It’s not everyday that you hear good news in the news about news.

But it’s worth noting that Pensacola State College’s student newspaper and literary magazine recently won 14 awards at the 56^th annual Florida College System Publications Association conference in Orlando.

Here’s a shout out to the Kilgore Review literary magazine for placing second in fiction for a submission from Michael Hughes and a third-place finish in poetry for works by Becca Juntunen, Sarah Berrisford and Charles Phillips.

The Cosair newspaper won third place overall in the highly coveted General Excellence category.

Selina Iglesias snagged a first-place award for general column and Abigail Megginson and Kimberly Bogers for picture story. Megginson also won second place for arts review.

Third place winners included Bara'ah Jaraiseh for illustration, Husna Swaleh for comic strip and for editorial cartoon, and Bogers for feature story and for feature photo.

Bogers also received the Inner Circle Award for winning in three or more categories.

During the two-day conference, Jaraiseh and Rebecca Smith participated in an On-the-Spot Photo contest and won first and second place respectively.

Given the rising demand for digital and online publications, it’s especially encouraging to see that
college newspapers continue to survive and thrive.

On college campuses more than 90 percent of students who reported that they have read their school publication said they prefer their school publication as opposed to the online edition, according to the Oncampus Advertising College Marketing and Media Services.

They read the printed papers to stay in touch, in tune and informed important events and activities and people on campus.

What’s more they pass along copies to roommates, teammates, friends and family, which leads to more copies per reader and a higher exposure rate.

Congratulations to PSC for producing award-winning student publications. But the real applause goes to the students who still find relevance and value in news that is fit to print on paper.