Vanessa Gomez
City Times

The Associated Collegiate Press awarded City Times with fourth place in Best in Show in the two-year college category.

The 25th Annual Associated Collegiate Press National College Journalism Convention on March 1 was held in San Diego at the Marriott Mission Valley.

This was the newspaper’s first year attending an ACP event in at least 20 years, according to journalism adviser Roman S. Koenig.

City Times’ Feb. 24 issue was entered into the competition, with stories consisting of San Diego City College’s student-run farm. The issue also featured numerous stories on sports, opinions and general happenings around the campus.

Koenig mentioned the award was “fantastic” and was pleased that it was “in a national setting.” City Times was one of two California two-year college newspapers to place in the top five Best of Show. The Sun of Southwestern College in Chula Vista placed first in the category.

The ACP National College Journalism Convention brought together more than 800 students from around the country, as well as from two Canadian provinces. The convention was held Feb. 26-March 1.

The convention consisted of workshops that shared stories and tips on how to enhance writing skills, launch newspaper Web sites and develop networking skills to direct young journalists to future careers. Koenig was among the presenters.

The convention also featured four keynote speakers, including Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize winning food critic for the LA Weekly, and Leslie Berestein, award winning immigration reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

In the fall, ACP named City Times a finalist for the prestigious national Pacemaker Award, the first time City Times has been in consideration for the award in at least two decades.