The Rider News wins best overall website and other awards
By Hailey Hensley
During a tumultuous year, especially for reporting, student journalists at The Rider News were hard at work to produce high-quality content for the Rider community and as a result, several members of the staff have received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the New Jersey Press Foundation (NJPF).
The Rider News won best overall website from the NJPF, with the foundation stating they enjoyed the website’s visuals throughout.
Sports editors Shaun Chornobroff and Dylan Manfre, with their story “Kevin Baggett opens up about social justice,” received the Region One Mark of Excellence for sports reporting at a small school.
Chornobroff and Manfre also received a second-place award from the NJPF for the same story.
Chornobroff also received a third-place award in sports writing from the NJPF for his story “Broncs plummet in standings in return; Men’s basketball gets victory in honor of absent teammate.”
“I am honored to get this award. It was an unconventional year to say the least, Dylan and I had to put in a lot of effort and to be rewarded for that effort is more than I could ever ask for,” Chornobroff said.
In addition, Executive Editor Stephen Neukam received an in-depth reporting mark of excellence award for his story “Trauma behind the curtain: allegations uncovered, investigation launched, professor leaves Rider.” Neukam was also awarded from the NJPF, receiving a second-place award in the investigative journalism category for the same story he received his SPJ award for.
Neukam emphasized the pride he felt in his staff as executive editor.
“I’m super proud of the staff ’s awards and what they accomplished this year through difficult circumstances. Even through the pandemic, the paper thrived and I’m honored to work with such a great group of peers,” Neukam said.
From the NJPF, Tiffany Hartman took first place in the online video category with her video titled “Rider student directs documentary on African American veterans fight for civil rights.”
News Editor Tatyanna Carman received her own second-place commendations for News Writing, with her stories titled “Student use of Rider counseling services stagnant despite pandemic stresses” and “Community Assistant compensation has stopped as a result of university housing closure.”
Carman said, “I am so grateful to receive this award. I have learned so much from writing for The Rider News. I put a lot of work into my articles, especially the one I won the award for, so I am glad I was recognized for it.”
Opinion Editor Qur’an Hansford and Stephen Neukam took another second-place award for editorial writing with their story “Demand fair tuition; College during COVID; Pass/fail.”
Hansford said, “I am full of so much gratitude to be able to, not only get an inside look at the reality of my future profession but to win awards for my words and opinions is a whole other feeling. I am so proud of The Rider News team and all the hard work we have all accomplished.”
Features and Entertainment editor Sarah Siock, Video Editor Tiffany Hartman and Features and Entertainment Editor Christian McCarville took third place in the web project category for their web project “Rider student directs documentary on African American veterans’ fight for civil rights.”
Siock is the incoming executive editor of TRN and this is her first award at the paper. She emphasized the teamwork that is put into the paper.
“I am so proud to be a staff member on an award-winning paper. My time with TRN has taught me a great deal about journalism through learning from the talented staff members,” she said. “These awards reflect the hard work of each student who works on the newspaper. Every week the staff works diligently to produce a paper that we are proud of.”
