Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: City College of San Francisco Entry Title: Budget Crisis Coverage by Annette Mullaney Entry Credit: Annette Mullaney Judge Comment: The writing wasn't always clean, but a lot different voices and a clear attempt to tell people how not solving the budget crisis will hurt students set City College's entry apart.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Cerritos College Entry Title: Cerritos College reopens Entry Credit: Daniel Suarez Jr, Vincent Medina Judge Comment: Cerritos College's reporting on how the pandemic has impacted the campus was well written and covered many bases. It needed more student voices earlier in the series, though.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Diablo Valley College -- Inquirer Entry Title: College District Faces Legal Action For Refusal to Disclose Documents Entry Credit: Andrea Madison Judge Comment: Andrea Madison's reporting on issues surrounding the Contra Costa district's is commendable for its good reporting.
Competition Comment: There was a lot of good writing here, but good the reporting was sometimes weak category wide. Remember that you are a campus newspaper which serves the students. A lot of official sources and professors is easy, but adding context and student perspective adds a lot of depth. City College of San Francisco's reporting on the school's budget deficit not only had a large number of sources, but hit on a key not seen in other entries: How it will impact its students. That alone made the Guardsman's entry in this category a winner by a wide margin. The other two entries — from Cerritos College and Diablo Valley College — were well written and covered many bases, but lacked the same depth.
