Phoenix named top weekly newspaper in Illinois

February 22, 2020

The Phoenix, Loyola University Chicago’s student newspaper, won 18 awards including first place in general excellence for non-daily collegiate newspapers, at the Illinois College Press Association convention in Chicago.

The general excellence award recognizes the best overall student news organizations among non-daily student newspapers in Illinois.

The Phoenix also took home awards for podcasting, editorial, front page layout, opinion, feature story other than sports, feature page design, news story, sports game story, sports column, in-depth reporting, headline writing, feature photo, general news photo, and multimedia reporting.

The Phoenix was up against a myriad of other college and university newspapers including DePaul University, University of Chicago, and Columbia College.

The Illinois College Press Association hosted its 37^th annual convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Chicago on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22. Carol Marin, the political editor at NBC5 News and a regular interviewer for public broadcasting on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight delivered the keynote address on February 21.

The ICPA offered a range of breakout sessions throughout the two-day event. Loyola’s very own, Ralph Braseth and David Kamerer presented at the convention along with School of Communication and Phoenix alumni, Nader Issa and Madeline Kenney.

Phoenix editor, Mary Norkol, also took part in a roundtable discussion about student press freedoms. On Saturday, the ICPA hosted its annual awards luncheon and attendees celebrated their work.