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Two of ���պ���’s student media outlets — and newspaper — received awards from the California College Media Association (CCMA) at the West Coast conference in San Francisco on March 11. The Chimes also received recognition by the Evangelical Press Association this year. 

The Point, Biola’s bi-annual magazine, won first place for its Fall 2022 edition in the “Best Print Magazine” category for the state of California, beating out state and private university publications from across the state. Biola’s student newspaper, The Chimes, received first place in the opinion-writing category.

“When they called our name for the best magazine in the state of California, I broke down crying as I reflected on all the hard work our team had done. It was such a phenomenal blessing that I never expected to happen,” said alumna Kate Bomar (B.A. ’23), journalism major and editor-in-chief of The Point for 2021-2022.

The California College Media competition is judged by professionals in news media from New York to Los Angeles. Biola’s publications competed with other Christian universities like Pepperdine and Cal Baptist as well as the Cal State publications and other California institutions.

“One of the most rewarding things has been working with such a phenomenal staff who poured their hearts into our Fall 2022 edition,” said Bomar. “There were many difficulties, but everyone pushed through and gave their all. I was overwhelmed with joy knowing that Jesus was also being represented at a secular conference.”

The Point, which is a publication comprising students from many majors, has won awards for its overall excellence as a magazine, as well as awards for design, writing and photojournalism. Dr. Tamara Welter, associate professor of journalism, is the faculty adviser of the magazine.

“I believe this award has encouraged our students, once again, that what they do in practice matters. They’ve walked through disappointment and confusion this year, and yet, they kept pushing and delivered this excellent publication,” said Welter. “More than the magazine itself, which is a centerpiece for campus discussion among students, I love being a mentor and watching students grow in various areas of leadership. I’m so proud of the team! It’s an honor to serve them, through triumph and challenges.”

The Point staff is solely responsible for putting the magazine together with the guidance of Welter. They work together for long hours to create the publication.

“Every team, every semester, is different. But each time a group of students steps into these roles, they have the opportunity to work together and produce an important publication for this community,” said Welter. “They take this responsibility very seriously. Our senior team led the full staff with such excellence this fall. They pushed themselves and their team of students to be creative while working to unify the content editorially and visually.”

At the conference, two journalism students, including Bomar, and one faculty member also had the opportunity to present at a session on urban photo storytelling. Michael Kitada, associate professor of journalism, whose experience photographing the streets of Los Angeles have helped him craft urban teaching experiences involving photojournalism, led the session.

The Chimes publishes twice a semester as a longform magazine publication exploring trends and news on Biola’s campus and broader higher education and local and global news with a focus on the Biola student community. Dr. Michael Longinow, chair of the department of digital journalism and media, is the faculty adviser to The Chimes.

The Chimes also won three awards from the Evangelical Press Association’s two annual contests — the Awards of Excellence, which recognize publications as a whole, and the Higher Goals, which honor individual pieces produced during the 2022 calendar year. The awards were announced at the EPA national convention in Pennsylvania in April. The Chimes print news magazine won an Award of Merit in the “Campus: Print” category and The Chimes digital edition won an Award of Merit in the “Campus: Digital” category.

“These judges’ votes, and comments, have noted Chimes’ work in ways that will encourage these winners (some of them out in the working world beyond graduation),” Longinow said. “And these awards help show that Chimes journalism is done with a mind toward top-drawer professionalism. I couldn't be more proud of them for this achievement.”

In the Higher Goals “Editorial” category, The Chimes appeared alongside national publications like Christianity Today and The Christian Post. The publication won fifth place in the “Editorial” category for staff writer Lauren Good’s opinion article “Dangers of Toxic Femininity.”

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Written by Sarah Dougher, media relations coordinator. For more information, please email media.relations@biola.edu.