WEEK 7 WINNERS
The last was vast.
The final round of weekly winners ranges from a column about lesbian dating during a shutdown, a pair of news stories about Asian racism and refugee struggles, a rigorous data visualization project, and a half-hour newscast featuring a macaroni-and-cheese recipe and some terrible singing.
Next week, our 11 rotating judges will select the Winners of the Winners – their favorite entries from all seven weeks of The CCC Awards. Those WOWs will receive a free subscription to whatever publication they choose.
Lily Lamadrid, PSU Vanguard
Lamadrid, a student at Portland State University, isn’t the first or even fifth columnist to submit an entry about the hassles of dating while social distancing. But judges deemed it the best, saying. “It offered a unique perspective while being breathtakingly mesmerizing.”
Interestingly, Lamadrid is dating a woman named Lily, and they’ve decided…
I will change my first name’s spelling to hers, and she will take my last name. She will become Mrs. Lillie Lamadrid and I will become Mrs. Lillie Lamadrid. These are not daydreams, but certainties.
Concluded judges: “The piece mixed in general information and context about pandemic online dating, but it was Lily and Lillie who grabbed our attention.”
Peter Senzamici and Laila Maiden, New York City News Service
- STOPPING COVID-19: Asian-Americans Were Way Ahead of City, State Leaders
- Refugees Brace for Outbreaks
Judges combined two separate entries from the same amazing news service that runs out of the j-school at the City University of New York. The first is a story that ran on a site called Streetsblog, the second is a news service video, but both are tight.
In 1,200 words, Peter Senzamici interviews a doctor, business leader, and politician while citing stats from multiple sources. And in just over two minutes, Laila Maiden wasted literally not a second interviewing three refugee experts – while she was at home.
The Red Line Project staff
- Data: Virus Overwhelming Illinois, Chicago During Pandemic
- Illinois, Other States Struggling to Slow COVID-19 Spread
- Testing Still Hard to Come by in Chicago and Illinois
Our lead judge, who’s a masochist and has been one of our trio of judges since the beginning, called this “the best data presentation we have seen.” He added, “It’s extraordinary the way the data is presented.” What impressed other judges was the multitude of ways that data was presented: animations, charts, maps, and infographics, all punctuated with multi-sourced reporting.
“The coverage was very good, but the data visualization was what made this entry shine,” they concluded.
WVU News staff
Our judges have watched a lot of newscasts over the past seven weeks. This was one from West Virginia University was among their favorites, partly because it was the most fun. Yes, fun in a time of tragedy. Check out the mac-and-cheese cooking-show segment and the very awful (in almost a good way) cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by a succession of alumni sheltering at home.
“It was heartwarming to feel the connection of alums singing together, but apart,” judges said. “There is great spirit and commitment throughout this newscast.”
NEXT WEEK: The Winners of the Winners.
Defending the First Amendment and promoting open government are more crucial now than ever. Join SPJ's fight for the public’s right to know — either as an SPJ Supporter or a professional, student or retired journalist.
