The Ithacan wins again and again and again.... (that's what excellence is all about...)

Jackie Palochko ’11, next year's Ithacan news editor, and Allison Musante ’10, next year's Ithacan managing editor, at the SPJ convention with the Ithacan awards.

The Ithacan has once again been named the best non-daily student newspaper in the Northeast by the Society of Professional Journalist. SPJ, the largest professional organization of reporters and editors in the country, presented the paper with the First Place Mark of Excellence Award at its Region 1 conference on April 25 in Philadelphia.

The paper now goes on to compete against the first-place winners in the other 11 regions in SPJ’s national competition, the results of which will be announced at the SPJ national convention in Indianapolis, August 27–30. The Ithacan placed second nationally in last year’s competition.

In addition, senior Jennifer Nevins’ story, “That’s How They Roll,” on a local roller derby team, won the First Place Mark of Excellence Award in the Feature Writing category, and will go on to compete in the national competition as well.

Senior Erica R. Hendry’s “Jazz Man,” a profile of recently retired music professor Steve Brown, took second place in the Feature Writing category.

The stories appeared in the October 23, 2008, and April 24, 2008, issues of The Ithacan, respectively.