LACC’s Collegian Times Magazine Is A Pacemaker Finalist
Los Angeles, CA, August 29, 2016 – Los Angeles City College’s Collegian Times magazine is a Pacemaker finalist. The Pacemaker awards have been part of the collegiate publishing landscape since 1923. This is a national competition and judging standards have always been stringent making this award of special importance to student journalists. Winners will be announced at the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C. in October.
Pacemaker designates categories for each type of publication – online, newspaper, yearbook and magazine. Industry professionals judge work based on the following criteria: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.
This year Pacemaker judges reviewed 96 entries in the magazine category and narrowed them down to 22. They had powerful comments for the finalists.
“Many entries stood out with high-quality design and content. Judges looked for strong covers — ones with eye-catching photography, sharp design, personality and intrigue. Simple, clean design went a long way, as did professionalism. One of the judges said several entries were so excellent they could imagine them sitting on retail shelves among other professional magazines.”
The Collegian Times magazine has never won a Pacemaker award or been honored with a Finalist award.
“The Pacemaker is the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism,” said Los Angeles City College Journalism Professor Rhonda Guess. This is no easy feat. There is no two-year category. The judges are discerning, strict, snooty, whatever, looking for the best American college journalism. Many things have to be done extremely well to get this nod.”
Pacemaker judges looked for magazines that knew their readers. In their comments judges stated it was important to have a clear vision maintained throughout the entire work.
It took a dedicated and self-motivated team of students to present the stories found in this year’s Collegian Times. An intimate vignette of a friendship and explorations into self-identity shared pages with elegant photo essays of Los Angeles neighborhoods. A homeless person who lived in a tent on the fringes of the LACC campus, an animal shelter, a pop star, sports hero and presidential candidate rounded out the refuge theme.
The continued success of the journalism department is attributed to department chairs, administrators and alumni of Los Angeles City College who collectively give ongoing support with time and money to the program.
“Several years ago when the newspaper was a finalist for the Pacemaker Award, I received a phone call from my counterpart at Chula Vista College,” Guess said. “He told me we were among the elite journalism programs in the United States with the finalist award. I am amazed that Daniel Marlos could help students work up to the level to receive national recognition in his role as first-time magazine adviser without a magazine class. It came through work, true grit and untold effort.”
This recognition comes on the heels of the “Mark of Excellence Award” from the Society of Professional Journalists for the Collegian Times: Mystic City edition in the four-state region of Nevada, California, Hawaii and Arizona. The Collegian will be up for national honors for “Mystic City” at the Mark of Excellence Awards from Sept. 18 to 21, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
All Pacemaker finalists’ work appears in a book that will be published and released early next spring with all of the Pacemaker finalists and ultimate Pacemaker schools with examples of their work – the Collegian Times will be a part of that esteemed group.
Pacemaker winners will be announced at the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C.
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Through education training and recognition programs for members, the Associated Collegiate Press promotes the standards and ethics of good journalism as accepted and practiced by print, broadcast and electronic media in the United States.
Los Angeles City College empowers students from the diverse communities it serves to achieve their educational and career goals by providing learner-centered pathways to success through transfer, career and technical education, and foundational skills programs.
Contact: Daniel Marlos
Office: 323-953-4000 ext. 2835
