TCU 360 Wins Online Newspaper of the Year

The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors (TAPME) recognized TCU Student Media in a number of categories at the 2018 TAPME Awards.

TCU 360 was honored as the online newspaper of the year.

Rachel Piper, a judge and the digital news editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, said that TCU 360 is, “A well-designed site with clear navigation, and lots of entry points to other stories to keep visitors reading. Interactive features like maps and videos are engaging and well-produced, and the site has sophisticated offerings like newsletters and alerts.”

The Skiff received honorable mention for newspaper of the year.

The judges said, “Students at Texas Christian University are kept well-informed by their campus paper, The Skiff. When there was a shooting between two shuttle drivers, Skiff reporters provided students with a cover story about what happened and dug deeper with an article examining why campus alerts aren’t also sent in Spanish so non-English speaking people on campus know about lockdowns. Another post-shooting story brought attention to classrooms that can’t be manually locked from the inside, potentially exposing students and faculty to danger from intruders. In another edition, Skiff staff writers pitched in with their own Hurricane Harvey account. The Skiff’s credit-worthy special graduation edition served not only students on what to expect at graduation but had articles on what visitors could do in Fort Worth and recommended restaurants where a grad could take grandma. Also impressive was when The Skiff didn’t shy away from covering a student murder in the grad tab that likely was the topic of many conversations between parents and graduating seniors. The Skiff receives honorable mention for putting into practice basic elements of journalism – going through the drill of breaking news, developing local angles on bigger stories and completing the considerable task of producing a graduation edition.”

The campus lockdown coverage received first place for online coverage. The team of reporters included Elizabeth Campbell, Caroline Love, Bernice Ogbondah, Grace Amiss and Skylar Kalb. The stories included in the coverage are Update: Shooter near campus is in Fort Worth Police custodyShift to automated locks may leave classrooms at riskConcerns rise over lack of TCU alerts in Spanish, and Some students unsure of where to take cover during lockdowns.

Finally, Haley Harrison’s feature on animal rescue, Good Neighbors Animal Rescue helps hundreds of feral cats and dogs, received first place for videos shorter than two minutes.