Thursday, May 1, 2025
The Rider News earns 11 awards, top prize from the New Jersey Press Foundation
by Rachel Stengel '14, '20
Rider University’s student newspaper was named the best four-year publication in the state by the New Jersey Press Foundation (NJPF). The Rider News claimed the top prize, the Sweepstakes Award, in the NJPF’s annual College Newspaper Contest, which represents the publication with the highest cumulative awards total.
The paper won a total of 11 awards in the contest, including first place for best overall website and third place for general excellence.
“This was an especially challenging year for The Rider News for a number of reasons, so winning the Sweepstakes Award means so much,” says Jake Tiger, senior journalism major and The Rider News executive editor. “I can’t thank our incredible staff enough for the commitment and hard work they showed each week. My time as executive editor taught me so much about leadership and journalism.”
Six students took home individual awards for their work, including:
- Web project, first place: Jake Tiger
- Layout and design, first place: Josiah Thomas, senior graphic design major and video editor, and Maggie Kleiner, senior graphic design major and graphic design manager
- News writing, first place: Jake Tiger
- News writing, third place: Hannah Newman, senior journalism major and managing editor
- Sports writing, second place: Benjamin Shinault, junior journalism major and sports editor
- Enterprise/investigative writing, second place: Jake Tiger
- Biography/personality profile, second place: Jake Tiger
- Feature writing, third place: Grace Bertrand, junior journalism major and features and entertainment editor
- Online video, third place: Josiah Thomas
The annual competition includes other New Jersey institutions such as Rutgers University and Princeton University. Entries are judged by active and retired editors, senior reporters, photographers and graphic artists from New Jersey daily and weekly newspapers.
Additionally, Thomas was a finalist in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 1 Mark of Excellence awards for photo illustration. The awards recognize outstanding student journalism at colleges and universities from the East Coast, stretching from Maine to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Just a few years shy of its centennial anniversary, The Rider News, embraced additional digital storytelling this academic year, reflecting the current media landscape and expectations for today’s journalists.
“This year was historical for The Rider News,” says Newman. “Having a hand in converting a newspaper with almost 95 years of print history to digital editions and covering topics that not only impacted campus but the entire country is what fuels our staff’s passion for journalism. As hard as the position was at times, being the managing editor has shown me that there is no such thing as adversity if you look at it as an advantage.”
The Rider News is a weekly, student-run publication throughout the academic year. The student staff members are responsible for all aspects of the paper's creation and online and social media presence. In the past decade alone, the paper has earned nearly 50 awards from New Jersey Collegiate Press Association, with multiple wins in the general excellence category.