WKU Student Publications earned three national Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press during the organization’s 2020 competition.
The College Heights Herald received an Online Pacemaker for its website, WKUHerald.com. The Talisman received a Magazine Pacemaker, its first since changing format from a yearbook to a magazine in 2016. Cherry Creative received an Innovation Pacemaker, an award presented for the first time this year, for its WKU Graduate Gallery published in the spring.
The Pacemaker is considered the highest honor for a student-run media operation. It is awarded to publications that are judged to be at the highest level of quality among their peers nationwide. WKU Student Publications has now collected 40 Pacemaker awards – 21 for Talisman, 18 for the College Heights Herald and one for Cherry Creative.
Jeremy Chisenhall, a December 2019 graduate from Hebron, and Rebekah Alvey, a May 2020 graduate from Versailles, were editors-in-chief of the College Heights Herald during the contest period. Additional members of the Herald’s editorial board during the 2019-2020 school year were Natasha Breu, a May 2020 graduate from Clarksville, Tenessee.; Max Chambers, a senior from Elizabethtown; Alex Cox, a junior from Louisville; Cameron Coyle, a May 2020 graduate from Berea; Laurel Deppen, a senior from Louisville; Jake Dressman, a senior from Bowling Green; Griffin Fletcher, a December 2019 graduate from Louisville; Evan Heichelbech, a December 2019 graduate from Louisville; Drake Kizer, a May 2020 graduate from Gallatin, Tennessee; Chris Kohley, a senior from Streamwood, Illinois; Reed Mattison, a senior from Bowling Green; McKenna Mitchell, a senior from Louisville; Julie Sisler, an August 2020 graduate from Clive, Iowa; Matt Stahl, a May 2020 graduate from Lebanon, Tennessee; Eleanor Tolbert, a senior from Louisville; and Silas Walker, a May 2020 graduate from Portland, Oregon. The Herald is advised by Carrie Pratt.
Olivia Mohr, a May 2020 graduate from Nicholasville, was the Talisman editor-in-chief during the 2019-2020 school year. Additional members of the Talisman’s editorial board were JB Carter, a senior from Bowling Green; Phi Chu, a May 2020 graduate from Bowling Green; Bailey Cooke, a senior from Eubank; Kristina Francis, a May 2020 graduate from Louisville; Annalee Hubbs, a senior from Louisville; Ally Mefford, a senior from Bowling Green; Emily Moses, a May 2020 graduate from Nolensville, Tennessee; Lily Thompson, a senior from Paoli, Indiana; and Max Zambrano, a senior from Owensboro. The Talisman is advised by Sam Oldenburg.
Cherry Creative, a branded content studio formed in 2018, was led by Creative Director Hayley Robb, a May 2020 graduate from Georgetown. Additional members of Cherry’s Creative’s leadership team were Ryan Goodlett, a May 2020 graduate from Shelbyville; Grace Pritchett, a May 2020 graduate from Evansville, Indiana; Emma Spainhoward, a senior from Bowling Green; and Hayley Watson, a May 2020 graduate from Louisville. Cherry Creative is advised by Sam Oldenburg.
The Talisman was also a finalist for the Online Pacemaker, and the Herald was a finalist for the Newspaper Pacemaker. The five finalist distinctions received by WKU Student Publications was the most the program has earned in a single year, and the most of any four-year school in the country.
Additionally, 16 entries from WKU were recognized in the Associated Collegiate Press individual awards.
- Adulting, produced by Cherry Creative, placed second in Newspaper Advertising Special Section Advertisement of the Year.
- JB Carter, a senior from Bowling Green, placed second in Print Advertisement of the Year for an ad for the Biology Department published in View of the Hill.
- Hailee Lunte, a junior from Bowling Green, placed second in Magazine Spread Design of the Year for a spread published in Talisman magazine issue eight.
- Bekah Harper, a senior from LaGrange, placed second in Online Advertisement of the Year for a sponsored content piece on Nat’s Outdoor Sports.
- Lily Thompson, a senior from Paoli, Indiana, received third place and honorable mention in Sports Feature Photo of the Year for photos published on WKUTalisman.com.
- Missy Johnson, a senior from Bowling Green, placed third in Column Story of the Year for “Piecing life together after an eating disorder” published on WKUTalisman.com.
- Max Zambrano, a senior from Owensboro, placed fourth in Local Climate Change Reporting Story of the Year for “Point of no return?” published in Talisman magazine issue eight.
- Hayley Watson, a May 2020 Graduate from Louisville, and Lauren Bond, a May 2020 graduate from Lebanon, Tennessee, placed fourth in Video Advertisement of the Year for WKU Apartment Hunters.
- Zane Meyer-Thornton, a senior from Los Angeles, placed fourth in Environmental Portrait Photo of the Year for a photograph published in Talisman magazine issue seven.
- Richard Gregor, a sophomore from Louisville, placed fifth in News Photo of the Year for a photograph published in Talisman magazine issue eight.
- Ally Mefford, a senior from Bowling Green; Bailey Cooke a senior from Eubank; Rylee McKee, a senior from Bowling Green; Erin Horton, a senior from Louisville; and Sam Mallon, a junior from Silver Spring, Maryland placed fifth in Best Use of Social Media Promotion for Talisman social media.
- Joeleen Hubbard, a senior from Knoxville, Tennessee, received honorable mention in Feature Photo of the Year for a photo of MASTER Plan published on WKUTalisman.com.
- Emma Spainhoward, a senior from Bowling Green, received honorable mention in Online Advertisement of the Year for an ad promoting the College Heights Herald Housing Fair.
- Addison LeBoutillier, a junior from Owensboro, received honorable mention in Environmental Portrait Photo of the Year for a photograph published on WKUTalisman.com.
- Emma Steele, a senior from Louisville, received honorable mention in Photo Slideshow Multimedia Story of the Year for “Community Creators: Laura Beth Fox-Ezell” published on WKUTalisman.com.
The awards from Associated Collegiate Press were presented Oct. 22 during the National College Media Convention, held virtually due to COVID-19.