The Jambar wins first in Overall Excellence at ONMA Awards

Youngstown State University’s student newspaper, The Jambar, placed first in Overall Excellence in Division A of the Ohio News Media Association’s Collegiate Newspaper and Website Competition.

The Jambar staff also earned recognition in seven out of the competition’s 10 categories, including sweeping the Headline Writing category, placing in first, second and third.

The organization grabbed a first place finish in the Sports Coverage category and placed second in the News Coverage and In-Depth Reporting.

Individual staff members also received awards, with Molly Burke, Christopher Gillet and Dylan Lux placing second in Best Multimedia Package and Sydney Fairbanks and Molly Burke placing third in Arts and Entertainment.

Five former and current staff members attended the ONMA’s awards ceremony, which was held Thursday, April 3 in Westerville. The Jambar’s faculty advisor Adam Earnheardt was also in attendance.

“We’re competing with much bigger schools, which makes this extra special for our student journalists,” Earnheard said. “I’m incredibly proud of our students. This recognition is much deserved.”

The ONMA’s Collegiate Newspaper and Website Competition accepted entries from 16 newspapers from Ohio colleges in two divisions. Division A recognizes colleges with an enrollment of 10,000 or more students, including colleges such as the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University and Ohio University.

The ONMA, established in 1933 as the Ohio Newspaper Association, is a statewide trade association representing Ohio’s daily and weekly newspapers. Today, the ONMA provides a comprehensive program of member services including government relations and lobbying, publications, training, legal support, group insurance, and advertising assistance.