The Knox Student Excels at ICPA with Six Awards

The Knox Student (TKS) earned six awards from the Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) during an eventful weekend on February 16, 2024. The six student journalists in attendance brought home awards in both Division D (enrollment up to 3,000) and the Open Division (all colleges and universities).

Since its return after the COVID-19 pandemic, The Knox Student has undergone significant changes. It has transitioned from a weekly newspaper to a biannual full-color news magazine with a heavier focus on digital content. TKS Advisor Jane Carlson came on board in 2021, the same year as current Editor-In-Chief Eleanor Lindenmayer ’25, who joined as a first-year student. Together, Carlson and Lindenmayer have worked to rebuild the staff and enhance the quality of journalism on campus.

Carlson expressed pride in the staff for their commitment to ethical and professional journalistic standards. As advisor, she has helped guide the staff of TKS to create balanced stories for the campus community.

“Over the last few years, the staff has navigated numerous challenges. In rebuilding TKS, they’ve also reinvented it with a new website, a commitment to publishing content online throughout the week, a biannual print magazine, a weekly e-newsletter, and a news podcast,” Carlson said. “While TKS may not look exactly the same as it used to, student-run journalism at Knox is alive and well and always evolving.“

Lindenmayer has worked closely with Carlson to promote TKS to the student body and to rebuild the writing staff. She was awarded a Richter grant to rewrite the TKS handbook. During the process, Lindenmayer interviewed multiple former TKS editors and advisors to better understand TKS' challenges, rebuild the publishing flow, and improve overall communication.

In her final year as editor-in-chief, she is proud of the progress the group has made, as reflected in the awards from this year’s conference. Lindenmayer is confident that the new editorial staff will continue to improve the publication.

“It has been so amazing to see the growth that TKS has had in my time on staff,” Lindenmayer said. “My staff and I have worked so hard, and I think we’ve really brought TKS back to being a true news organization.”

While visiting Chicago, the students also toured the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ at Navy Pier. Thanks to a connection between Lidenmayer and Dave Newbart ’90, managing editor for the Sun-Times, students were invited to sit in on an editors' meeting led by Newbart and chat with Kyle Williams ’22, a sports reporter for the Sun-Times, as well as Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco ’16, environmental reporter for WBEZ.

Below is a detailed list of TKS award recipients from this year’s ICPA ceremony:

Open Division