The Murray State News has been named to the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Pacemaker 100 list.
The Pacemaker Award is considered the top prize in collegiate journalism and has honored the very best collegiate broadcasts, magazines, newspapers, online publications and yearbooks since 1927. The Murray State News has won this distinguished award and been named a finalist several times.
The Murray State News was founded in 1927 under the name, The College News. It was later changed to The Murray State News when the institution became Murray State University.
The Murray State News has evolved over its 94-year history from a printed student newspaper to a full-service media operation. The student-run newspaper is still printed weekly, but the student journalists also now produce a yearly magazine called Gateway, a daily website, and an online newscast, The College News.
In homage to the original name of the student publication, Stephanie Anderson, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, started The College News online newscast in 2018. The newscast is created and produced by students in the JMC 398 Advanced Multimedia class.
“The College News has allowed students to disseminate news in broadcast form,” Anderson said. “While it has been produced by The Murray State News, it offers additional content not found in the weekly publication. The JMC department has transitioned in the last few years to a more multimedia-focused curriculum as the media industry itself has changed. Opportunities like The College News newscast, Gateway Magazine and The Murray State News weekly publication gives students more opportunities to take what they are learning in the classroom and put it into real-world experience that informs people on campus and in the Murray community.”
The Murray State News along with the other 99 collegiate newspapers honored with the Pacemaker 100 will be honored at the ACP centennial celebration planned for the national college media convention Oct. 14-17 in New Orleans.
The Murray State News is published every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters and available on and off campus at dozens of locations. The latest issues of The Murray State News can be found at www.thenews.org. Gateway Magazine is available on shelves now throughout campus and the community. The College News airs on The Murray State News Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The Associated Collegiate Press was founded in 1921 and has trained and honored collegiate journalists from The Murray State News and other schools around the country through conventions, workshops and awards.
“The Pacemaker really represents the best of the best and it is appropriate that we recognize the rich tradition this award has in collegiate journalism as part of our centennial celebration,” ACP associate director Gary Lundgren said.