The Daily Orange honored by ACP with Online Pacemaker for coverage during 2016-17 academic year

For the seventh year in a row, The Daily Orange was awarded an Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker — one of the most prestigious awards a student news organization can receive.

The 2016-17 editorial staff, led by Editor in Chief Justin Mattingly (’17), won the Online Pacemaker award during the college press organization’s annual convention held in Dallas last month.

Heralded as the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism, the Pacemaker has been given out annually by ACP since 1927.

“The award is a real culmination of the hard work put in by our entire staff last year, especially the digital team,” said Mattingly, who now works as an education reporter at the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. “It was a team effort and a true testament to The D.O.’s shift to a stronger digital presence.”

The D.O.’s work during the last academic year was highlighted by coverage of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., and ensuing protests in New York City and Syracuse, as well as Syracuse University’s new Campus Framework plan and a federal investigation into SU for its handling of a sexual assault case.

The organization has won four Online Pacemakers in the last decade, for the 2014-15, 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2010-11 academic years.

ACP has also honored The D.O. with four Newspaper Pacemakers for its print edition in the last decade — won by the 2015-16, 2013-14, 2011-12 and 2010-11 staffs — to bring the total to nine Pacemakers in seven years.

In addition to the staff-wide win, five individuals also garnered ACP awards: Bryan Cereijo, Sam Fortier, Clare Ramirez, Morah Ratner and Matt Schneidman.

Fortier (’18), the current D.O. sports editor, and Schneidman (’17) won third place for sports story of the year for their piece on former Syracuse men’s basketball coach Mike Hopkins and his decision to take a head-coaching job at the University of Washington. Thanks to the generosity of D.O. alumni, Schneidman was able to travel to Seattle to attend Hopkins’ introductory press conference with his new program.

Ramirez (’17), a former presentation director, was awarded first place in the newspaper page one category for her D.O. front page design commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that published on Sept. 15, 2016.

Cereijo, a graduate student and staff photographer, won fifth place in the Photo Excellence competition (feature photo category) for his image capturing refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as they arrived in Syracuse for the first time.

And Ratner (’18), a staff photographer, was awarded an honorable mention in the general news photo category for her coverage from Washington, D.C., of Trump’s inauguration.