Daily News wins top online awards for sports, commentary

The Ball State Daily News won 20 online Gold Circle Awards today from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, including national first-place honors for sportswriting, editorials and personal opinion.

    

Connor Hockett won first place in Sports News for his story, "Scaife’s Missed Free Throws Sinks Ball State Against Buffalo." Editor-in-Chief Adam Baumgartner won a first for Personal Opinion with "Know What You’re Worth, Don’t Settle for Less." 

The newspaper's editorial board won the top honor in editorial writing for an explainer on its policy for endorsing student government candidates: "Our View: Endorsements, Editorials Do Not Affect Reporting."

Elsewhere, the Daily News took second place in Breaking News, News Writing, News Feature, General or Humor Commentary, First-Person Experience and Entertainment Reviews.

The 2014 Digital Media awards reflect entries produced from Nov. 2, 2012 to Nov. 1, 2013. CSPA said its contests for secondary schools and colleges, including print and online publications, attracted 4,279 entries from schools across the country.

CSPA, founded in 1925, is owned by Columbia University and is affiliated with its Graduate School of Journalism.

Here are all the 2014 Gold Circle Awards won by Ball State today.

DIGITAL MEDIA

These awards reflect entries produced between November 2, 2012 through November 1, 2013. Because CSPA dates its awards by the year in which they are given, they are given, they are known as the 2014 Gold Circle Awards for Digital Media.

DM1. Breaking news

2. Staff, “SGA President Posts Derogatory Tweets,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM3. News writing

2. Emma Kate Fittes, “University, County Officials Encourage Students, Residents to Take Preventative Measures,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

CM. Benjamin Dashley, “A ‘Stunning’ Existence,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

DM4. News feature

2. Anna Ortiz, “BSU Student Shares Her Experience of Being Homeless in College,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM5. In-depth news/feature story

CM. Rachel Podnar, “No Reported Hate Crimes May Not Be Whole Story, Officials Say,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM6. Editorial writing

1. Editorial Board, “Our View: Endorsements, Editorials Do Not Affect Reporting,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

2. Editorial Board, “Our View: SGA Does Matter,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

CM. Editorial Board, “Our View: Gora’s Successor has Much to Prove,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

DM7. Personal opinion: On-campus issues

1. Adam Baumgartner, “Know What You’re Worth, Don’t Settle for Less,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM8. Personal opinion: Off-campus issues

CM. Nathan Brown, “Underemployment Rates Shouldn’t Scare Students From Getting College Degrees,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

DM9. General or humor commentary

2. Kelly Dickey, “Similarities Between 9/11, Boston Gives Me a Sense of Lost Innocence Again,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

DM10. First person experience

2. Adam Baumgartner, “Know What You’re Worth, Don’t Settle for Less,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM12. Sports news

1. Connor Hockett, “Scaife’s Missed Free Throws Sinks Ball State Against Buffalo,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

3. Steven Williams, “Ball State’s Shondell Agrees to Contract Extension,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM15. General feature

CM. Dakota Crawford, “Athlete Gives Account of Storm in Oklahoma,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM16. Entertainment reviews

2. Ashley Dye, “‘Orange is the New Black’ Provides Diverse, Untold Prison Stories,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

CM. Steven Williams, “Prince Avalance Succeeds By Doing More with Less,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM26. Single spot news photograph

2. Marcey Burton, “Student Government Association Vice President-elect Reacts,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

CM. Bobby Ellis, “David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey Laugh,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

DM28. Single sports photograph

CM. Jordan Huffer, “Basketball - Kamieniecki,” The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University, Muncie, IN;

-30-

Long walk on a cold night

Hague Road near where the guy was walking. 

Just got home from work. It's zero degrees out, and I felt the cold biting my hands when I  stopped to fill up my car a little while ago.

This was at the gas station at 96th Street and Interstate 69. I got back in and was headed down Hague Road near the office park when I saw him.

There's no sidewalk around there, and no lights. So with the snow piled high along the sides, he was walking in complete darkness right in the road.

I turned around and offered him a ride. He said thanks and was headed to the bus stop by CVS on 82nd Street. It's a three mile walk from where he works at Fry's Electronics north of the gas station.

"What do you do at Fry's?" I said.

"I'm a customer service associate - loss prevention."

"What are people stealing these days?"

"Headphones. People try to steal the headphones."

His car is in the shop, so he walks about an hour each way from the bus stop to work.

He told me his name and said he's planning to go to Ivy Tech to study technology. He wants to finish his bachelor's at IUPUI.

We pulled up to the CVS, where he could wait for the bus. It wasn't coming for almost an hour, but at least he would be warm.

"Thank you, man. Thank you," he said.

"It's alright."

He opened the door and climbed out.

"OK, well good luck," he said.

I told him thanks. I felt pretty damn lucky already, but you can never have too much.