Western Baptist Journalists Earn National Recognition

Student journalists at Western Baptist College were recognized for excellence by their professional peers at the fourth annual Baptist Press national Student Journalism Conference, Oct. 7-9, in Nashville, Tenn. The conference’s “Pursue the Passion” theme encouraged students to develop a passion for their craft and their relationship with God.

During the conference, WB’s Hilltop News was named the third best newspaper nationally (out of 11) in the small college division. Photojournalist Amy Visser earned third place for her individual entry.

Hilltop News advisor Karen Willoughby attended the conference with four student publication staff members. Willoughby said she was very pleased with how the students fared in the competition and thankful for the recognition they and the college received.

“The goal was to have our students realize that their work compares with their peers at other Christian colleges. They learned they are talented and can now work on improving their craft,” Willoughby said.

WB journalists submitted 23 entries in various categories. They were judged by more than 40 judges -- professional writers, editors and photographers, many from major newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Enquirer and Dallas Morning News.

“We were judged to be very strong in graphical appeal, content variety, and newsworthiness.  We must become more journalistic in our writing, which we will continue to work on this year,” Willoughby added.

The Baptist Press also presented Hilltop News awards including the BP Best for exceptional work, six superior, six excellent and 11 merit awards. The BP Best Awards went to Kristin Heritage for a soccer action photo, Esther Park’s fund raising article, and Stacy Kazemier's article about the Hilltop Big Board.