CMU’s Scholar Newspaper Wins Nationwide Award

“Western Slope Wildfires” picture, captured by current graduate Enrique Quintero, wins nationwide award

Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) pupil newspaper, The Criterion, wrapped up the Spring 2026 semester with a couple of new awards underneath its belt. On April 22, The Criterion workers was notified by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) that its crew had gained three awards within the Region 9 giant faculty class (10,000+ college students). It was introduced on May 26 that one of many three initiatives was acknowledged on the nationwide stage.

The three regional award classes that The Criterion gained or positioned in included breaking information reporting, function pictures and basic information pictures.

“This accomplishment was one of the original goals that myself and The Criterion’s Managing Editor, Dana Dial, set for our team at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester. These awards are both a physical and symbolic representation of the work The Criterion team has put in over the last year to take a good paper and turn it into a great paper,” stated Editor in Chief Julia Wildman.  

The successful journalistic assortment within the breaking information class was the protection of a controversial speaker who got here to campus and examined CMU’s dedication to sustaining free speech whereas additionally balancing its dedication to being a Human Scale University in reflection of its seven core values. Wildman wrote the 4 items that stored campus knowledgeable of updates in the course of the weeks main as much as and following the occasion. 

Recent graduate and Photo Editor for The Criterion, Teagan Meens and Vicente Valadez’s “Dazzling Dancers” images have been a finalist within the function pictures class. The pictures seize the vigorous mix of dancing and suave choreography showcased within the annual “Fall for Dance” present placed on by CMU’s Dance Program.  

The remaining regional class that The Criterion gained was basic information pictures. The picture, which reveals a fireplace bomber airplane dropping fireplace retardant on the July 2025 Turner Gulch Fire, was taken by current Aviation Technology graduate Enrique Quintero.

Since the picture was captured in the course of the summer time, it was not an assigned piece for the newspaper however slightly included in a narrative written later within the semester, titled “Western Slope Wildfires“. This picture turned out to be a nationwide contender and took residence the SPJ 2025 Mark of Excellence award within the basic information pictures class.

When requested concerning the means of capturing the award-winning picture, Quintero highlighted one of many key parts of journalism: being in the precise place on the proper time with a digital camera in hand.

“I believe photography really helps convey the importance and emotion of an event through visual storytelling. I believe my photos help convey the sense of how massive the fire became, as I was a mile away from the fire,” he shared.

The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism group, devoted to encouraging the free apply of journalism and upholding excessive moral requirements. There are twelve areas throughout the United States. CMU’s chapter is in Region 9, which incorporates Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The Criterion’s efforts over the previous yr are an instance of the high-quality journalism and prevalence of free speech current on campus. The workers is made up of a mixture of majors, all of which carry distinctive views to their roles and beats.

“While mostly unexpected, checking this off our goals list made sense because all of the other goals we achieved were building toward it. The Criterion has been the voice of the students for CMU since 1931. These are not the first awards we’ve won and they certainly won’t be the last,” stated Wildman.

Learn extra about The Criterion.