El Camino College Journalism Students Win Awards at NBC and College Media Association Competitions

TORRANCE, Calif.—El Camino College journalism students came home from the College Media Association’s (CMA) recent spring conference with four of the top awards, including first place for best two-year college newspaper. 

The  Union newspaper also won second place awards at the conference in New York City for best news website and best multimedia package. Warrior Life magazine was awarded third-place honors for best two-year college magazine.  

The awards stemmed from national competition for the David L. Adams Apple Awards, which represent “best of show” in student journalism. 

While in New York, the seven El Camino journalism students who attended the conference and adviser Stefanie Frith were invited to meet with NBCUniversal executives, producers and reporters as part of El Camino’s partnership with NBCU Academy.  

The group toured NBC Studios at Rockefeller Plaza and met with NBCU executives including Senior Vice President Yvette Miley and NBCU Academy Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives Sandy Sharp. The student journalists were also treated to a catered lunch and were given a peek at “The Tonight Show” studios.  The NBCU Academy partnership has resulted in scholarship funds and opportunities to forge industry connections for El Camino student journalists in recent years. 

The College Media Association conference offered a wide variety of training sessions, top industry speakers and social events designed to link student journalists from across the country with their peers. 

At a separate conference in San Francisco, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) announced more awards for El Camino. The Union newspaper, “The Union” website and Warrior Life magazine were each awarded “Meritorious” designations in the “General Excellence Category”, and Senior Staff Writer Kim McGill won first place honors for a non-profile feature story. A second-place award went to Jesse Miranda for magazine illustration while third place honors went to Greg Fontanilla for magazine profile article. Fontanilla also took fourth place in the sports feature photo category. Other fourth place honors went to Ash Hallas, feature photo; Anthony Lipari, informational graphic and inside page layout; Ethan Cohen and Khoury Williams, front page layout; and Maureen Linzaga, magazine illustration. Honorable mentions went to Vo Khanh, illustration, Delfino Camacho, column writing; and Ethan Cohen, news photo.  

The total list of awards and winners is as follows:  

CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION AWARDS 

⦁ First place, two-year college student newspaper, The Union 

⦁ Second place, best news website, The Union 

⦁ Second place, best multimedia package, The Union  

⦁ Third place, best two-year college magazine, Warrior Life 

⦁ First place, Best Newspaper Website

⦁ First place, Best News Video, Maureen Linzaga—Spring Feast event brings Muslim college students from Southern California together

⦁ First place, Best Sports Story, Greg Fontanilla – El Camino’s athletic program boasts success with recruiting efforts

⦁ First place, Best Newspaper Column, Delfino Camacho – Three columns: The pandemic freed me from a seven-year job to follow my passion/As deadly shootings increase, my wife and I question: is it safe to have kids?/Vaccines kept my family safe, but they should not be mandated

⦁ First place, Best Magazine Story, Khoury Williams – Saving the world through community and connection (Brenda Thames profile)

⦁ Second place, Best Feature Story, Kim McGill – ECC could become a leader in addressing discrimination in the fire service

⦁ Second place, Best Arts and Entertainment Story, Nindiya A Maheswari Putri – Warrior Esports Center: A new high-tech gaming hub and community space

⦁ Second place, Best Sports Photograph, Greg Fontanilla – “Stephen Bradford’s reaction to the stunning ending on the El Camino sideline …” Oct. 23 online

⦁ Second place, Best Feature Photograph, Ash Hallas – Man feeding pigeons at Alondra Park

⦁ Third place, Best Editorial Cartoon, Maureen Linzaga – Student voices matter in campus decisions

⦁ Third place, Best Newspaper Front Page Design, Khoury Williams and Ethan Cohen, Dec. 8.

⦁ Third place, Best Non-Breaking News Story, Khoury Williams and Ethan Cohen --Nursing students, employees express dissatisfaction with the program

⦁ Third place, Best Breaking News Story, Ethan Cohen – El Camino College’s COVID task force moves to keep indoor mask mandate

⦁ Third place, Best Magazine Photo, Gary Kohatsu – “El Camino College men’s volleyball Head Coach Richard “Dick” Blount reacts to a referee call …” page 62

⦁ Third place, Best Newspaper Inside Page/Spread Design, Anthony Lipari – El Camino College lacking in electric vehicle chargers

⦁ Third place, Best Headline Portfolio, Delfino Camacho – Truck driving course allows students to ‘switch gears’ in their career path/Searching for a statue, finding ideal representation/Exhibit goes beyond ‘Dia de los Muertos,’ celebrates Mexican and Chicano art

JOURNALISM ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE AWARDS 

⦁ Meritorious, general excellence, The Union newspaper 

⦁ Meritorious, general excellence, The Union website 

⦁ Meritorious, general excellence, Warrior Life magazine 

⦁ First place, nonprofile feature story, Kim McGill 

⦁ Second place, magazine illustration, Jesse Miranda 

⦁ Third place, magazine profile article, Greg Fontanilla 

⦁ Fourth place, feature photo, Ash Hallas 

⦁ Fourth place, informational graphic, Anthony Lipari 

⦁ Fourth place, sports feature photo, Greg Fontanilla 

⦁ Fourth place, inside page layout, Anthony Lipari 

⦁ Fourth place, front page layout, Ethan Cohen and Khoury Williams 

⦁ Fourth place, magazine illustration, Maureen Linzaga 

⦁ Honorable mention, illustration, Vo Khanh 

⦁ Honorable mention, column writing, Delfino Camacho 

⦁ Honorable mention, news photo, Ethan Cohen