In-Depth Enterprise Reporting Awards
First Place (Tie)Kathryn DePauw: Northwestern Michigan College
Poll Challengers Prepare for Election Day Page 1 Page 2 "All news is local news. DePauw ventured off-campus to report on preparations for the controversial effort to challenge the vote in Detroit, the major Michigan story of the 2020 presidential election. I found her October 23 story well-written, newsy, topical and readable. In fact, it was, for me, additional insight into what led to conflicts on election night and the hours that followed as the vote was tallied and disputed by Republican officials and ex-Pres. Donald Trump. It places radio host Trucker Randy Bishop, from her area, in the middle of things, with his comments, his connections and past controversies, along with plans for 2,000 poll challengers and a focus on Detroit, where there were vote-counting issues in the August primary. Quibbles: Since the story talks about money being spent on the challenge, it would have been nice to have a ball-park figure. It says the Election Integrity Fund is “considered conservative,” without saying by whom; it might have been better simply to say Bishop describes the fund as nonpartisan but it has been involved in litigation over some of the Democratic administration’s election decisions (readers can figure it out). He story also includes an oft-used media reference to Bishop as a “convicted felon” without telling readers what that involved (lost his real estate broker’s license in Metro Detroit for fraud, I believe); using that in the story with no explanation may appear gratuitous; adding details or leaving it out would be better (the question is how germane it is to this story). But overall, it was a good idea, good enterprise and executed very well." Breegan Petruska: Grand Rapids Community College
"Virtual Proctoring: The Lockdown Browser" "This was a neat idea for an enterprise story. In a digital world, more so because of the pandemic, GRCC is using a digital-virtual browser to monitor students who take tests remotely, a form of policing against cheating. There are lots of interesting details and a broadening of the story to provide a bit of a national perspective, which takes it beyond the realm of strictly local reporting. Petruska writes that the college spends $4,585 a year for a license to use the program and interviews a sampling of professors and students who are using it or have used it. Psych Dept. head Frank Connor says it allows him to give students more time on tests because “they cannot easily look up answers” while being monitored; he interestingly reveals that professors more traditionally used test time limits to prevent that. Students have mixed feelings. One says the browser caused added stress and eye strain because it “flags you for looking away from the screen” – a good quote. Student Alliance President Inayah Hakeen gives the school credit for using it to facilitate on-line testing and learning but calls it an “aggressive means of control and insensitive regulation.” Good details. How it could have been better: Petruska reports this technology is used by more than 1,500 higher-education institutions across the country, but are there other programs also in use, and how many schools, overall, are using this type of test monitoring technology?" |
Second PlaceCydney Heed: Washtenaw Community College
Why is college tuition so high? "In an era of stagnating wages, skyrocketing student debt, and pandemic-induced layoffs, many students are weighing the value of a degree,” Heed’s lead says. Discussing the way tuition and other costs have risen at the two nearest four-year public universities, Heed pulls interviews together with data and facts from such diverse sources as: the federal student assistance program, the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, University of Michigan’s Common Data Set, Forbes magazine, and the National Center for Education Statistics. There’s a lot of effort in this story, which bristles with facts and financial statistics. It’s about rising costs at U-M and Eastern Michigan University, but Heed supplies the reader with comparative national statistics: average tuition at four-year public campuses rose from $12,805 in 2001-2002 to $20,050 in 2017-2018. U-M’s average tuition, for example, rose from $6,500 in 1998 to $16,212 now, Heed reports, adding another nice benchmark: had U-M tuition gone up at the inflation rate, it would be $10,270 now. The years don’t all line up perfectly in Heed’s comparisons, but the implications are clear. U-M and Eastern Mich. officials say the biggest cause of their tuition jumps are related to a decline in state funding. U-M notes, interestingly, that its omnipresent campus construction, mostly, isn’t included in the tuition-supported general fund. Also interviewed is a student transferring to U-M after two years at WCC. Presumably, Heed wrote about these two four-year universities because that’s where many WCC students transfer for four-year degrees and, if so, I’d like to know how many for each of the big schools. Maybe one or two more student interviews, too. I learned a lot from the story. Well done." |
Third Place (Tie)Olivia Grantham: Henry Ford College
Moving Online with Hands-on Learning at HFC "This story could have benefitted from a more-direct lead, but it does a good job of informing us of the challenges involved in teaching classes remotely during COVID 19 restrictions. Students and teachers in such disciplines as automotive, fine arts and music face special issues. Prof. Stanley Glazer notes a decline and morale and participation, saying students aren’t getting the benefits of direct contact in classrooms, an instructor monitoring their work and providing helpful comments. A music prof reports students there are muddling through, despite inability to perform together. A Wayne State fashion design/marketing professor describes how colleagues all are in the same boat and are collaborating to find ways to deal with the situation. I’d like to have seen more of what students have to say about all of this, but it’s a pretty good story that’s germane during these times." Micah Mabey: Northwestern Michigan College
Creativity Rises to the Challenge of COVID Page 1 Page 2 "I don’t usually care for first-person leads, but Mabey has written an engaging Dec. 11 story filled with lively quotes to tell the tale of creative folks dealing with the pandemic by being, um, creative. He tossed in an interview with a local reporter he describes as a rival, which would be extraneous were it not interesting; she says it’s hard to write feel-good stories “when you don’t feel good,” and adds she’s not going home for the holidays and will spend the time alone, adding: “In my mind, I’ve already skipped over it.” The rest of his story concerns a familiar local musician described as distinctive for his “brown hair died at the bottom” and “long, skinny beard;” a painter who produces shows; and a theater troupe that normally produces what are described as “parody musicals.” The painter put on a series of “safe” live performances after discovering how creative people around the world were doing plays, concerts and art shows via livestream. The musician and his band spent the summer in-studio recording an album, and he doubled as worker at two coffee shops, hoping for unemployment benefits if those jobs dried up; “Art may be beautiful, but it isn’t glamorous,” Mabey writes. Want to know about the parody theater troupe? Read the paper. This story meets the most important standard of all: it keeps you reading." |
