Henry Ford College Student Newspaper Editor Wins Journalist of the Year

Mirror News staff pictured at 2018 MCCPA conference at Central Michigan University.
P. Kim (Advisor), F. Nkata (Editor in Chief), J. Abeare (Sports Editor), G. Diry (Freelance Writer), P. Hatcher (Business Manager), J. Randles (Writer), A. Massucci (Layout Editor), S. Williams (Creative Editor), J. D’Alfonso (Writer)

April 7, 2018, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan — Henry Ford College student newspaper The Mirror News received 16 awards at the 2018 Michigan Community College Press Association conference held at Central Michigan University.

The Mirror News Editor in Chief Fatima Nkata won “Journalist of the Year” at the statewide journalism competition. Nkata and her fellow Mirror News staff placed in the following categories:

Placement: First Place
Category: Journalist of the Year
Name: Fatima Nkata

Placement: First Place
Category: Video Production/On­line Audio Slideshow
Name: Abby Massucci

Placement: First Place
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: First Place
Category: Sports Feature Photo
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: Second Place
Category: In-Depth Reporting
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: Second Place
Category: Personality Profile
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: Second Place
Category: Photo Essay
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: Third Place
Category: Video Production/On­line Audio Slideshow
Name: Josh Abeare

Placement: Third Place
Category: Column, Humor
Name: Justin Randles

Placement: Third Place
Category: Editorial Cartoon (Division I)
Name: Parrish Broadnax

Placement: Third Place
Category: Entertainment Cartoon (Division I)
Name: Parrish Broadnax

Placement: Third Place
Category: Blog
Name: The Mirror News Staff

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Sports News Photo
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Overall Newspaper Design
Name: The Mirror News

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: General Excellence (Division I)
Name: The Mirror News

The MCCPA hosts an annual journalism conference where student journalists from community colleges throughout the state are judged in 31 categories. The schools that participated this year were Delta College, Washtenaw Community College, Schoolcraft College, Northwestern Michigan College, Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, Monroe County Community College, Muskegon Community College, and Henry Ford College.

This year’s MCCPA conference keynote speaker was Jake May, photojournalist for the Flint Journal. May, who is a Pulitzer finalist for his coverage of the Flint water crisis, conducted breakout sessions on “Video: You’ve Got a Friend in B Roll” and “#MakePortraits: Working with Your Subject to Make the Right Frame.” Students also participated in sessions on the Freedom of Information Act, “Sports Journalism in the Mobile Age” and “Telling Stories Through Social Media.”

Including this year, HFC’s Mirror News staff have won 57 newspaper awards in the last three years.

The content of the The Mirror News is created, edited and designed by HFC students. It is distributed September through June to faculty, staff and students. HFC’s student-run newspaper has been publishing student work for more than 70 years.

On winning “Journalist of the Year,” Nkata says, “It is an honor to be recognized as student journalist of the year. This honor, however, is not mine alone, I share it with the team behind The Mirror News. Without their support, there would be no award for me to speak of.”