Dollars & Sense Wins Silver Crown for 2021 News Coverage
Weissman Students Add to Publication’s 25-Year Track Record of Award-Winning ContentMay 19, 2022
Dollars & Sense (D&S), the student-run online news magazine published by the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions, has once again earned a Silver Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), the nation’s foremost organization celebrating student journalism.
Founded in 1979, D&S has consistently been named one of the top college magazines by CSPA, earning either a Gold or Silver Crown almost every year for the past quarter century.
In a statement celebrating the award, the D&S editorial team –– Editors-In-Chief Yasmeen Alia Persaud (‘22) and Jose Nieves-Herrera (‘22) and Managing Editor M’Niyah Ameekha Lynn (‘22) –– spoke about D&S’s mission and successes.
“The Dollars & Sense team is a family. A passion for journalism and telling stories is the common thread that binds us all together. The publication serves as a place where journalists or anyone with an appreciation for telling stories can explore and flourish through hard work and a commitment to covering news both within and outside CUNY.
“Without the entire team’s dedication, we would not have been able to become such a formidable force in student online publications. Receiving the extraordinary honor of a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown reassures us that we are making a difference in our communities. We are sharing voices and offering perspectives that cannot be ignored.
“It is confirmation that we are moving journalism in the right direction and hopefully inspiring others. We believe the future of Dollars & Sense is bright.”
New York City in Focus
This year, D&S reporters spread out into the city’s surrounding communities in search of New Yorkers with stories to tell.
Emily Johnson, an Assistant Professor in Weissman’s Journalism Department and faculty advisor to D&S, acknowledged the challenges students faced gathering these stories even as the pandemic continued: “We are thrilled that our students’ hard work is being recognized by CSPA and so proud of how they have risen to the occasion during a time with so much upheaval.”
The student journalists reported on human-interest stories and pressing issues spanning the five boroughs, such as the reopening of a beloved West Village bookstore, how the pandemic has impacted New Yorkers with disabilities, and how the owner of a popular Bronx yoga studio fought to keep her business afloat during Covid-19.
A History of High Achievement
Founded by Professor Emerita Roslyn Bernstein, D&S was printed each spring and distributed to students, faculty, alumni, corporate leaders and journalists in the New York region. In 2009, Dollars & Sense switched to an online format to capitalize on multimedia technology and publish students’ work more frequently.
In addition to the numerous Gold and Silver Crowns from CSPA, D&S recently won a “Mark of Excellence” from the Society of Professional Journalists, the industry’s leading professional organization.
In 2018, the magazine’s coverage of the midterm elections in rural Maine was named the best student business journalism project of the year by SABEW, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
Read the latest Dollars & Sense stories here.
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