By Abby Knox, Staff Writer

“If I were a student of Xavier, I’d be a regular reader of the Newswire,” judges from the 16th year of the Ohio News Media Association (ONMA) Collegiate Journalism awards said. 

Newswire has been named the winner of the Frank E. Deaner Award for Excellence in Collegiate Journalism Division B by the Ohio News Media Association. At OMNA’s annual fellowship day in Columbus, Newswire was honored with 11 awards, 6 of which were first-place awards, with the overall award being attributed to anyone who wrote for Newswire during the 2024 calendar year.

Since 2009, the Ohio News Media Association has awarded qualifying Ohio colleges and university newspapers with various awards for different categories. Newswire was placed in Division B which consists of universities with student enrollment with fewer than 10,000 undergraduate students. This year there were 16 collegiate newspapers as a part of the ONMA convention.

“It’s especially impressive that we have won three out of the last four years as best overall winner because Xavier does not have any sort of journalism school. We don’t have a journalism major and we have very few journalism classes, so Newswire is one of the only opportunities that students have to practice journalism on campus,” Philosophy, Politics and the Public and History double major and Newswire Editor-in-Chief Katie Sanchez said.

Newswire is no stranger to winning awards from ONMA as they won the Frank E. Deaner best award in 2022 and 2023 as well. The winner is determined by a point total based on the minor awards, where the publication with the highest number of points is the recipient of the top award.

Awards won by the Newswire journalists include first place in news coverage.

“The Newswire has a great mix of stories. I liked that not only were campus issues written about but also matters in the community that would impact the campus/students. The opinion pieces explored topics that were interesting and thought out,” one judge said.

Sanchez was asked about winning the overall award for 2024. “It sort of feels like the culmination of all the work that myself and all these people that have grown in Newswire with me have done for the past four years. I think it feels like a good senior send off to have all this hard work that all of us have done in the past four years recognized.”

Three individuals were specifically awarded for their works including Arts & Entertainment editor Audrey Elwood and alumni Jesse Dolojan and Jackson Hare.

“I think the fact that they [Jesse and Jackson] were both Education and Enrichment Coordinators for Newswire says a lot. Those are both people who have been really focused on honing their skills and teaching their skills to other people. That expertise really shows in their writing,” Sanchez said.

Newswire also took home first in the sports coverage category. 

“The layout, photo quality and content were all expertly presented, creating a visually engaging and cohesive experience. The use of statistics enhances the narrative without overshadowing it, providing valuable context rather than being the focal point. There is excellent coverage of key moments within games, including game-deciding scores, pivotal innings and critical time frames, ensuring that the most exciting and significant aspects are highlighted for the reader,” a judge said. 

This was the eighth year that Newswire submitted its work to the OMNA awards, and there is no doubt that Newswire was recognized. 

List of Awards Won: 

• 1st Place – News Coverage, 1st Place – In Depth Reporting
• 2nd Place – Arts and Entertainment – Audrey Elwood
• 1st Place – Opinion Writing – Jesse Dolojan
• 2nd Place – Opinion Writing – Jackson Hare
• 1st Place – Sports Coverage
• 1st Place – Design
• 1st Place – Headline Writing
• 2nd Place – Headline Writing 
• 3rd Place – Headline Writing.