Bucks County Community College’s student newspaper The Centurion won a record 22 awards in the statewide 2024 Student Keystone Media Awards competition, including firsts in categories like general news, public service/enterprise reporting, sportswriting and video news.
Since 2010, The Centurion has won more than 180 awards, making it one of the most-honored student newspapers in Pennsylvania. This year’s awards were for work done in the spring and fall 2023 semesters. The paper is produced mostly by students in the college’s journalism program, though non-journalism majors are also welcome to take part.
The Student Keystone Media Awards are administered by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. The Centurion competes in Division III for two-year colleges.
Raeanne Raccagno, a 20-year-old journalism major and the editor-in-chief of The Centurion, said, “My biggest goal for the paper has been for us to cover a diverse range of topics. I communicated that with the staff, and they answered with no problem. We added some new content to the paper as well this academic year, like comics, more column writing and word games.”
Raccagno said the paper is still trying to attract readers on campus: “I’m not sure if it’s ‘cause students don’t expect there to be a paper newspaper, but most students will have no idea about us. I always hear, ‘I want to hear about what’s going on at campuses,’ and we’re the place to do that.”
Raccagno added that, at Bucks, “There are so many impressive departments with experienced professors on campus and they all deserve to have a story.”
Tony Rogers, Bucks’ journalism professor and the paper’s faculty advisor, said, “Between environmental contaminants being found in several campus buildings and the sudden resignation of the college’s president, this has been a tumultuous year at Bucks. Our students have covered all these events and many others with real professionalism, and I’m extremely proud of the work they’ve done.”
The Centurion website is located at bucks-news.com and the Instagram is @centurion_Bucks. The paper is distributed across the college’s three campuses in Newtown, Bristol and Perkasie. It is financially independent. For more information about the newspaper or the college’s journalism program, go to bucks.edu/journalism or email Tony.Rogers@bucks.edu.
The awards were presented during an awards luncheon on April 11 in Harrisburg. A complete list of the award winners follows:
- General News, First Place: Environmental Findings in Campus Buildings Spark Concerns and Class Changes – Raeanne Raccagno
- General News, Second Place: Bucks County DA Sues Social Media Firms – Raeanne Raccagno
- Ongoing News Coverage, First Place: Environmental Concerns On- and Off-Campus – Christian Grosso, Leila Kelley and Raeanne Raccagno
- Public Service/Enterprise Package, First Place: Environmental Findings in Campus Buildings Spark Concerns and Class Changes – Raeanne Raccagno
- Public Service/Enterprise Package, Second Place: Forever Tainted – How PFAS Pollutes Some of Bucks County’s Drinking Water – Christian Grosso
- Feature Story, First Place: SEPTA Looks to Modernize Its Aging Public Transit System – Christian Grosso
- Feature Story, Honorable Mention: “Never Forget,” A Trip To The 9/11 Memorial And Museum – Christian Grosso
- Personality Profile, First Place: Founder of Bucks’ Nursing Program Promotes Never-Ending Compassion – Raeanne Raccagno
- Personality Profile, Second Place: In the Wake of Ganther’s Resignation, New Bucks Provost Faces a Host of Problems – Madison Kifolo
- Sports Story, First Place: Bucks Women’s Basketball is Ready to Bounce Back After An Unsuccessful Last Season – Chris Lopez
- Sports Story, Second Place: Men’s Basketball Struggling; Looks to Make a Comeback – Chris Lopez
- Sports Story, Honorable Mention: Bucks Men’s Basketball Team Brings Home ESAC Championship Title – Raeanne Raccagno
- Column, First Place: Philadelphia 76ers Trade James Harden to LA Clippers; Take Me Out to The Ball Game; Bucks’ Softball Team Comes Back Swinging – Daulton Parry
- Column, Second Place: Attention Ghostface Fans… New “Scream” Video Game in Development; Zoo Wee Mama!; Hold on to Your Golden Ticket?! – Raymundo “Ralph” Varela-Urizar
- Review, First Place: ZTSD Punk Bash Lights Up Fishtown – Colt Gunn
- Cartoon/Graphic Illustration, First Place: Dog Life parts 1, 2 and 3 – Connor Sturza
- Feature Photo, First Place: Therapy Dogs Visit Bucks – Jesse Fischer
- Photo Story, First Place: “Never Forget,” A Trip To The 9/11 Memorial And Museum – Christian Grosso
- Website, First Place: Raeanne Raccagno, Raymundo “Ralph” Varela-Urizar, Colin Riccardi, Megan Pizarro, Parker DeStefano and Christian Grosso
- Video Story, First Place: Septa Bucks Route Changes – Christian Grosso
- Video Story, Second Place: Andy’s Brick Shop is Building Success – Parker DeStefano
- Video Story, Honorable Mention: Sixers Fans Excited About Playoffs – Evan Boyle
