July 2, 2024
“The Corsair” Staffers Win Four SoCal Journalism Awards
SMC’s The Corsair Staff Win in Four Categories at the 66th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards
Sponsored by the LA Press Club, the Awards Recognize the Best Reporting in Southern California
SANTA MONICA, CA—Student journalists from Santa Monica College’s (SMC) student-run media outlet The Corsair won four “student media” awards at the 66th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards competition, sponsored by the LA Press Club. The awards were announced at a June 23, 2024 gala reception held at the Millennium Biltmore in Los Angeles.
SMC student journalists competed against other student media staff from institutions including UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State LA, plus other community colleges and high school publications. Below is a list of the awards won by The Corsair staffers:
- First Place, Best Feature Photo: Caylo Seals, The Corsair, “Gone AWOL: Living in an RV Dwelling in Los Angeles” (Corsair photo editor Danilo Perez was also nominated in this category).
- Second Place, Best News Photo: Caylo Seals, The Corsair, Santa Monica College, “Abortion Rights Protester”
- Second Place, Best Arts Writing: Taylor Parise, The Corsair, “From Picket Lines Back to the Grind”
- Third Place, Best News Writing: Cebelihle Hlatshwayo, Renee Barlett-Webber, Samaiya Kirby and Victor Chambers, The Corsair, “Playwright or Wrong”
Of Caylo Seals’s first-place winning photo, “Gone AWOL: Living in an RV Dwelling in Los Angeles,” the judges wrote, “To be able to enter someone's world and illustrate it like [Caylo] did takes a good eye, creativity, patience and the ability to connect with people and gain their trust. These are all crucial things for a photojournalist. [He] also covered a very sensitive topic with humanity, which is a beautiful thing. . .”
Corsair faculty advisor and journalism professor Sharyn Obsatz said: "SMC journalism students work so hard to cover campus and community news, and we are thankful every time their efforts are recognized and awarded. They give us hope for the future of journalism."
Launched at the beginning of the 20th century, The Los Angeles Press Club exists to support, promote, and defend quality journalism in Southern California. Its task is to encourage journalists by involving the public in recognizing such journalism together in belief that a free press is crucial to a free society. The Los Angeles Press Club provides a place for journalists to gather, network and learn from one another, especially through the sponsorship of events. The LA Press Club is the only organization in Southern California that speaks for all journalists in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet. To learn more visit LAPressClub.org.
The Corsair advising team includes journalism instructors Sharyn Obsatz, Samantha Nuñez, and photojournalism professor Gerard Burkhart. The Corsair staff produces a bi-weekly newspaper in the spring and fall semesters, currently available on issuu.com/corsair.website, online at thecorsaironline.com. Follow The Corsair on Instagram @corsairnews.
Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
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