2008 Woodie Awards
The Patriot honored as a top paper
Student newspaper wins award
Kim Gailliard
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
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The paper finished second to Clemson University's The Tiger in the Best Overall Weekly or Daily category of the SCPA competition. Winthrop University's The Johnsonian took third place.
"This award marks a new era of quality journalism for The Patriot," senior Lindsay Reilly, editor, said.
The awards were presented March 28 in Columbia. Reilly said the award is an example of how much the paper has improved during the past year.
"We decided to enter the SCPA competition because we knew that our paper had greatly improved from previous years, and we really thought we had a shot at winning an award," Reilly said. "We're excited that we finally have an award plaque to hang in the office. That's been my goal since the first day I joined the staff."
Some other schools in the competition included the University of South Carolina, Furman University, the University of South Carolina at Aiken, Claflin University, the University of South Carolina at Sumter and Bob Jones University.
Turning around The Patriot
Last summer, the student newspaper underwent a massive overhaul to change the quality of reporting and other aspects of the paper.
A lack of timely reporting was one of the biggest issues in the past, said Dave Sacash, assistant professor of mass communication and adviser of The Patriot.
"The first problem we had was students thought it was a history book," Sacash said. "We always reported after the fact."
Poor editing and weak reporting also affected the paper's credibility, he said.
To fix those problems, Reilly reorganized the staff. She "let go of people who weren't willing to do the work" and "promoted those who proved their dedication," she said.
More emphasis has been placed on accountability and fair and accurate reporting, which Reilly thinks has been welcomed by readers and sources alike.
"Overlooked in the past was the importance of serious and professional evaluations, which the editorial staff and I have conducted on a regular basis this year," Reilly said. "We realized early on that in order to see improvement and be successful we would have to offer constructive criticism and strict evaluations of our staff writers' work. Employees are evaluated based on high standards in the workforce, and I hold my staff to the same standards."
Her professional approach has been key to the paper's success, Sacash said.
"We're very strict now," Sacash said. "If you don't want to work, then the student newspaper is not for you - we're very serious, we're very professional."
Reilly also redesigned the paper and upgraded the size from tabloid to broadsheet newsprint.
"I spent most of the summer cooped up in the office deciding what our new newspaper would look like and designing templates to ease the layout process during the school year," Reilly said. "It has been a learning process."
The changes, she said, were necessary in order to boost circulation - something she considered a top priority.
"We wanted more people to see the improved product," she said. "We wanted students, faculty and staff to consider The Patriot an important newspaper worth reading. We wanted them to pick it up when they saw a new paper on the newsstand."
Launching a new Web site
Another change involved the newspaper's Web edition. Previous attempts to launch the site were unsuccessful and time consuming, Reilly said.
"To correct that problem, we signed on with a new company and launched a fresh site," she said. "Now, it's easy to update, attractive and interactive. We offer polls, slideshows, news updates, letters to the editor that can be submitted directly from the site and more."
She said the new site also features an e-mail edition for those who have become registered members of the site.
Receiving positive feedback
Once the groundwork was laid, the only thing left to do was put the new product to the test.
Since the first issue of the revamped paper was made available in August, the response has been very positive, Sacash said.
"The reaction on campus has been tremendous," he said. "I've had people stop me on campus - from faculty members to people who work on computers to people just walking around out here that I don't even know - say 'hey, the paper's great' and 'keep it up,' so we knew what we were doing but probably underestimated the reaction."
An array of hard news and feature stories have become staples in each issue, Reilly said.
"We've tried to print content that is interesting to students and the FMU community," she said. "We've aggressively covered crime on campus and other touchy issues that have generated discussion. That's what a newspaper is supposed to do."
The increase in readership also has been complimented by a spike in advertising sales.
Amanda Asher, advertising manager, has brought in about $5,000 in ad revenue so far, Sacash said. Asher has increased sales by 300 percent.
Although most of the funding for the 3,000-circulation paper comes from the university, he said the additional revenue brought in has enabled the paper to do more.
Reilly said Asher has helped the paper build a "strong and loyal customer base."
Overall, Reilly said she is "extremely proud of the success" the student newspaper has had this year.
"Prior to assuming the role of editor (last spring), I set a goal: to turn around The Patriot and make it a quality, well-respected publication," she said. "It feels good to say we've done just that. It's rewarding when the dedication and hard work pays off."
She also said the support from Sacash, President Dr. Fred Carter, Provost Dr. Richard Chapman and Vice President of Student Affairs Darryl Bridges have been greatly appreciated.
Looking toward the future
Reilly is confident about the future of the paper.
"I really feel we've established the roots this year for The Patriot to continue to grow for years to come," Reilly said. "Strong leadership is lined up for next year, and the editorial team has gone through intense training. I'm confident the newspaper will continue to improve."
Sacash agreed.
"The Patriot has a good reputation now, and we don't want to go backwards," Sacash said. "We won that award, so I think we're in the right direction."
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