– Includes 1 National Award –

NOVA Fortnightly, the newspaper of Northern Virginia Community College, became the first publication of the college to ever win a Virginia Press Association award in 2011 for work published in 2010. Last year, the newspaper’s staff won additional awards for work published in 2011, competing against mainstream newspapers in the non-daily newspaper division both years.

This year, Photography Director Traci J. Brooks won an award for an amazing photograph of presidential candidate Mitt Romney kissing his wife at a campaign rally at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The photo placed third in the general news photo category. This is the third year in a row Brooks has won a VPA award.

Instead of competing against other newspapers as it has in the past, NOVA Fortnightly competed in the specialty publications division, pitting it against top-notch media like Richmond Magazine and Style Weekly. NOVA Fortnightly still won an award, which demonstrates the skill and dedication of its staff.

“This award verifies the importance of college newspapers. In today’s age of Facebook and Twitter there is still a need for solid journalism, and it’s an honor to be able to provide that at NOVA Fortnightly,” said Brooks.

The VPA holds one of the largest news contests in the nation, annually attracting more than 5,000 entries. The mission of the VPA is to support its membership through responsive services and resources.

On top of the VPA award won by Brooks, KJ Mushung took home two VPA awards for work published in PotomacLocalNews.com and 10 Virginia Press Women awards – six of which were for work with NOVA Fortnightly and four for work in PotomacLocalNews.com. One of the entries for NOVA Fortnightly went on to win a national award.

For her work with NOVA Fortnightly in the VPW contest, Mushung won first place for website managed or edited by entrant (NOVAfortnightly.com) and first place for publications edited by entrant (NOVA Fortnightly) in the nonprofit, government or educational category. She also won second place for general photo for an image of the University of Virginia, third place for political reporting, honorable mention for humor writing and honorable mention for writing for the web.

The VPW is an organization of professional communicators, such as journalists and public relations specialists, in Virginia. It’s open to both women and men and promotes the highest ethical standards, fosters exchanges of journalistic ideas and serves the public’s right-to-know.

There is no separate division in the VPW for smaller newspapers. All entrants compete against each other no matter how large or small the media outlet, business or school.

Mushung’s entry for publications edited by entrant in the nonprofit, government or educational category was forwarded on to the National Federation of Press Women communications contest, where it placed third in the nation.

The annual NFPW communications contest encourages and rewards excellence in communication in a wide range of categories, with entries judged by leaders in their fields of expertise.

NOVA Fortnightly was founded in 2009 and serves all six campuses of the college, located in Alexandria, Annandale, Springfield, Sterling, Woodbridge and Manassas, in addition to its learning centers in Reston and Arlington. Dr. Jimmie McClellan, Dean for Liberal Arts, serves as the newspaper’s faculty advisor. Mushung is the newspaper training director.

Northern Virginia Community College has over 75,000 students and is the largest institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

By: NOVA Fortnightly Staff

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