FERRUM, VA, May 26, 2023 – For the second year in a row, Ferrum College’s student newspaper, The Iron Blade, has won a First-Place national award from the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA). Additionally, the web version of the newspaper,newly launched in 2022, also won a First-Place award in the online category.
“We were thrilled when we found out,” said Dave Campbell, Assistant Professor of English and Journalism and adviser to The Iron Blade. “We are celebrating on two fronts—we’ve won the award for the past two years for our print publication, and this year, in its first year of being an online publication, our website also won.”
Campbell was quick to praise the students and the administration.
“I have had the luxury of working with amazing, dedicated, and obviously talented students,” he said. “And this kind of thing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The program is fortunate to have folks on the top rungs who support what we are trying to do.”
Campbell said he and the staff didn’t expect to win either honor.
“What we focus on is trying to provide sound journalism that is honest and objective. If we stay true to what we are doing, things like contests take care of themselves. Of course, it’s always nice to be recognized, but our true objective is to serve the craft. Besides, it’s the critiques we value the most,” shared Campbell.
For each entry received, the ASPA sends the school a multi-page critique that details aspects of the publication such as layout, photography, sports, opinion, entertainment, community coverage, copy editing, general news coverage, use of sources and quotations, and typographical consistency. Each critique is penned by an industry professional who has years invested the trade.
“Those critiques are invaluable. ASPA sets a standard for publications, and the feedback we receive has really helped us up our own standards and provide a more complete and well-rounded approach to The Iron Blade,” said Campbell.
Advancements made in the past two years for The Iron Blade include a post-pandemic return to print and increasing the number of pages to include in different sections.
The print edition of The Iron Blade can be found in newsstands across campus and within the Village of Ferrum itself.
“One thing we have done is expand our circulation,” Campbell said. “Not only can the paper be found at the college, but it is now in various businesses around the Village. People off campus also now have access to the paper. Of course, anyone with Internet access can read the online version.”
He also explains that the web version contains more in-depth articles and longer versions of stories that appear in print.
“Space is the premium commodity in print publications. But with being online, we can dive a bit deeper into subjects without having to worry about how much space they occupy on a page,” explained Campbell.
Without the added restriction of space, Iron Blade reporters were able to dramatically increase the number of articles published this past year. In any given print version of the paper, there will be approximately 16 stories published. With a publication every month during the school year, that amounts the neighborhood of close to 100 stories per school year.
“With the advent of our website, we were able to publish 244 stories this year,” Campbell said. “That more than doubles our output and gives us the opportunity to cover the campus community more effectively.”
The online version of The Iron Blade can be found at www.ironbladenews.com
Pictured from L to R: Marina Powell, Lindsey M. Foster, Refentse Maselwa, Dave Campbell and Cody Gibson. Not pictured: Abigail McGovern, Scout Lynch and Jazmin Scarberry.
