STLCC Student Newspapers Earn MCMA Awards

St. Louis Community College’s student newspapers are among the best in the state.

Forest Park’s The Scene recently earned one of the top honors at the 2023 Missouri College Media Association Conference, taking first in the coveted sweepstakes contest for newspapers from two-year colleges. The award is a culmination of points from all awards given at the conference. Meramec’s The Montage placed third in the sweepstakes.

“When our name was announced, we all started cheering the loudest,” said Theodore “Teddy” Geigle, The Scene’s editor-in-chief. “I think everybody felt really proud because a lot of our hard work went into that. It’s a fantastic feeling. Everyone felt accomplished. I’m really happy that we all worked together to get that.”

The Scene also earned second-best newspaper for two-year schools. The judging is based on three editions – one from the spring, one from the fall and one of the paper’s choice – during calendar year 2022.

Aside from the sweepstakes category, The Scene took home another 13 first-place honors and 27 awards total. Geigle earned top place in news writing and in-depth newswriting, and Markell Topkins was recognized for three first-place submissions in entertainment reviews. 

The Montage earned a total of 22 awards. The paper pulled in four first-place honors in the separate categories, including for special section and sports writing. Editor-in-Chief Jacob Politte earned or shared nine different awards, winning first in the editorial section category along with Fawwaz Ashraf and Brady Yanko, and in the sports page category with Dakota Pulcher. 

Florissant Valley’s The Forum did not submit any pieces for consideration and the Wildwood campus does not have a student newspaper. 

List of Awards

The Scene
Sweepstakes (first – staff); News Writing (first – Theodore “Teddy” Geigle); In-depth News Reporting (first – Geigle); Regular Column (first – April Green); Entertainment Review (first – Markell Tompkins (3x); News Photography (first – Deborah Moss, Geigle); Feature Photography (first – Leilani England); Political/Editorial Cartoon (first – Green); Non Political/Entertainment Cartoon (first – Zane Scott); Feature Page (first – Shauna Stagner, Zane Scott, George Estes, Sophia Garthe); Photo Page (first – England); Website (first – staff); In-depth Reporting (second – Obersy “Obi” Robles Valdez); Regular Column (second – Green); Feature Photography (second – Tompkins); Political/Editorial Cartoon (second – Green); Photo Page (second – Estes, England); Best Overall Newspaper (second – staff); Feature Photography (third – England); Page One Design (third – Evans Agyemang); Photo page (third – Geigle, Moss); Investigative Reporting (honorable mention – Geigle); Investigative Reporting (honorable mention – Cristian Romero); Sport Column (honorable mention –Koko Alapbe); News Photography (honorable mention – Michelle Compton); Feature Page (honorable mention – Nicole DeLapp, Romero)

The Montage
Special Section/Supplement (first – staff); Sports Writing (first – Morgan Daniels); Editorial Section (first – Fawwaz Ashraf, Jacob Politte, Brady Yanko); Sports Page (first – Dakota Pulcher, Politte); News Writing (second – Politte); Entertainment Review (second – Politte); Page One Design (second – Pulcher, Politte); News Writing (third – Bruno Grubesic); Feature Writing (third – Brady Yanko); In-depth Reporting (third – Politte, Grubesic); Column (third – Politte); Story Illustration (third – Geneva Lee (2x); Editorial Section (third –Politte, Geneva Lee); Sports Page (third – Pulcher); Feature Page (third – Max Wilson); Best Overall Newspaper (third – staff); Sweepstakes (third – staff); Page One Design (honorable mention – Pulcher, Politte); Entertainment Review (honorable mention – Lee); Sports Photography (honorable mention -- Pulcher);   Information Graphic (honorable mention –Politte)