Despite stiff competition, there are more awards heading back to the newsroom at Rio Hondo College. El Paisano Media won nine out of 11 contests at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges conference in Long Beach, Calif.! This year, ACP teamed up with JACC to bring student journalists from northern and southern Calif. together. Most important, students in attendance were able to learn from professionals in the journalism industry. Hosted by the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Long Beach, Calif., the conference took place from March 3 to March 5.

Preparation is a Must

At the conference, there were many workshops led by college professors and industry leaders who provided great information about journalism. They ranged from producing video, taking great photographs, a documentary viewing and newspaper design.

These workshops allowed students to take home valuable information. Not only that, but they also prepared students for the on-the-spot contests provided by JACC. Firstly, the contests allow students to test their skills against each other. The winners were rewarded with certificates showing their names and place number.

Secondly, the types of contests available varied greatly. News Judgement/Layout, News Photo, Feature Photo, Sports Photo, Critical Review, Video and Editorial Cartoon were the big winners for El Paisano. El Paisano Media took information learned from workshops and applied it to every competition. Clearly, this is proven by the number of awards they went home with.

JACC On-the-Spot Winners

Without a doubt, all members of El Paisano Media placed. Ryan Leon won third place in the Critical Review contest. Brayan Altamirano placed third in Editorial Cartoon and second in Video. Next, Fernando Ramos placed second in News Photo and won big for News Judgement/Layout, taking home first place. Lastly, Raymond Luna stole the show, winning four awards alone! Luna placed fourth in Sports Photo, third in News Judgement/Layout, second in Feature Photo and first in Editorial Cartoon. In total, the four student journalists won nine out of 11 awards. After the big winner had time to celebrate, he was able to share his excitement.

“This weekend consisted of Red Bulls, pizza, hot Cheetos and great teammates! 4 awards later, it was worth it,” says Luna.

With another successful JACC trip in the books, El Paisano Media will continue to deliver even more news coverage to the Rio Hondo community.