FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 12, 2004

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

DRAKE'S TIMES-DELPHIC WINS 'BEST OF SHOW' IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Drake University's student newspaper, The Times-Delphic, earned top honors in a national college publication workshop held recently in Washington, D.C.

The Times-Delphic's 80-page Drake Relays edition earned first place in the Associated Collegiate Press' Best of Show competition for student newspapers published twice weekly or daily at a four-year school. The ACP, a division of the National Scholastic Press Association, was established in 1921 and is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States.

"While the rest of Drake University was presumably enjoying street painting, [The Times-Delphic] staff was cooped up in the sweltering heat of our office, slaving away to make this edition a success," said former Times-Delphic Editor Elizabeth Owens, a senior from Palo, Iowa.

"The TD staff gears up for this issue all year, and we view it as a culmination of our work and how far (we came) as a staff. This award helps remind us that we made a worthwhile sacrifice - even though I think all of us knew that our time was well spent from the moment we saw the final product."

The ACP's Best of Show awards is an on-site competition open only to publications that have staff members attending the convention. The competition allows each participating publication to enter one copy of a newspaper from the current school year, one copy of a magazine or yearbook from the previous school year, or a single broadcast program.

Judges examined each entry's general excellence; diversity and strength of coverage; quality of layout, design and photos; quality of editorial and opinion pages; in-depth reporting and special coverage; and writing and editing.

While the competition did not offer formal critiques or comments from the panel of judges, The Times-Delphic beat out entries from eight other universities, including the University of Minnesota, Georgetown University, and American University (Washington, D.C.).

One of the judges, Ian Blake Newman, who teaches journalism at SUNY-Rockland Community College, in Rockland, N.Y., said, "The reason The Times-Delphic placed so high is that is was quite clear the readers were what the editors had in mind when putting this edition together. Another thing we're looking for is editorial leadership. You could tell there were a lot of meetings and lots of people knew what to do. . . .This paper had great coverage - tons of coverage, great design, great editorial leadership. It is very impressive, especially for a small staff made up of fulltime students. Any one of those editors should have no problem finding a position in a very competitive field of journalism."

Kathleen Richardson, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication, said she is proud of The Times-Delphic staff.

"They're all very bright and hardworking journalists," said Richardson, who also serves as faculty adviser for The Times-Delphic. "I hope the word can get out, not only to the Iowa community, but also to the campus community because this shows what Drake journalism students are capable of."

In-coming TD Editor Melissa Ruthenbeck, a junior news/Internet major from Elizabeth, Colo., said the award raises the bar for the TD staff this fall.

"I am thrilled that our hard work and dedication was honored," Ruthenbeck said. "The award sets high expectations for next year's staff and proves that papers with small staffs can and will compete against the dailies."

Owens, who is finishing an internship this summer at Scripps Howard Foundation Wire in Washington, D.C., said the award proves that Drake's journalism program produces quality student work.

"The TD experience meant so much to me because of the people on staff," she said. "The Relays edition was a stressful and time-consuming project for us. Even though we saw each other at our worst, we knew that together we could produce a publication that was the best. This award solidified that belief, and we are extremely pleased and proud of this recognition."