Editorial: Peer pressure

It has been said that journalists write the first draft of history. Newspaper reporters operate under a tremendous amount of pressure in the hope of delivering a representative document of the moment. Deadlines, ethical dilemma, evasive sources and spin-doctors are just a handful of the obstacles that frequently stand between a newspaper reporter and the truth. We know we don’t always get the story right, but at the Vanguard we try very hard to serve the PSU community, and we’d like to think that we succeed more often than we fail. Last Friday, the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association gave us even more reason to think that this is the case.

On Friday, the ONPA awarded the Vanguard eight first place prizes in categories where our competition was University of Oregon’s Daily Emerald and Oregon State University’s The Daily Barometer. The Vanguard’s first place awards were for best section (news), best editorial, best spot news photograph, best design, best review, best cartooning, best graphic, best house ad and, the big one, general excellence.

Each May, the annual ONPA awards give us an opportunity to be evaluated by a newspapers harshest critics outside of its readership: industry peers. Newspaper industry professionals from across the state scrutinize submissions, recognizing excellence in each category based on strict standards. As difficult as it can be to win the approval of our readership, the approval of one’s peers is as close as most journalists will ever get to being satisfied with their own work.

To be recognized as the best college newspaper in the state of Oregon by industry professionals is truly humbling. However, what makes this recognition even more satisfying is the class and quality of the competition. The Daily Emerald, in particular, is a fine newspaper that has the benefit of drawing its staff from the tremendous pool of talent that is the UO School of Journalism. We’re honored to compete in the same category with a publication that has done so much to raise the standard of student journalism in Oregon. To be awarded ONPA’s top honor amongst such class is an accomplishment that we’re truly proud of.

In the past year, the Vanguard has been put under pressure, even derided by those who didn’t like some of the things we reported. We’ve been called sloppy, biased, negative and much worse—usually by individuals who disagree with some of the things critical reporting digs up. The standards that we hold for ourselves are so high that at times we were tempted to believe it, but in spite of that we put our heads down and got on with the job. And while first drafts are never perfect, it’s comforting to know that our peers feel that our document is representative of this moment at Portland State.