Chronicle staff members received various awards on Thursday in the Associated Collegiate Press’s 2021 Individual Awards competition.
The Chronicle’s “Bridging the Gap” podcast won first place in the Best Multimedia Story: Podcast category. The podcast was hosted by Cameron Oglesby, Trinity ‘21 and is now hosted by Managing Editor Nadia Bey, a junior.
The podcast is a “commentary on race, gender and marginalization at Duke and beyond,” Oglesby wrote in an editor’s note.
“Bridging the Gap was an idea years in the making, deliberately cultivated during a moment of national receptivity and designed to create an open, honest dialogue around personal truths at Duke,” Oglesby said Thursday “Many of the podcast episodes were inspired by my own experiences of isolation, tokenism and discrimination as a Duke student. I’m so pleased that these critical conversations are resonating with people and hope the series continues to educate, to inspire, and to do good.”
Bey said that Oglesby “has really laid a foundation for The Chronicle to have these conversations about race and identity at Duke.”
“I’m looking forward to continuing her work and hopefully inspiring others to join in as well,” Bey said.
Volume 116 Sports Editor Evan Kolin captured Cameron Mulé’s game-winning goal against Notre Dame in his article, and those words earned him second-place recognition for Best Sports Game Story.
“This was one of the most exhilarating games I’ve covered during my time with The Chronicle,” Kolin said. “I have to give a lot of the credit to Cameron Mulé and Duke men’s lacrosse here—they practically wrote the story for me.”
Volume 116 Sports Managing Editor Shane Smith walked back into Duke men’s basketball history, and told the story of Gene Banks, the first high-profile Black athlete on the team. His reporting led to a piece that landed him in second place for Best Sports Feature.
“It’s a great honor to be selected as the runner up for this award. Thanks to Gene Banks and Kenny Dennard for their willingness to share the experiences from their collegiate days and trusting me to convey those stories,” Smith said. “In my time with The Chronicle, I have never enjoyed writing a story more than I did with this piece.”
Elizabeth Losciavo, Mason Berger and Cheyenne Kim’s “East Campus Tour (Admissions)” won third place in the Best Advertisement: Video category.
“Last year was a breakout year for our ad agency, Pitch Story Lab, so it’s extra special to win an award for one of our favorite videos,” General Manager Chrissy Beck said.
Bey and Editor-in-Chief Leah Boyd, a junior, received an honorable mention in the Best Social Media Reporting category for their coverage of Duke’s stay-in-place order in March 2021.
“Covering the lockdown was one of my first ever experiences doing on-the-ground reporting and taught me how to balance both reporting news as quickly and accurately as possible,” Boyd said. “As a publication that continues to improve its digital presence every year, realizing the power of reporting on Twitter has really helped us to prepare for breaking news situations and access our audience in unique, powerful ways.”
Jimmy Benjamin, Trinity ‘21, received an honorable mention in the Best Local Climate Change Reporting category for his piece “Some Duke environmental activists hopeful, others cautious about Biden’s policies.”
The Community Editorial Board’s “What about our legacy?” received an honorable mention in the Best Editorial category.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.
Leah Boyd is a Pratt senior and a social chair of The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 117.