HSU student bilingual newspaper wins 3 first place awards & third best newspaper in the state
El Leñador, the student-run bilingual newspaper at Humboldt State University, won first place in three categories in the 2020 California College Media Association’s statewide competition. The awards were presented on Feb. 29 in San Francisco. The newspaper also placed in an additional nine categories, including third place for Best Newspaper in the state.
The English and Spanish newspaper, which focuses on covering Latinx and diverse communities throughout Humboldt County, took first-place awards for Best Non-Breaking News story, Best Inside Page/Spread Design, and Best Front Page Design. El Leñador competed against other student newspapers from four-year colleges or universities with enrollments under 15,000 students.
“I am proud of the amazing work that El Leñador continues to do,” said Carlos Holguin, current editor-in-chief. “The awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication we give to our campus and community.”
El Leñador staff were also awarded second-place for Overall Newspaper Design, second-place for special issue, and third-place in multiple infographic art categories.
“It’s an honor for the newspaper to be recognized as one of the top college newspapers in the state again,” said HSU Journalism & Mass Communication instructor Andrea Juarez, faculty adviser to the student staff. “El Leñador staff bring a lot of heart to their work and certainly more
diversity to the news covered by local media.”
In 2016, the CCMA’s awarded HSU’s bilingual newspaper first place for best non-weekly newspaper in the state.
About El Leñador
El Leñador is a monthly publication, founded in 2013. It is published and distributed during the spring and fall semesters, and can also be found online at ellenadornews.com . The print edition is distributed on campus and locations around Humboldt County, including Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, McKinleyville and Trinidad.
The full list of 2020 CCMA awardees includes:
First Place
Best Non-Breaking News story – Jose Herrera – Low Number Latinx Faculty
Best Inside Page/Spread Design – Celeste Alvarez, Jose Herrera – Roma film review
Best Front Page Design – Kylee Conriquez, Jose Herrera – ODEI Director Resigns
Second Place
Social Media Reporting – Vanessa Flores – Power Outage Alerts in Spanish
Editorial – Brenda Estrella – “Bitch” Still Stings
Illustration – Kylee Conriquez – ODEI Director Resigns
Overall Newspaper Design – Jose Herrera, Celeste Alvarez, Cara Peters, Ash Ramirez
Special Issue – La Leñadora, Women’s issue
Third Place
Infographic – Cara Peters – HSI Grants: $9.2 Million Breakdown
Interactive Graphic – Celeste Alvarez – Need Help: Campus Resources
Arts & Entertainment – Lora Neshovska – “Siri” Emerson-Massey profile
Best Newspaper – El Leñador Staff
