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The Award-Winning Marlin Chronicle
The student newspaper garnered 14 awards from the Society for Collegiate Journalists
Featured News | June 4, 2018
By Cynthia Griffin ‘19
Since 1966, Virginia Wesleyan’s official student newspaper, The Marlin Chronicle, has provided student journalists with opportunities to communicate news to the campus community about life at Wesleyan and in the local community. This year, the completely student-run newspaper continued its legacy as an award winning publication, once again garnering awards from the Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ).
The 2018 award winners follow a long line of SCJ accolades. In the decades that The Marlin Chronicle has been on campus it has won a countless number of awards ranging from editorial page layouts to illustrations. This year The Marlin Chronicle won 14 awards including one for Newspaper Website Overall Excellence and six for front page and editorial page designs.
The majority of student volunteer writers for the newspaper get their start in a journalism workshop, which is open to students in all majors. In addition to the journalism workshop, an editor’s workshop is also offered for students who qualify and are approved by The Marlin Chronicle advisor, Dr. Lisa Lyon Payne.
Dr. Payne, a communication and journalism professor, has been the newspaper’s advisor for seven years. She is a strong believer in student journalism and continuously supports members of what she calls “The Chron Team.”
The team has the opportunity to write for five different sections of the newspaper --News, Community, Opinions, Sports and Weekender – and feature everything from important changes happening on campus to the best new places to eat in the area.
Junior Mickella Rast, a communication and English major, is one of the editors of the News section and loves writing for the newspaper.
"Working on the Marlin Chronicle has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career, and probably my life. There's always something interesting to learn and a new person to meet,” says Rast.
Most students find that being a part of the award winning newspaper is definitely a good experience. While not every editor or writer will end up writing for a newspaper after they leave Virginia Wesleyan, it is easy to see that no matter what major or career field, being a part of this student newspaper has value.
2018 Awards:
Companion Newspaper Website Overall Excellence - 3rd Place
Front Page - 3rd Place - Dec. 7, 2017 Mickella Rast
News Page: 2nd Place - Dec. 7, 2017 Amanda Archer
Editorial Page: 1st Place - Oct. 5, 2017 Ashley Kline
Editorial Page: 2nd Place - August 2017 (Orientation)- Ashley Kline
Editorial Page: 3rd Place - April 27, 2017- Michael Wilson & Hayley Heath
Feature Page: 3rd Place - April 27, 2017- Justin Smith
Advertising Portfolio: 1st Place - Sippin’ Tea- Julie Ainsley & Val Miller
Advertising Portfolio: 2nd Place- The Lighthouse: “SHIPP”- Ashlei Gates
Multi News Story Series: Honorable Mention - Caf Conditions- Ashley Kline, Julie Ainsley, & Mickella Rast
Sports Column: 3rd Place - The Dugout: Teams aid in relief- Luke Chiasson
Sports Photography: 2nd Place - Women’s Basketball- Anthony Dellamura
Editorial Cartoon: Honorable Mention - Homecoming Marlin- Val Miller
Graphic Illustration: Honorable Mention - Social Media- Val Miller
Cynthia Griffin ‘19 is a community editor for The Marlin Chronicle and a student intern in the VWU Office of Marketing and Communications.