Contributed Photo: Back right—Adviser Jack Ehn; Middle row from left—Distribution Manager Brandy Valles, Features Reporter Shaya Rogers, Editor-in-Chief Jyllian Roach, Production Manager Jonathan Gamboa, Managing Editor Adriana Avila; Front row from left—Art Director Scott Roberts, Investigative Reporter Daniel Johnson

We here at The Weekly Alibi would like to extend a congratulatory hand to The CNM Chronicle for taking third place in the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) 2013 International Best in Show Competition at the Midwinter Conference in San Francisco, which went from Feb. 27 to March 3.

The CNM Chronicle, a student-run publication, is issued weekly at the Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). The award comes as a nice surprise, considering just a couple of years ago, there was a lag in readership.

“It's a lot of validation for us because two years ago the paper wasn't doing too well, and it was kind of considered a joke on campus.” Jyllian Roach, editor-in-chief of the paper, said. “I sat down with the editor before me, and we came up with a list of ways to make the paper better.

“We felt that we were doing a good job, and we watched our numbers go up as far as readers go, so it's nice that other people recognize that we're doing the right thing.”

Ironically, CNM doesn't even have a journalism program. So, the recognition of their work is literally derived from the intuition, ingenuity and zeal of the students who run the Chronicle.

“We only have an intro class, so more than anything, we were trying to figure out how to train ourselves and how to train our staff to do good journalism,” Roach said. “As a community college paper, our legacy is just a snapshot, and my term as editor is a snapshot.

“So, the paper will grow and change with different editors. In five years, it won't be anything like it is now.”

Well, this award is one nice snapshot.

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