College Media Matters

CMM 10 is a spotlighting of the 10 individuals*** who mattered most to college media during the 2009-2010 academic year.  This inaugural edition honors a mix of standout student journalists, innovative student media entrepreneurs, and impassioned outside advocates of campus press 2.0. With a hat tip to the annual Time 100, the posts announcing each honoree include a few words of adoration penned by a close friend or colleague.

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Karla Bowsher

Editor in chief, The University Press, Florida Atlantic University

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In the “Photo of the Day” now featured on The University Press website, a golden silk spider is in full focus, navigating a tightly-woven web in the Florida sun.  The picture resonates with UP’s own current tangled reality. The Florida Atlantic University student newspaper is caught in a web of intrigue…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Leah Finnegan & Jose Antonio Vargas

Editors, Huffington Post College

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Huffington Post College is a high-profile destination site promoting student newswork and providing readers with a glimpse of what’s going down in the current campus zeitgeist.  It has become a refreshing part of my morning web browsing and the embodiment of what section co-founder Jose Antonio Vargas calls “the golden age for journalism…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Adam Goldstein

Attorney Advocate, Student Press Law Center

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Adam Goldstein almost always says it best.  His fight for student press rights is inspiring.  From what I hear, his knowledge of media law is absolutely insane. But what I admire most about the man is his way with words.  The sound bites and guest blogs of his that appear whenever j-students smell trouble in the water are on point, aggressive, and frequently hilarious…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Windsor Hanger, Stephanie Kaplan & Annie Wang

Founders and overseers, Her Campus

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Her Campus has impressed me since its start last fall.  Its founders, Harvard students at the time and now recent grads, are fearless.  They spotted a national niche- an opening for a student-produced “hub for everything college women need to know”- and they dove in with gusto…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Dave Hendricks & Ryan Dunn

Founders and overseers, College News Network

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Lewis & Clark. Mickey & Minnie. Adam & Eve. Bill & Hillary. Sonny & Cher. Lucy & Ricky. Bonnie & Clyde. Simon & Garfunkel. Hendricks & Dunn. The Ohio University journalist sensations are the latest, greatest duos to leave a lasting mark on the world (wide web)- and collegemediatopia…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Jessica Roy

Outgoing Editor in Chief, NYU Local

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Editor extraordinaire and all-around new media empress Jessica Roy wrote her first short story years ago on construction paper about a young girl who rescues a crashing airplane by injecting chlorine into its engine.  In the end, no lives were lost- and a writer was born…  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Davis Shaver

Founder & publisher, Onward State, Penn State University

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Nowadays, the most interesting student media outlets are not just being staffed.  They are being created.  Davis Shaver’s creation, Onward State, is among the most prominent new players in collegemediatopia- a flash-bang success with recognized staying power.  (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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Jennifer Waits

Founder & Overseer, Spinning Indie college radio blog

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During a recent interview Jennifer Waits conducted, a fellow DJ told her, “It’s an addiction. I have to DJ. . . . When you’re DJing to FM airwaves, you’re DJing into space. There’s no feeling like it.”  Waits has been personally hooked on this feeling for more than 24 years… (To see the full spotlight, click here.)

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*** Ultimately, I took the Big Ten approach to CMM 10, naming 12 individuals to the list.  :-)