Student journalists from the NECC Observer recently won awards from The New England Newspaper and Press Association in the college division of the Better Newspaper competition.
Shaun Hood of Groveland and Observer correspondents received a first place award for best arts and entertainment section and former Observer Editor-in-Chief/Opinion Editor Kim Zappala of Haverhill won a third place award for best opinion section. The awards were announced at NENPA’s annual convention March 29 in Portland, Maine.
The awards honored work produced and published in the student newspaper the NECC Observer during the 2023-2024 school year. This is the second year in a row that Zappala won a NENPA award. In 2024 she won second place for best opinion section. Zappala graduated from NECC in May, 2024. She is now studying journalism at UMass Lowell. The Observer staff members were competing against students from colleges and universities throughout New England. Finalists in their categories included students from New England College, Bowdoin College, University of Southern Maine and Quinnipiac University.
“Congratulations to Shaun and Kim and the journalism students who contributed to the arts and entertainment section. These awards are a testament to the hard work the students put into the Observer and their dedication and commitment to the craft of journalism and to the student newspaper,” said Mary Jo Shafer, NECC Journalism/Communication program coordinator and faculty adviser to the NECC Observer. “Shaun puts incredible effort, thought, planning, care and creativity into his stories and page. Kim is dedicated, passionate and diligent in digging for facts and presenting engaging and informative opinion. I am so proud of Shaun and Kim.”
Shafer said she also is pleased to see the contributions from students in Journalism I and II classes honored because the Observer appreciates their submissions. “I think it’s a nice acknowledgement of our students who consistently write interesting, informative, engaging and relevant stories and who have lots to say and share about arts and entertainment topics,” she said.
Several other student journalists from NECC also attended the annual two-day conference, attending workshops on topics including interviewing techniques, public records, media law, artificial intelligence, fact checking, writing tips podcasting, investigative reporting, gender and local news and more. Students also attended a town hall focused on the First Amendment. The March 29 keynote featured artist Alexandra Bell, who led a session on rethinking and revising news coverage to promote fairness and accuracy.
To learn more about NECC’s Journalism/Communications program, visit the website or contact Shafer at mshafer@necc.mass.edu.
