The Emerald Media Group won several awards at the November 2024 Associated Collegiate Press Awards conference in New Orleans, La.
College publications from across the country compete for ACP recognitions at their annual awards ceremonies, and the Emerald tallied up four individual awards and three publication awards.
This past year, the Emerald has done deep dive coverage on topics ranging from Espresso Roma’s health violations to Title IX lawsuits against UO.
“Doing good journalism and reflecting your community — informing, entertaining and helping your audience — is the important stuff [and] it’s rewarding to see the Emerald named alongside some of the best college media news organizations,” EMG Publisher Eric Henry said.
Editor-in-Chief Tristin Hoffman led the way, earning fourth place for Reporter of the Year out of entries from four-year colleges across the nation.
“[Winning this award] was crazy, I never would have imagined to be nominated for that category… it showcased if you really love something you’ll get out what you put into it,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the awards reinforced how “impactful” good reporting can be.
One reporter who dove deep to make an impact was Emily Rogers from Ethos Magazine.
Rogers won an Ernie Pyle Human Interest Profile Honorable Mention for A Commitment to the Struggle. Her article takes a deep look at the life of a Muslim-American federal judge in Eugene who dedicated his life’s work towards improving gender representation in courtrooms, representing “everyday people” and encouraging Muslim-American law students.
Daily Emerald photographer Jonathan Suni won an Honorable Mention for his shots of the Prefontaine Classic and Diamond League last September.
Suni has been working for the Emerald for over two years and mainly photographs sports.
After waiting “hours,” Suni was able to capture a trophy’s sunlit glow radiating off the face of a long jumper, and a high jumper floating in mid-air.
“I feel like what separates photojournalists from normal photographers is [photojournalists] try to capture moments and emotions more than anything,” Suni said. “I think I’ve learned to be present while taking shots and trying to paint a picture and tell a story.”
Javay Frye-Nekrasova, Editor-in-Chief of Green Eugene magazine, won a Best in Show Honorable Mention award for the magazine’s October 2024 issue.
The issue discussed serious topics like the downsides of marijuana legalization while including evergreen stories like IKEA-style instructions on how to make a pumpkin bong.
“I want it to be things that push people to think more critically about cannabis and about the community. I want to create something that when you pick it up it might provoke greater thought but it will also be fun!” Frye-Nekrasova said.
The October issue was filled with art stretching across the page and filling up every inch of blank space. Frye-Nekrasova said how she felt the artistic integration worked to draw readers in.
“Art just changed the overall experience of reading Green Eugene because there was so much talent and detail put into [the issue] by the illustrators and designers. [The] art integrated [the content] so much so it’s not just like the surface level of ‘oh yeah, weed!’ but all the ways that weed shows up [in our lives],” Frye-Nekrasova said.
The judges admired the Emerald’s use of new mediums to spread information effectively.
The social media team also won an Honorable Mention for informing the community of University of Oregon’s pro-Palestinian encampments through live coverage.
“Social media is the through line between the whole publication. It’s the most accessible part of our reporting [and] to be given this award solidified the importance of live reporting on social media,” Hoffman said.
Daily Emerald’s newspaper and website also won ninth place for Best in Show.
The Emerald is an independently-run publication, and Henry said he feels that the people at the Emerald are inspired by their love for journalism itself.
“It makes me really happy to see all their hard work recognized. No one is doing this for great big paychecks; they’re just working hard because they are passionate,” Henry said.
