STLCC Student Newspapers Earn MCMA Awards

Theodore Geigle has no doubts that vibrant student newspapers benefit the communities they serve. 

As the editor-in-chief of The Scene, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park’s student newspaper, he should know. His paper and Meramec’s The Montage were recently named two of the state’s best newspapers at the recent Missouri College Media Association annual conference.

“I think that’s really good,” Geigle said. “I’m glad to see that St. Louis Community College has two good newspapers. It helps the people involved with the newspapers, but it also helps the people who interact with the newspaper by reading it. I’m pretty proud that STLCC has two of the best newspapers.” 

The Montage earned 27 awards, including second place in the Best Overall Newspaper category for two-year colleges. Led by four first-place individual finishes, The Scene won 16 awards, including third place in the Best Overall Newspaper.

STLCC-Florissant Valley’s newspaper, The Forum, did not submit any pieces for consideration. The  Wildwood campus doesn’t have a student newspaper. 

Geigle said The Scene bounced back from when students weren’t on campus because of the pandemic. The awards are based on publications in the 2021 calendar year. 

He said that since the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year, The Scene has had a core of about eight students producing the publication. He said another seven or so students have also helped throughout the year.  

“The issue we had was getting enough staff together to get the ball rolling a bit,” he said. “There were no shortages of stories.” 

Geigle earned first place in news writing for his work on an article about the transformation of the cafeteria into a campus store. 

List of Awards

The Scene: Website (first – staff); News Writing (first – Theodore Geigle); News Photography (first – Leilani England); Feature Photography (first – England); Feature Writing (first – LaToya Smith); Nonpolitical Cartoon (first, second – Zane Scott); Political/Editorial Cartoon (first, second – Scott); Feature Photography (second – George Estes); News Photography (second – Markell Tompkins); Best Overall Newspaper (third – staff); Sweepstakes (third – staff); News Writing (third – England); Photo Page (third – Tompkins); News Writing (honorable mention – Nicole DeLapp)

The Montage: Special Section/Supplement (first – staff); Column (first – Jacob Politte); Entertainment Review (first – Geneva Lee); Information Graphic (first – Ashley Biundo); Page One Design (first – Biundo); Photo Page (first – Biundo); Sports Column (first – Andrew Crowdus); Sports Page (first – Biundo, Crowdus); Best Overall Newspaper (second – staff); Sweepstakes (second – staff); Website (second – staff); Editorial/Op-Ed Page (second – Theresa Kallal, Max Wilson, Politte); Entertainment Review (second – Politte); News Writing (second – Politte); Sports Page (second – Biundo); Sports Photography (second – Biundo); Editorial/Op-Ed Page (third – Politte); Feature Writing (third – Wilson); Page One Design (third – Biundo, Politte); In-depth News Reporting (honorable mention – Politte); Information Graphic (honorable mention – Lee); News Writing (honorable mention – Lee); Sports Writing (honorable mention – Biundo); Sports Writing (honorable mention – Crowdus).