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LEXINGTON, Kentucky (July 25, 2022) — As the University of Kentucky and the United States as a whole began to ease restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kernel Media was able to return to the office full-time during the 2021-2022 academic year. Student journalists and content creators from the Kentucky Kernel and KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion can continue the traditions they had to refrain from as of March 2020.
The 2020-2021 Kernel and KRNL editors, Natalie Parks and Rachel Courtney, have been upended since the dawn of the pandemic. However, their successors, Kernel Editor Rayleigh Deaton and KRNL Editor Allie Diggs, should return to the newsrooms that have spawned award-winning content and respected journalists, photographers and designers.
“I was incredibly grateful that the restrictions were loosened when I stepped into the role of editor,” Deaton said. “I think we all needed it because it seemed to breathe new life into the staff. Friendships were rekindled and forged and I think we were a stronger team and group of friends at the end of the year than when we started.’
While it was refreshing to return to in-person operations, the return did not come without its challenges. Masks, social distancing and potential infection with COVID-19 remained, along with difficulties in accessing venues and interviews. This made the already difficult task of scheduling new staff and meeting print deadlines much more onerous.
The way Diggs dealt with this was by cutting KRNL’s staff. Although student interest in the magazine is growing, she wants to prioritize the safety of her staff above all else. This also gave ample opportunity for each of the staff to participate in at least one aspect of the production.
“Planning a safe interview or photo shoot was sometimes very challenging,” Diggs said. “People wanted to participate in everything — which is fantastic — but we couldn’t allow too many people in one place. So the executive members had to come up with a schedule for each team member.”
Likewise, one of Deaton’s greatest concerns was making sure her staff felt valued, needed, and personally connected. Weekly production nights where half the staff crammed into one computer to shape the paper were a hallmark of the pre-pandemic core. Deaton said the production night at the office felt like a party with friends, just like she had hoped to create.
With the in-person gatherings came better collaboration, something student media adviser Ryan Craig said is evident in his students’ work.
“Both staff members were younger and less experienced than previous years, but because they worked so hard, they were able to reach their goals and even exceed where they wanted to be when the school year ended,” Craig said. “Because they are so young, they are more likely to be among the best for the foreseeable future.”
This past school year, the 2020-2021 staff, along with several of the newer 2021-2022 staff, were finally rewarded for their efforts in the form of approximately 80 awards.
“With every award that comes out, I’m relieved because I have something tangible that I can point to and say that all those sacrifices led to something,” Parks said.
2020-2021 College Media Association Pinnacle Awards:
Kernel, four national awards, winning one first place.
2020-2021 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards:
Kernel, six national awards, four first place wins, six honorable mentions.
KRNL, two national awards, three honorable mentions.
Hearst Journalism Awards 2021-2022:
The Kernel staff had three individual Top 10 finishes and one individual Top 20 finish, with awards won in photojournalism, sports writing and multimedia digital news/enterprise. Manager and photo editor Jack Weaver was also a finalist in photojournalism, which allowed him to compete in the National Photojournalism Championship and finish as runner-up. It’s been decades since a Kernel photographer hit the national stage.
2020-2021 Kentucky Press Association Awards:
Kernel, certificate of merit, 44 awards, sweeping six categories and winning 19 first places. The paper also won General Excellence for the fourth year in a row, and Natalie Parks was named Collegiate Journalist of the Year for the second year in a row.
2022 Society of Professional Journalists Region 5 Awards Badge of Excellence:
Kernel, five awards, including the Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best Comprehensive Student Newspaper for Large Schools. The paper also won national awards for breaking news and editorial writing.
KRNL, an award winning finalist for Best Student Magazine.
Other awards in the past year:
KRNL’s Kendall Boron and Addison Cave won two Silver ADDYs, Peyton Fike won a Gold ADDY, and Emme Schumacher won a Silver ADDY from the Ad Club Lexington American Advertising Awards.
KRNL’s Addison Cave, Olivia Ford, Emme Schumacher and their all-female team finished fourth in the National Student Advertising Competition, the UK’s best placing ever.
KRNL’s Addison Cave won first place and Emme Schumacher placed third in the Journalism and Mass Communication Education Association’s logo contest. Cave’s logo will be used for the 2023 AEJMC conference in Washington, DC
While employees don’t create their content with awards in mind, recognition from awards committees—and, more importantly, the audience they serve—is always welcome and appreciated.
“It’s always nice to win awards and see hard work pay off, but as a staff we’re just proud of the work we’ve done,” Courtney said. “We had a lot of obstacles thrown at us.”
Now that Kernel Media is back in full swing, people can expect even more top-notch journalism created by students—not that the pandemic has ever stopped that. In March 2022, the editors for the 2022-2023 school year were selected. Deaton will be one of only a few editing editors for the core, while Rana Alsufi will carry the torch for KRNL. Both envisioned leading their respective offices and both look forward to continuing the legacy.
“I often tell students that all the awards in the world mean nothing if you’re not working at the highest possible level of journalism,” Craig said. “Every day they ask themselves if they are doing the best they can. They learn, struggle, and sometimes fail, but I never question their desire to tell the best stories possible. It is remarkable to watch.”
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