NIC student publication honored
One of the nation’s oldest organizations devoted to promoting collegiate journalism will honor The Sentinel, North Idaho College’s student media organization, with a new award.
The Associated Collegiate Press named NIC’s The Sentinel a Pacemaker 100, a designation honoring collegiate publications that have demonstrated repeated success throughout the organization’s history. The ACP analyzed the results of all previous annual Pacemaker competitions and honored the top 100 schools with the Pacemaker 100 award.
“The Pacemaker really represents the best of the best, and it is appropriate that we recognize the rich tradition this award has in collegiate journalism as part of our centennial celebration,” ACP Associate Director Gary Lundgren said.
NIC was one of 14 two-year colleges whose student media publications made the list.
Nils Rosdahl, the former adviser of The Sentinel from 1984 to 2010, said he felt honored for the “herd of really good students” that helped put the college’s journalism program in the national spotlight.
“I think the students not only enjoyed it, but they thought that this part of their education would really help them,” Rosdahl said.
Pacemaker 100 award winners will be honored at MediaFest22, a national college media convention from Oct. 26 to 30 in Washington, D.C.
MediaFest22 will also feature the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards, where The Sentinel students who won last spring in SPJ’s Region 10 will discover how they fared in the national competition.
NIC students Dana Parsons, Aislin Tweedy and Kaylee Brown won the General News Reporting award for their story “Who Trusts the Trustees?” in The Sentinel’s Fall 2021 edition. Parsons also won the Photo Illustration prize for the cover image of that edition.
“I feel so honored and excited by the awards we have been given,” Parsons said. “I thank everyone who has helped the 2021-22 Sentinel crew through the hard work that we put into the NIC board of trustees coverage.”
Parsons also won third place from the Idaho Press Club for her TV General News Report, “Community Protests Board of Trustees after it Fires College President.” Her award was The Sentinel’s first broadcasting award.
The Sentinel also took second place for General Excellence in the Idaho Press Club’s 2021 annual competition.
“I’m glad my students got recognized for covering a difficult and important story that greatly impacts the North Idaho College community,” The Sentinel adviser Geoff Carr said.
For more information about The Sentinel, contact The Sentinel adviser and NIC Associate Professor of Journalism Geoff Carr at 208-769-3228 or Geoffrey.carr@nic.edu.
