CBU campus publications earn multiple national awards
Lancer Media Group students display their award-winning publications: Kia Harlan (from left), Alex Iannone, Shabnam Shaikh, Casey Maldonado and Tonia Ross.
By Victoria Buszinski
Riverside, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2020) – The Lancer Media Group (LMG), which comprises several student-run publications at California Baptist University, recently earned six Pinnacle Awards from the College Media Association and five Pacemaker Awards from the Associated Collegiate Press.
At the Pinnacle Awards, announced Oct. 23, Reagan Lee won first place in Best Sports News Photo for her work in The Banner newspaper. CBU TV, the broadcast news team, won second place for Best Video Newscast for its story on the impact of COVID-19 on local businesses, as reported by Dyana Villa. The Banner also won third place overall in the Four-Year Less-Than-Weekly Newspaper of the Year category.
Students won third place in the Pacemaker Awards on Oct. 22 in Multimedia Story of the Year. Kelly McKittrick, Phillip Ndowu and Azucena Orozco used text, photo and video to report a story on the memorial of basketball star Kobe Bryant.
Students also earned seven honorable mentions for their work.
“The Pacemakers and Pinnacles are amazing competitions,” said Sonya Singh, assistant director of student publications. “It's an exciting privilege to be included alongside other universities telling such important and compelling stories.”
Lee, a strategic communication graduate student, said the LMG students put their utmost effort into their work.
“We worked really hard as a staff and the effort that everyone put in created the perfect conditions to create these award-winning creative pieces,” Lee said.
Dr. Mary Ann Pearson, interim director of the journalism and public relations program, said the group has a record for winning awards.
“The student-produced publications at California Baptist University have a long history of winning awards. The faculty and students involved with the publications are dedicated, hardworking and committed to achieving excellence,” Pearson said.
Pearson described the year as being different but consistent with the original mission of LMG: to tell the story.
“We have been intentional about keeping our Lancer Media Group team motivated about telling the story,” Pearson said. “The stories we cover now may not be the typical CBU stories, but it is important that we document this historic year.”
(Editor’s note: Victoria Buszinski is a public relations major)