One of the things I like to do on this blog from time to time is to point out stories that you might otherwise miss. Over at UCSB's Daily Nexus, Managing Editor Lexi Pandell recently won a first-place award in the California College Media Journalism competition.
Pandell’s award winning article "Under the Influence" told the story behind five UCSB student deaths related to drugs and alcohol that occurred over an 18-month period from 2008 to 2010.
I work on the UCSB campus two days a week and this is the time of year I often see high school seniors accompanied by their parents visiting the campus as part of the college tour ritual. Pandell's article ought to be required reading for them. It's a somber reminder that college life (and not just college life at UCSB) can have a dark side to it.
Pandell, who is a senior, will be attending UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in the fall.
Speaking of UCSB and the Daily Nexus, Josh Elliott, an anchor on ESPN's Sportscenter who was recently named news anchor on ABC's Good Morning America, is a graduate of UCSB and worked on the Daily Nexus while he was there. After leaving Isla Vista, he went to grad school at Columbia University's School of Journalism. This according to the Wikipedia article on him.
Maybe one day a network will put Elliott, Pandell and FOX News' Jenna Lee (another UCSB grad) together on the same broadcast and give us an all Gaucho journalism dream team?
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© 2011 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com