Honorable Mentions
The hiring of new college presidents
Matthew Fular: Lansing Community College
Schoolcraft's top 10
The final three
Meet the Candidates: Dr. Glenn Cerny
Meet the Candidate: Dr. Paul R. Watson II
Meet the Candidate: Dr. Sherry Zylka
The new face of Schoolcraft
Robin Morales: Schoolcraft College
President search down to five finalists
Four finalists for president are named
Webb Sharpe bids for LCC presidency
Robinson talks about LCC presidency
Nesbary discusses role of president
Collins closes out presidential forums
BREAKING: Robinson is new president
New president will return to his roots
"Matthew Fular, editor-in-chief of the Schoolcraft Connection, and Robin Morales, associate editor of The Lookout, had the same thought: the student paper should follow the selection of a new president from start to finish. They were right. There isn’t much bigger news on a campus, and, at a public institution of higher learning, the process should be transparent. Each of them produced a handsome package of relatively brief, readable stories that included carefully recorded quotes from the boards’ interviews with each finalist and a final story about each new president, with some follow-up quotes about being chosen for the position. These are of great value to the students at each school, and Fular and Morales deserve credit for their diligence in putting these packages together. What I would like to have seen - in addition – to make the coverage truly in-depth, would be some input from each campus – perhaps presented to the candidates and, most importantly, the new presidents – via phone interviews or emails. Quote student leaders, maybe, and professors about their concerns/issues and pose the concerns/issues to the candidates or the new president, if possible. Also, broaden the story about the new president with some reporting on the unique opportunities/challenges he or she will face: Are there budget issues? Is enrollment declining or increasing? Are major buildings or building updates needed? How does he or she plan to meet the challenges?"
Matthew Fular: Lansing Community College
Schoolcraft's top 10
The final three
Meet the Candidates: Dr. Glenn Cerny
Meet the Candidate: Dr. Paul R. Watson II
Meet the Candidate: Dr. Sherry Zylka
The new face of Schoolcraft
Robin Morales: Schoolcraft College
President search down to five finalists
Four finalists for president are named
Webb Sharpe bids for LCC presidency
Robinson talks about LCC presidency
Nesbary discusses role of president
Collins closes out presidential forums
BREAKING: Robinson is new president
New president will return to his roots
"Matthew Fular, editor-in-chief of the Schoolcraft Connection, and Robin Morales, associate editor of The Lookout, had the same thought: the student paper should follow the selection of a new president from start to finish. They were right. There isn’t much bigger news on a campus, and, at a public institution of higher learning, the process should be transparent. Each of them produced a handsome package of relatively brief, readable stories that included carefully recorded quotes from the boards’ interviews with each finalist and a final story about each new president, with some follow-up quotes about being chosen for the position. These are of great value to the students at each school, and Fular and Morales deserve credit for their diligence in putting these packages together. What I would like to have seen - in addition – to make the coverage truly in-depth, would be some input from each campus – perhaps presented to the candidates and, most importantly, the new presidents – via phone interviews or emails. Quote student leaders, maybe, and professors about their concerns/issues and pose the concerns/issues to the candidates or the new president, if possible. Also, broaden the story about the new president with some reporting on the unique opportunities/challenges he or she will face: Are there budget issues? Is enrollment declining or increasing? Are major buildings or building updates needed? How does he or she plan to meet the challenges?"
Jerry Meade: Monroe County Community College
Campus Services Still Available Yet Meetings Still Uncertain
"Ryan Rafko, director of admissions and guidance, says MCCC switched to remote learning before many other Michigan institutions of higher education did so -- and therein lies and idea for a story, right? This August 2020 piece was a good idea as students presumably got ready for the fall semester with lots of questions about how and where they’d find the services they need. Rafko notes that he and his team had been reaching out to students via email, phone and video conference. Details, ranging from vending machines to clubs and organizations (meetings still uncertain), include that the library remains open, but students must wear masks, which will be provided in a box by the door for those who show up without them. The librarian notes the number of books is cut in half, from 30,000 to 15,000, as the emphasis morphs from keeping books to more of a format for accessing knowledge. It’s a helpful basic reader that perhaps could have used some quotes from returning students about their concerns, questions, and expectations."
Campus Services Still Available Yet Meetings Still Uncertain
"Ryan Rafko, director of admissions and guidance, says MCCC switched to remote learning before many other Michigan institutions of higher education did so -- and therein lies and idea for a story, right? This August 2020 piece was a good idea as students presumably got ready for the fall semester with lots of questions about how and where they’d find the services they need. Rafko notes that he and his team had been reaching out to students via email, phone and video conference. Details, ranging from vending machines to clubs and organizations (meetings still uncertain), include that the library remains open, but students must wear masks, which will be provided in a box by the door for those who show up without them. The librarian notes the number of books is cut in half, from 30,000 to 15,000, as the emphasis morphs from keeping books to more of a format for accessing knowledge. It’s a helpful basic reader that perhaps could have used some quotes from returning students about their concerns, questions, and expectations."