April 3, 2019

The Corsair Wins Top Journalism Awards

Spider in a woman's mouth
The photo that was part of the portfolio which won The Corsair’s Zane Meyer-Thornton the 2018 Student Photojournalist of the Year award from the Press Photographers’ Association of Greater Los Angeles. (Photo Credit: Zane Meyer-Thornton / The Corsair)

The Corsair Wins Multiple Regional and State Awards for Excellence in Journalism

With 12 Awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, SMC Student Photojournalists also Win Top Awards from PPAGLA

SANTA MONICA, CA—The Corsair, Santa Monica College’s student-run news outlet, has won 12 awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC). The awards from the mail-in student media and on-site competitions were announced during the JACC state convention held March 28 - 30, in Sacramento, Calif.

The Press Photographers’ Association of Greater Los Angeles (PPAGLA) also announced its 2018 Student Photojournalist of the Year and runner-up on Saturday, March 30. Both of them are Corsair staffers: Zane Meyer-Thornton was PPAGLA 2018 Student Photojournalist of the Year; Matthew Martin was the runner-up. See PPAGLA Photo Contest Winners for more.

Additionally, The Corsair is nominated as a finalist in several categories for The California News Publishers Association (CNPA) California Journalism Awards.

"The student journalists at The Corsair work tirelessly to cover the SMC community and beyond. To be recognized by three different journalism organizations within the same week is a testament to the students’ hard work and ever-growing talents,” said Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins, SMC journalism professor and faculty co-advisor for The Corsair newspaper.

Journalism Association of Community Colleges Awards

There were two award ceremonies held at the JACC state convention, recognizing the best of student journalism from California community colleges. At the first, held Friday, March 29, eight awards were announced for The Corsair:

  1. Front Page Layout, Honorable Mention - Casey Contreras

  2. Sports Feature Photo, Fourth Place - Dylan Cortez

  3. Sports Action Photo, Third Place - Matthew Martin

  4. Photo Story-Essay, Second Place - Zane Meyer-Thornton and Jose C. Lopez

  5. Feature Photo, Fourth Place - Oskar Zinnemann

  6. Opinion Story, Third Place - Julie Dole

  7. Profile Feature Story, Fourth Place - Yasser Marte

  8. General Excellence, Online Edition - The Corsair staff

On Saturday, March 30, the JACC announced awards for several on-site competitions. The Corsair won four awards:

  1. Critical Review, Fourth Place - Mila Greenberg

  2. Feature Photo, Fourth Place - Danica Creahan

  3. Feature Photo, Second Place - Andrew Tovar Narvaez

  4. Video Story, Third Place - Blake Atwell and Danica Creahan

The JACC also announced several scholarship awards. Corsair multimedia editor, Blake Atwell was awarded a $100 Continuing Scholarship. Founded in 1955, JACC is a nonprofit which bridges the gap between students, educators, and publications; JACC also holds contests that are a benchmark for community college journalism excellence, offers scholarships and professional development for educators, among other things. Visit the Journalism Association of Community Colleges website to learn more.

Finalists for California Journalism Awards

The California News Publishers Association (CNPA) also recently announced its finalists for the first-ever California Journalism Awards to be announced Saturday, May 4 at The Westin Long Beach; The Corsair is a finalist in the categories below:

  1. General Excellence – two-year Colleges

  2. Feature Photo – two-year Colleges (Zane Meyer-Thornton)

  3. Feature Photo – two-year Colleges (Zane Meyer-Thornton)

  4. Feature Photo – two-year Colleges (Oskar Zinnemann)

To learn more about these awards and the CNPA—which has protected the interests of California newspapers for 131 years—visit The CA News Publisher's Association Journalism Awards website.

The Corsair staff produces a bi-weekly newspaper in the spring and fall semesters and also maintains an online news site: The Corsair Online website. SMC Journalism Professor Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins advises the Corsair; Photojournalism Professor Gerard Burkhart serves as the photo adviser. For more information on The Corsair, email Blaize_Ashanti@smc.edu.

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Student journalists from The Corsair
Student journalists from The Corsair, Santa Monica College’s award-winning student news outlet, and SMC journalism professor & co-faculty adviser Ashanti Blaize (center) at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) state convention March 28-30 in Sacramento. The Corsair won 12 JACC awards.
Corsair photojournalists
Corsair photojournalists (l-r) Zane Meyer-Thornton and Matthew Martin were named 2018 Student Photojournalist of the Year and Runner-up Student Photojournalist of the Year, respectively, by the Press Photographers’ Association of Greater Los Angeles (PPAGLA) at the annual awards banquet held in Montebello, Calif. on Saturday, March 30. Meyer-Thornton was awarded a cash prize and a Nikon Z6 camera.
SMC photojournalism professor and Corsair co-adviser holding awards
(l-r) SMC photojournalism professor and Corsair co-adviser Gerard Burkhart with his students, Matthew Martin (PPGALA 2018 Student Photojournalist of the Year) and Zane Meyer-Thornton (Runner-up Student Photojournalist of the Year), and PPAGLA President Louis Gabriele at the PPAGLA's 2019 Annual Awards Banquet at Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California on Saturday, March 30, 2019. (Photo Credit: Calvin B. Alagot / PPAGLA)