Humboldt State University’s El Leñador newspaper won six first place awards in the 2019 California College Media Association statewide awards competition this year.

“I can’t be more proud of our El Leñador staff,” Jose Herrera, current editor-in-chief said in the press release. “The awards are a sign that we are doing incredible work covering the community.”

Founded in 2013, the bilingual El Leñador “focuses on covering Latinx and diverse community at HSU and Humboldt County,” the press release said. The bilingual newspaper won its first-place awards for Best Photo Series, Best Feature Photograph, Best Feature, Best Illustration, Best Website, and Best Inside Spread/Page Design and placed in six other additional categories. In 2016, El Leñador was named best non-weekly student newspaper by Excellence in Student Media Awards.

“These awards are a testament to the appreciation and value of news that is diverse and inclusive,” Andrea Juarez, the newspapers faculty advisor said. “El Leñador staff are passionate about producing news that is impactful and matters.”


See the full press release sent by El Leñador:

HSU STUDENT BILINGUAL NEWSPAPER WINS 6 FIRST PLACE AWARDS
IN STATEWIDE COMPETITION

ARCATA, CA – El Leñador, the student-run bilingual newspaper at Humboldt State University, won first place in six categories in the 2019 California College Media Association statewide awards competition. The awards were presented on March 2 in La Jolla. The newspaper also placed in an additional six categories.

The English and Spanish newspaper, which focuses on covering Latinx and diverse communities at HSU and Humboldt County, took first-place awards for Best Photo Series, Best Feature Photograph, Best Feature, Best Illustration, Best Website, and Best Inside Spread/Page Design.

“I can’t be more proud of our El Leñador staff,” said Jose Herrera, current editor-in-chief. “The awards are a sign that we are doing incredible work covering the community.”

El Leñador staff also took second-place for sports photograph; third-place for special issue; plus honorable mentions for news series, arts and entertainment story, newspaper front page design, and best podcast.

“These awards are a testament to the appreciation and value of news that is diverse and inclusive,” said HSU Journalism & Mass Communication instructor Andrea Juarez, faculty adviser to the student staff. “El Leñador staff are passionate about producing news that is impactful and matters.”

About El Leñador, El Leñador was founded in 2013 and is published monthly during the spring and fall semesters and online at ellenadornews.com. The print edition is distributed on campus and locations around Humboldt County, including Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, McKinleyville and Trinidad. In 2016, El Leñador was named Best Non-weekly Newspaper by the California College Media Association in 2016.

Editor’s note: Iridian Casarez wrote for El Leñador for the fall semester of 2016 and the spring semester of 2018 as a student at HSU.