Kernel Wins KPA's Top Honor 8th Year in a Row

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2012) — The staff of the Kentucky Kernel, the University of Kentucky's independent student-run newspaper, won the General Excellence award for college newspapers in the Kentucky Press Association’s 2011 competition.

This is the eighth straight win for the Kernel as the best college newspaper in Kentucky.

"Kernel students have worked hard this year," said Chris Poore, UK's student media adviser to the Kernel. "It's particularly gratifying to see them receive such praise from the pros, and watch how seriously they take the idea of striving for excellence. I'm proud of them, but now I'm looking forward as always to seeing what they're going to do with tomorrow's paper. They've got until midnight."

Beth E. Barnes, director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications, said the Kernel is a source of pride for the entire school.

“The opportunity to work on the Kernel is one of the hallmarks of our journalism program at UK,” Barnes said. “We’re very proud of the outstanding work of the Kernel team.”  

In addition to the General Excellence award, Kernel staff received awards for writing, photography and design. Kernel staffers won the following awards:

Best Editorial — 3rd place, Becca Clemons

Best Spot News Coverage — 2nd place, Matt Murray; 3rd place, Becca Clemons

Best General News Story — 3rd place, Patrick Sullivan

Best Feature Story — 2nd place, Joy Priest; 3rd place, Kelsey Caudill

Best Column — 1st place, Cassidy Herrington; 2nd place, Nick Craddock; 3rd place, Shannon Frazer

Best Sports Column — 1st place, Aaron Smith; 3rd place, Nick Craddock

Best Sports Story — 2nd place, Aaron Smith; Honorable mention, Ben Jones

Best Sports Feature Story — 1st place, Ben Jones; 2nd place, Ben Jones

Best Enterprise Story — 1st place, Taylor Moak; 3rd place, Britney McIntosh

Best Investigative Story or Series — 2nd place, Taylor Moak

Best On-Going Coverage — 1st place, Taylor Moak, Becca Clemons, Kelsey Caudill and Patrick Sullivan; 3rd place, Eva McEnrue, Patrick Sullivan, Cody Porter, Chase Sanders

Best Business Story — 2nd place, Joy Priest; 3rd place, Latara Appleby; Honorable Mention, Gary Hermann

Best Spot News Picture — 3rd place, Collin Lindstrom

Best General News Picture — 2nd place, Brandon Goodwin; Honorable Mention, Quianna Lige

Best Feature Picture — 2nd place, Brandon Goodwin; Honorable Mention, Scott Hannigan

Best Picture Essay — 1st place, Britney McIntosh

Best Sports Picture — 1st place, Mike Weaver; 2nd place, Britney McIntosh; Honorable Mention, Latara Appleby

Best Sports Picture Essay — 1st place, Britney McIntosh; 2nd place, Britney McIntosh, Brandon Goodwin

Special Sections — Honorable Mention, Kernel staff

Best Graphic — 3rd place, Kernel staff

Best Sports Page/Section — 1st place, Kernel staff

Best Business Page — 2nd place, Kernel staff

Best Front Page — 2nd place, Alicia Maynard; 3rd place, Alex Lovan

Best Newspaper Website — 2nd place, Kentucky Kernel

The Kentucky Kernel is a daily, student-run publication of the University of Kentucky with a circulation of 17,000 and a readership of more than 30,000. For more information about the Kentucky Kernel, call (859) 257-2872.