The Collegian captures 11 honors at 2024 Golden Leaf Awards
The organization placed 2nd for Best Overall Newspaper for a second consecutive year.
WAYNE, Neb. — On Saturday, The Collegian attended the 2024 Golden Leaf Awards (GLAs) for a second consecutive year on the campus of Wayne State College in Nebraska.
The GLAs is the annual spring conference of the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association (NPCMA), which The Collegian has been a proud member of since the summer of 2022.
Other NPCMA member institutions in attendance included Peru State College (Neb.), Concordia University (Neb.), Doane University (Neb.), University of Nebraska-Kearney, Chadron State College (Neb.), Black Hills State University (S.D.), and Wayne State.
Altogether, The Collegian — the only Kansas-based student newspaper in the NPCMA — tallied 11 honors, six more than the year prior. These included the following:
Andrew Graber placed 2nd for Best Feature Photo
Graber also placed 2nd for Best Sports Game Photo
Lauren McCreary placed 1st for Best General News Story
Brett Esch placed 2nd for Best Breaking News Story
McCreary also placed 2nd for Best In-Depth Reporting
Esch also placed 1st for Best Sports Column
Volume 111, issue 11 of The Collegian placed 2nd for Best Overall Design
TBC Podcast placed 1st for Best Podcast
The Collegian placed 2nd for Best Social Media Presence
The Collegian also placed 2nd for Best Overall Website
The Collegian also placed 2nd for Best Overall Newspaper
Only work published from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2023 was eligible for submission to a panel of journalism experts from across the United States serving as judges.
"To come back to the GLAs and double our awards total speaks to the dedication of this superbly talented group of editors and writers," Editor-in-Chief Brett Esch said. "I'm so excited to see [incoming Editor-in-Chief] Micah [Wenger] continue this tradition and take it to new heights next year. It's been a blast to lead this historic organization and recognize the progress we've made over the past two years."
The 2nd-place finish in Best Overall Newspaper matches The Collegian’s 2023 placement in the category. In total, The Collegian racked up twice as many staff awards than last year.