Ranger Online Named Best in State

Ranger Online, the electronic version of San Antonio College’s student newspaper, has won first place for overall excellence in Division 2 of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the nation’s oldest state student media association.

The award is for the news website’s coverage in spring and fall 2019. Spring 2019 was the last semester The Ranger also produced a weekly print newspaper.

Journalism sophomore Sergio Medina was editor in the spring, and he and journalism freshman Rogelio Escamilla were web editors in the fall.

In other awards, The Ranger Online won first place for breaking news photos, second place for editorial cartoons, third place for editorial page designs and honorable mention for editorials. The awards were announced by email April 20 after the annual convention in March was canceled.

“The advisers of the journalism-photography program are exacting,” said Irene Abrego, journalism instructor in the journalism-photography program. “Our students rise to the expectation, work hard, and grow tremendously as a result of learning the community service that is journalism.”

She added that even through the stay-at-home order the student journalists “have found stories, asked questions and reported stories important to the college community.” 

Other community colleges competing in Division 2 are Austin, Del Mar, Richland and Tarrant County. Universities in that division are Texas A&M-Commerce, Lamar, Midwestern, Rice, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin. Categories are divided according to enrollment.

The Ranger Online publishes content produced by students enrolled in COMM 2311, Media Writing; COMM 2305, Editing and Layout; COMM 2315, News Reporting; COMM 1316, News Photo 1; and COMM 1317, News Photo 2.

For more information, contact the journalism-photography program at 210-486-1765 or email sac-ranger@alamo.edu.

–SAC–

The photo above was by journalism sophomore Linda Owens, who was awarded first place in breaking news photos in the 2020 competition sponsored by the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.