UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Nancy Copic

Beacon Accolades Keep Coming

HugBetweenPresisdentsBEACAON.JPGA Beacon photograph taken at the Inauguration of University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., won First Place for Breaking News Photography in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Awards regional competition, according to Nancy Copic, student activities. Freshman photojournalist Hannah Baade took the photo titled “A Hug Between Presidents.” It shows Fr. Poorman hugging ASUP President John Julius Muwulya after Muwulya presented him with a watch as an inauguration gift. As a First Place regional winner, the photo now advances to the national SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards competition. National winners will be announced at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism conference in Orlando September 18-20.

The competition featured entries from collegiate newspapers in five western states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Regional finalists also include “Are we pushing forward or rolling backward?” by Lydia Laythe (Kelsey Thomas, editor-in-chief) in the category In-Depth Reporting; and “It’s Your $85” by Rebekah Markillie and Maggie Hannon (Kelsey Thomas, editor-in-chief), in the category of Photo Illustration.

For more information contact Copic at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Alumni, Where Are You?

Beacon 1973 Mueller Larry 1974 LOG p. 130Beacon alumni, we want to hear from you, since this year marks The Beacon’s 80th birthday. Looking back, what are your most memorable Beacon moments? How did working on The Beacon enrich your college experience? How did working on The Beacon prepare you for professional life? Submissions will be published in the April 19 print edition and on The Beacon website and mobile app. Send your memories (no more than 200 words) to BeaconAlums@gmail.com by April 12. Include your name (and maiden name), graduation year, and current career and job information. If possible, attach a current headshot of yourself.

For more information contact Nancy Copic, student activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Wins Best In The Nation

AppleAward.jpgThe University’s student-run campus newspaper, The Beacon, won the national Apple Award for “Best Newspaper” for colleges or universities with fewer than 5,000 students at the annual College Media Association convention in New York City, according to Nancy Copic, student activities. Other winners were The Miami Hurricane of the University of Miami (10,000+ students) and The Eagle of American University (5000-10,000 students).

Copic attended the convention, along with six selected Beacon staffers: Katie Dunn, Malika Andrews, David DiLoreto, Rebekah Markillie, Parker Shoaff, and Jacob Fuhrer. The Beacon has won four other national awards since September, including a Third Place Pinnacle Award for Best Weekly College Newspaper, and three Gold Circle Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

For more information contact Copic at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Staffer Wins National Award For Digital Media

sheridan copyUP student Cassie Sheridan won a national award for an interactive digital timeline she designed for The Beacon last spring, titled “History of Women at UP”, according to Nancy Copic, student activities. Sheridan won Second Place in the category of “Interactive Graphic for Digital Media” in the Gold Circle Awards sponsored by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, based at the Columbia University School of Journalism in New York.

While The Beacon has won several national awards in recent years, this is the first national award the paper has won for digital media. The blog College Media Matters also named the timeline one of the “Seven Standout Student Press Stories.” For more information contact Copic at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

The Beacon: There’s An App For That

beaconUniversity community members can now read The Beacon and much more on phones and iPads using the new Beacon Mobile App. It features the News, Sports, Living, and Opinion sections plus social media channels, the UP calendar, and a live audio stream of KDUP. National and international news programs are included on the app via NPR. Beacon staff and KDUP will host a launch party with music and treats at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, at 7 p.m., during Espresso UP in St. Mary’s. All are invited. To download the app, go to http://bit.ly/Zj3wtJ. For more information contact Nancy Copic, student activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon one of four finalists for national award

1aBeaconReader150The Beacon, the University of Portland’s weekly student-produced newspaper, is a finalist for the national College Media Association’s Pinnacle Award for Weekly College Newspaper of the Year. Newspapers from Vanderbilt University, DePaul University, and Texas Woman’s University are also finalists for the national award. The Pinnacle Awards honor the best college media organizations and student individual work. The winners will be honored at the National College Media Convention in Philadelphia Oct. 29 – Nov. 2. For more information contact Nancy Copic, student activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Staffers Off To Nationals

ellis copyThe Society of Professional Journalists has named its 2013 Mark of Excellence Awards winners from Region 10, which encompasses Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The awards honor the best of collegiate journalism from each calendar year. Honorees received award certificates the weekend of May 2 at the Region 10 Spring Conference in Portland.

Olivia Alsept-Ellis (pictured) and Kelsey Thomas of The Beacon won first place in General News Reporting (Small) for their story, “Cyber confessions become cyberbullying.” Peter Gallagher, Katie Dunn, and Kelsey Thomas were finalists for Best Sports Writing for their Beacon article, “Selfless, tough, compassionate.” The Beacon was also a finalist for the Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper award. First-place winners will move on to the national MOE competition among category winners from all regions. National winners will be notified in the late spring and will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism 2014 conference in Nashville, Tenn., September 4 to 6.

For more information contact Nancy Copic, student activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Staffers Win Ethics-Focused Journalism Internships

BEACONSnowdenInternsNastacia,Kate,Kelsey.jpgThe Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism has chosen three Beacon staffers for its paid summer internship program, which places student journalists at media outlets around the state of Oregon.

Beacon “Living” editor Kate Stringer will divide her time reporting for the Portland Tribune and Forest Grove News-TImes; editor-in-chief Kelsey Thomas will report for the Mail Tribune in Medford; and Beacon reporter Nastacia Voisin will intern for the News-Register in McMinnville. Each will have an experienced mentor editor, who will work closely with them for 10 weeks.

The Snowden Program is based at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, and honors the legacy of Charles Snowden, a longtime editor at the Oregon Journal and Oregonian. A key component of the internship program is reviewing ethical practices in the context of journalism. Interns are chosen based on their potential for successful media careers based on journalism experience, commitment to ethics, passion for journalism and academic achievement.

For more information contact Nancy Copic, stuent activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Makes National Finals

1aBeaconReader150The Beacon, the University’s weekly student-produced newspaper, is a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award, a national award considered for the past 86 years to be the most prestigious award in college media, according to Nancy Copic, student activities. The Beacon is among 22 colleges and universities whose newspaper are finalists, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College, George Washington University, University of Oregon, Johns Hopkins, and more. The Associated Collegiate Press will announce this year’s Pacemaker winners at their convention in New Orleans on October 26. For more information contact Copic at 7470 or copic@up.edu.

Beacon Awards Keep Rolling In

The University’s student-run weekly newspaper, The Beacon, won 27 awards—including first place for General Excellence— at the statewide collegiate awards ceremony of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association on May 11, according to Nancy Copic, student activities. The citation for first place reads: “The Beacon is an excellent student newspaper. It has a strong mix of stories and columns, extraordinarily good design, and a quality of journalism that is very high. One issue covered thoroughly a campus discussion of the university’s nondiscrimination policy and did so ably. Even though the paper’s position was clear, it was not a rant. In fact, it was professionally handled. Students are shown everywhere in the paper, as a good student newspaper should. There is clearly no fear in taking on issues that could be controversial on campus. The Beacon is impressive.”

For more information contact Copic at 7470 or copic@up.edu.