All posts by Mary Jo Shafer, Faculty Adviser

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Observer staff members win NENPA awards

 
A woman holds an award certificate
Observer Editor-in-chief/Opinion Editor Kim Zappala holds her award certificate from NENPA. Photo by Faculty Adviser Mary Jo Shafer

The New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) recently honored two student staff members of the Northern Essex Community College Observer student newspaper. Observer News Editor Daniela Valdivia-Terres of Chelmsford won first place for best news story and Editor-in-Chief/Opinion Editor Kim Zappala of Haverhill won second place for best opinion page in the college division of the Better Newspaper Competition awards banquet March 23 at the Westin in Waltham. 

A woman holds an awards plaque.
Observer News Editor Daniela Valdivia-Terres holds her awards plaque from NENPA. Photo courtesy NENPA

Valdivia-Terres was honored for a front page story from the April 27, 2023, edition of the Observer, headlined  Civic Engagement: Students speak out. 

Zappala was honored for a collection of her opinion pages published during last school year. They were competing against students from colleges and universities throughout New England. Finalists in their categories included students from Northeastern University, Bowdoin College, Framingham State University and Quinnipiac University.

A slide showing the award winners in the best news story category from New England Newspaper and Press Association.
Photo courtesy of NENPA

“I am so proud of Kim and Daniela. They work so hard on their stories for the Observer and these awards recognize their dedication to the craft of journalism,” said Mary Jo Shafer, NECC Journalism/Communication program coordinator and faculty adviser to the NECC Observer. “Daniela puts in long hours covering the news stories that are important and relevant to our students. Kim manages double duty as editor-in-chief and opinion editor and her opinion pages always offer a vibrant, factual and feisty take on the politics of the day, highlighting the importance of civic engagement.”

A slides showing award winners in the best opinion category from the New England Newspaper and Press Association.
Photo courtesy of NENPA

Shafer said it is particularly exciting that their work is being honored alongside students from universities and colleges throughout New England.

“It shows how strong Kim and Daniela’s work is and the important role the Observer plays in our campus community,” she said.

Observer Arts and Entertainment Editor Shaun Hood of Groveland and Sports Editor Daniel Henrick of Haverhill also attended the NENPA convention on March 23, taking workshops on topics including data journalism, an introduction to using artificial intelligence, fact-checking and the election, mobile storytelling and investigative reporting. They also attended a screening of the documentary “Bad Press,” about a fight for press freedom against state-censored media and a Q&A session with the reporter featured in the film and its director. The Observer is published monthly during the academic year by NECC journalism students. Observer staff works to inform the college community, including students, faculty, and staff. 

The Observer also serves as a public forum for the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses and accepts letters and guest column. 

The Observer is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Advertisers, Inc., the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and the New England Press Association. To learn more about NECC’s Journalism/Communications program, visit the website or contact Mary Jo Shafer via email at mshafer@necc.mass.edu 

Opinion

Observer wants to thank supporters

 

The Observer student staff and faculty adviser are thankful for the longtime support that they have found at NECC through the years. This extends to so many:  Faculty, staff, administrators, previous faculty advisers, and most importantly the students who read and contribute to the Observer. We think the Observer is a vital part of a vibrant community. We are proud to be part of it and we are proud to have your support. 

A free press on a college campus is a precious resource. We believe it fosters more civic engagement and sense of community. It creates more awareness and an informed  campus community. We believe the Observer is a public forum and that student reporters and editors are a voice for students as well. It’s also an important experiential learning opportunity for journalism students, one where they gain real world skills and gain experience interviewing, writing and editing stories, copy editing and designing pages. 

We want to take a moment to thank President Lane Glenn, Provost Paul Beaudin and Dean of Liberal Arts Amy Callahan for their continued support. We really appreciate it. 

We also today really want to highlight to the NECC community our deep appreciation and thanks for some other staff members as well, who have been particularly helpful to us in our day-to-day operations. These are all folks who work within the IT department of the college. 

Lenin Tejeda has been a superhero for the Observer for years. He knows how the server works, takes cares of the computers, can quickly and efficiently help when systems go awry and is a Mac expert. He recently helped the newsroom transition to new(ish) computers, which is a big help to us. He is always cheerful and helpful and we appreciate him so much! Thank you Lenin!

In the last few months a dedicated group of NECC staff have been working behind the scenes to help the Observer revamp its website. The website needed to be updated and moved to a different server to make it more secure. 

Cesar Gonzalez Tellez has graciously spent time with the Observer faculty adviser and News Editor Daniela Valdivia-Terres to figure out what the new site should have and how the Observer staff wanted it to look. He then spent endless hours updating the site. Cesar has been a longtime supporter and helper. We know we can go to him with questions or concerns about the website. We appreciate all your work so much Cesar, thank you!

Victor De Jesus and Luis Jimenez have also put in time and effort into this website redesign. 

And thank you as well to Chief Technology Officer Danny Rivera. If we didn’t mention you by name and you have done anything to support the Observer, we want you to know we are thankful for you too. Without the support of our community, the NECC Observer could not continue to thrive and serve you the way a community journalism publication should. We really appreciate your support.