BREAKING: The Rider News wins best in state
By Caroline Haviland
After covering Rider’s top stories in a critical year for higher education, The Rider News was honored on April 26 with the New Jersey Press Foundation’s Sweepstakes Award, an achievement given to the best four-year college newspaper in the state for the annual New Jersey College Newspaper Contest.
Jake Tiger, the outgoing executive editor, shared a sentiment on the nearly century-old publication winning this award in a year where production began to transition from fully printing to a more digital-centric model.
“Winning the best paper in the state is special no matter what, but this year especially,” said Tiger, a senior journalism major. “We’ve been through so much as a staff, so to win it this year was just extra meaningful for everyone.”
The student-run newspaper received two more organizational awards, with first place in best overall website and second place in general excellence.
Nine individual awards were given in multiple categories such as layout and design, news writing, sports writing, feature writing, biography writing, investigative writing, best web project and best online video.
Tiger won first place for best web project and news writing, as well as second place for investigative and biography writing, and attributed his growth as an aspiring journalist to his time being executive editor.
“I did a lot of things this year that I didn’t think I would do or didn’t necessarily think I was capable of, but I ended up doing them just by putting my head down and going for it even if it scared me or made me anxious,” Tiger said. “I realized those sorts of things that give you a little pit in your stomach, those are the sorts of things that make you better.”
In addition to Tiger, five of the organization’s staff members accepted individual awards; senior journalism major Hannah Newman, junior journalism major Grace Bertrand, senior graphic design Maggie Kleiner, junior journalism major Benjamin Shinault and senior graphic design major Josiah Thomas.
Along with his NJPF win, Thomas became a Society of Professional Journalist’s Mark of Excellence finalist for his graphic design work at the newspaper.
In an interview with The Rider News, Thomas said, “Getting [finalist for the Mark of Excellence] like that, it really makes me feel very proud to be an artist because I personally love to just do it for fun.”
Newman, the outgoing managing editor, received third place for news writing and said her news coverage for this school year shifted her “perspective on journalism for the better.”
“We go to a small school and there’s not much that holds a lot of gravity to really shape your career as a journalist,” Newman said, who won an award for her news coverage of performance arts department chair Todd Dellinger’s Jan. 27 Nazi-style salute and subsequent suspension. “But when I took that story, I said to myself ‘OK, this is just the beginning of the heaviest things you’re going to do in your life, and you have to be OK with it.’”
While reflecting on the challenges of the past year, Newman said the most gratifying aspect of being a leader at The Rider News was knowing her hard work would help others in the future.
“I think being able to set an example for the people that are younger than us and taking over our roles has been the most rewarding thing because we were able to set the blueprint,” Newman said, giving advice to the incoming Rider News staff. “Stay calm, there’s always an answer, nothing is going to tear us down unless we let it.”
