Staff report

Youngstown State University’s student newspaper, The Jambar, placed first in overall excellence in Division A of the Ohio News Media Association’s Collegiate Newspaper and Website Competition.

The Jambar staff also earned recognition in seven of the competition’s 10 categories, including sweeping the headline writing category, placing in first, second and third. The organization grabbed a first-place finish in the sports coverage category and placed second in the news coverage and in-depth reporting categories.

Individual staff members also received awards, with Molly Burke, Christopher Gillet and Dylan Lux placing second in best multimedia package and Sydney Fairbanks and Molly Burke placing third in arts and entertainment.

Five former and current staff members attended the ONMA’s awards ceremony April 3 in Westerville. The Jambar’s faculty adviser, Adam Earnheardt, also attended.

“We’re competing with much bigger schools, which makes this extra special for our student journalists,” Earnheardt said. “I’m incredibly proud of our students. This recognition is much deserved.”

The ONMA’s Collegiate Newspaper and Website Competition accepted entries from 16 newspapers from Ohio colleges in two divisions. Division A recognizes colleges with an enrollment of 10,000 or more students, including colleges such as the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University and Ohio University.

The ONMA, established in 1933 as the Ohio Newspaper Association, is a statewide trade association representing Ohio’s daily and weekly newspapers.