Best Performance Ever for Beachcomber Staff at OSMA Conference

Ali Pinhasi, Staff Writer • April 11, 2013

The Beachcomber won first place at the Ohio Scholastic Media Association (OSMA) Conference April 5 and 6 at Kent State University. The newspaper won 27 awards, including 6 superior and 12 excellent ratings.

This is the best performance ever for the Beachcomber staff.

“There were schools from all over the state.” Beachcomber Editor-in-Chief Christina Phelps said. “The atmosphere was encouraging, people clapped and cheered. [We] were all striving towards the goal of becoming better at [our] craft.”

“I knew that the students this year worked really hard,” adviser Josh Davis said. “I’ve been very impressed with the thoroughness and accuracy of the reporting this year.”

“It was definitely good to see that pay off in the awards they’ve received,” Davis added.

Davis submitted articles for competition in January. He selected articles based on their quality, but he also tried to maximize the number of students whose work was submitted.

“I try to spread it out over as many students as possible,” he said.

Everyone on the Beachcomber staff is proud of their performance.

“I think we have really talented writers and photographers in every category, so I wasn’t surprised. I felt like it was well deserved,” said opinion editor Cathy Perloff.

“I am very proud to be on the Beachcomber and I hope we can keep bringing the good man power,” said arts and life editor Emily Topilow.

Although he is very proud of the accomplishments of the staff, Davis feels there is room for improvement.

“We have only one layout person, and my training isn’t as strong in design as in writing,” he said. “I hope to get more training in design so I can do a better job coaching them in this area as well. If we are able to make those improvements, we’ll be able to build on our success and win awards nationally as well.”

“I think the Beachcomber will continue to flourish because we have so many young, talented, strong staff members,” Phelps said. “They can set their goals now and work on it for the next four years. I’m excited for where it’s headed.”

Here is a full list of OSMA awards won by Beachcomber staff:

Christina Phelps

Superior Personality Profile

Excellent Newswriting

Excellent News Sports Coverage

Honorable Mention Commentary

Cathy Perloff

Superior Individual In-Depth Reporting

Excellent Personality Profile

Excellent Commentary

Grant Gravagna

Superior News Feature