern and Cedarville University’s Cedars.
ONA will possibly change their name in 2017 to the Ohio Newspaper and Media Association.
“The name change is not intended to signify an abandonment of our heritage as the ‘Ohio Newspaper Association,’ but instead, to build upon that foundation, and rich tradition, to signal the broadening of our scope,” said Bill Southern, the ONA Board of Trustees.
The decision is awaiting approval from their Board of Trustees.
The Clarion Staff