Journalism students win awards at state convention

By Julio Moran

The Guardsman

City College’s Journalism department won 18 awards in both individual and team competitions at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges State Convention held in Sacramento from April 11-13.

The Guardsman and Etc. Magazine each earned the convention’s General Excellence Award.

“That says a lot because there are 60 members of the JACC in the state,” said Juan Gonzales, journalism department chair at City College. “When you’re in the top five or 10, that’s pretty impressive.”

Nearly 500 students from 41 community colleges from Northern and Southern California attended the competition.

“This year’s competition wasn’t dominated by just one or two or even three schools. It was pretty spread out,” Gonzales said. “There was a lot of talent this year at JACC.”

The state convention was an opportunity for students to acquire knowledge and advice from professionals in different journalism fields. Speakers included working journalists for mainstream publications such as The Associated Press and The New York Times.

For most City College journalism students, it was their first competition.

“Winning Honorable Mention, that’s very good,” said Guardsman and Etc. illustrator Anthony Mata. “Especially since it was my first time.”

The opening night keynote speaker was reporter Erica Perez, who focuses on higher education issues for California Watch, an investigative news organization. She spoke about milestones in her career and told several stories about her experiences in journalism . She took questions from the audience and gave advice on journalism practices and techniques.

The majority of competitions occurred on the second day of the convention. Competition categories included writing, editing, photography, illustration and multimedia presentations.

“Overall the journalism department is a shining light in the school,” said Ms. Bob Davis, City College dean of the School of Liberal Arts. “They’ve done excellent work. We’re the model for many schools around the state.”