The Knox Student Newspaper Wins National Award

The Knox Student, Knox College's weekly campus newspaper, earned national honors in the 2012 Associated Collegiate Press contest, which recognizes achievements in journalism. Results were announced November 4 in Chicago, Illinois.

TKS ranked seventh nationally among tabloid-size weekly newspapers for general excellence in the Best of Show competition.

TKS Editor-in-chief Anna Meier picked up the award during a ceremony that ended the five-day National College Media Convention. Others attending from TKS were Managing Editor Charlie Gorney, Co-News Editor Matt McKinney and Co-Mosaic Editor Chelsea Embree. The students also went to journalism workshops that were part of the convention.

"It's quite an honor to rank with the best college newspapers in the nation," said TKS advisor Tom Martin, who has advised the newspaper since 2009. "I'm not surprised. TKS is as good as many professional newspapers, and that's because of the dedication and leadership on the staff."

To compete in the Best of Show contest, newspapers submitted one print edition to be judged for overall content and presentation. TKS submitted the October 25 edition, which included articles and photographs on Homecoming, Knox students' views toward the job market and graduate school, and the Prairie Fire's football game against Illinois College.

TKS finished ahead of two larger Illinois newspapers, The DePaulia of DePaul University and The Columbia Chronicle of Columbia College, both in Chicago.

While the ACP award recognizes excellence in the traditional "hard copy" edition of TKS, Martin noted that the online edition of TKS has made great strides, too. The website recently has been redesigned, and the student journalists are posting timely stories throughout the week as they happen, Martin said.

In February 2013, TKS will compete against its peers in Illinois during the Illinois College Press Association contest. Last year, the staff brought home 18 awards.

The Knox Student was founded in 1878 by S.S. McClure who, after graduating from Knox, created McClure's Magazine, one of the first publications in the field of American investigative journalism.