The Advocate has won second place for the Associated Collegiate Press’ Best of Show Award for its digital newsletter. 

The award was given by ACP at its spring college media conference, which is attended by college journalism programs from across the country.  These awards recognize the best in American college newspapers, magazines, broadcasts, websites and media outlets. The conference was held in La Jolla, California, at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, March 7-9. 

The Advocate is the student-led newspaper based at Contra Costa College. It reports news about the local Bay Area community, as well as news stories on the campus. 

This award adds to a list of awards that The Advocate earned in previous years: In 2022, the ACP acknowledged The Advocate as one of those among the top ten most-awarded student media outlets. It was the only two-year college media outlet in that list.

“First off, I’m really proud of the entire staff and their incredible work that they have been doing here at The Advocate, and I would also like to thank Annie, our advisor, for giving us guidance and support whenever we need it,” said Brenda Maldonado, Editor in Chief of The Advocate. “We’re really proud of getting this award on a newsletter that we just started last semester.” 

This year’s conference hosted more than 150 sessions from experienced journalists and advisors, including Keynote speaker Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, educator, author, higher education equity consultant, and public relations expert with more than two decades worth of experience. 

According to its website, the ACP works on advancing journalism and media, and aims to promote journalism as a vital cultural force by connecting people through national events and competitions. It also provides journalism education services to students, teachers, media advisers, and others throughout the US. 

The organization was founded in 1921 as a division of National Scholastic Press Association, and is based in Minnesota as a non-profit educational association, according to its website. 

The Advocate hopes to win more awards in the future, gain more readers and support, and will continue to write for the people, by the people, according to its staff.