The Corsair, SMC Journalism Students Earn State and Regional Awards & Honors

The Corsair, SMC Journalism Students Earn State and Regional Awards & Honors

Includes Award for Best All-Round Student Newspaper (Large) from Society of Professional Journalists Region 11,

Surpassing Finalists The Union & the Stanford Daily

SANTA MONICA, CA—Santa Monica College’s (SMC) student-run media outlet The Corsair (opens in new window) and its staff won two regional Mark of Excellence awards and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists (opens in new window) Region 11 and three California Journalism Awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association (opens in new window) this month. The newsroom and its staff are also finalists in five categories for the Los Angeles Press Club (opens in new window) awards to be announced June 22.

The Corsair won the Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper from the Society of Professional Journalists Region 11 (opens in new window) Mark of Excellence large colleges competition, besting Stanford University and El Camino College’s student newsrooms. The Corsair also was a finalist for Best Affiliated Web Site, along with Pepperdine University.

At the California Journalism Awards (opens in new window) ceremony on Saturday, May 17 in Universal City, Calif., two Corsair photojournalists won awards. Jake Crandall, the Corsair’s photo editor, won first place in the News Photo category for documenting a firefighter battling the Bridge Fire. Rebecca Villagracia won third place for Feature Photo for photographing children making snow angels in the confetti at the LA Dodger’s World Series victory parade. She also won fourth place for Sports Action Photo for capturing a diving soccer kick.

For the Los Angeles Press Club awards (opens in new window) in June, the Corsair is a finalist for Best College Newspaper and Best College News Website. Corsair photo editor Jake Crandall and photojournalist Gregory Hawthorne are finalists for Best News Photo. Crandall and photojournalist Caylo Seals are finalists for Best Feature Photo. Corsair managing editor Jenna Tibby is a finalist for Best TV or Stream Reporting for her video report called “Criminal Justice Reform on the Ballot.”

Tibby is a film, TV and commercial actress who took a multimedia storytelling journalism class at SMC and found she loved it.

“The reason I wanted to be an actor was to tell people’s stories. Journalism gives me the opportunity to do that,” she said. Tibby has previously won awards for a podcast story, articles and video reports. She also has won scholarships from the SMC Global Citizenship Symposium and the Golden Globe Foundation.

“It’s really validating to get recognized for the work I do for the Corsair—just knowing that people have seen it and enjoyed it—because I spend so much time on it,” Tibby said. She plans to major in multimedia journalism and hopes to transfer to a college or university in California, New York, or London.

Additionally, Corsair alumni are represented among the finalists for the LA Press Club’s Best College News Website category—the team includes former editors/SMC alum Sasha Funes and Jackson Tammariello, who serve as top editors at Cal State LA’s University Times.

The Corsair advising team includes journalism instructor Sharyn Obsatz , photojournalism instructor Gerard Burkhart, and social media journalism instructor Samantha Nuñez. The Corsair staff produces a newspaper in the spring and fall semesters, currently available on issuu.com/corsair.website (opens in new window) , and publishes news content online at thecorsaironline.com (opens in new window) . Follow The Corsair on Instagram @corsairnews (opens in new window) .

“It comes as no surprise; Corsair students produce professional-level work in remarkable volume,” Nuñez said. “It’s rewarding to see their efforts – especially those behind the scenes – recognized and showcased across our growing social media platforms where we are fostering an evolving digital community.”

Santa Monica College’s journalism program offers career training in reporting, public relations and nonfiction storytelling across multiple platforms: print, photography, video, audio, social media, and digital media production. Students prepare for roles including reporter, correspondent, editor, copywriter, audience engagement editor, social media content creator and broadcast producer. Those interested in joining The Corsair for the Fall 2025 semester can sign up for Journalism 16: Producing the Campus Newspaper; Journalism 22/Photo 14: Photography for Publication or Journalism 7/Media 25: Engaging Audiences for Journalism and Social Media. More information is available at smc.edu/journalism.

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Acccrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

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