The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) has awarded The Signal three Gold Circle Awards for the 2012-13 year.
“It is a great honor for Tanner Ward and The Signal staff to come away with three Gold Circle awards,“ said Dr. Jeff Root, dean of the School of Humanities. “They competed against college journalists nationwide regardless of the size of the university. It says a lot about the quality of our students at Ouachita.”
Tanner Ward, editor-in-chief of The Signal and obusignal.com, earned a second place award in News Page Design for “Blue vs. Red.” Ward is a senior mass communications business management and finance major from Bryant.
The Signal staff also received second place in Single Subject News or Feature Package for its “Ouachita Ripples” throwback edition and a certificate of merit in Editorial Writing for “It’s time for equal rights.”
“These awards are a big deal for us,” Ward said. “We are competing against the largest schools from across the United States, and we — a small college in Arkansas — are able to keep up with them.”
As editor-in-chief, Ward is responsible for planning coverage, assigning reporters, editing copy, designing the newspaper and website, uploading content online, managing social media presence, assisting staff with interviews or stories and coordinating with advisers.
Sam Cushman, a junior mass communications and political science major, serves as news editor for The Signal.
“Working for The Signal is a great opportunity to expand your portfolio; it is a professional organization,” Cushman said. “My job as news editor gives me leadership opportunities. I get to coach new writers and help guide the direction of the paper. It’s a great opportunity. We all put in a lot of time – more than 40 hours a week sometimes. It’s hard work but very rewarding.”
These awards come on the heels of a Gold Medalist ranking for The Signal and obusignal.com from the CSPA for hybrid publications, or newspapers which also produce websites.
The Signal was also named runner-up for both 2013 Newspaper of the Year and 2013 Website of the Year for by the Arkansas College Media Association (ACMA) in April, among 22 others awards presented to the staff by the ACMA.
