Answering the newsroom phone resulted in a story that has earned national recognition for one Bulletin staffer.
Cameron Burnett, a senior general studies major with a minor in journalism, was on duty at the newspaper in April when the phone tip came in that a former Emporia State student from Ukraine had been trapped by the Russian invasion.
“I wrote down the information,” Burnett said, “and got to work.”
Vlad Remeniak, who attended ESU from 2014-15, woke to the sound of a frantic neighbor pounding on his apartment door in Kyiv early on Feb. 24. The neighbor, according to Burnett’s story, said just three words: “It has started.”
Minutes later, explosions could be heard across the city. Remeniak spent the next few nights in a subway, hiding from missiles and shelling, and then fled to Lviv, where he lived with other refugees. Jennifer Baldwin, an administrative assistant who said Remeniak had become “part of our family” when he stayed at her house while attending ESU, reconnected with him over the Internet and started a fundraiser to buy medical supplies for Ukraine.
The Bulletin interview with Remeniak was conducted over Zoom.
Burnett, who is currently Bulletin managing editor and whose hometown is in Topeka, said he was “really honored” to be a finalist for such a prestigious award. Other finalists for best profile are writers for the campus newspapers at Augustana University, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Baylor University, Waco, Texas. The winner will be announced tomorrow at the Fall National Media Convention at Washington, D.C.
“I’m proud of Cam,” said Max McCoy, professor of journalism and the Bulletin’s student publications adviser. “In answering that ringing phone and following up on a hot news tip, he did exactly what you would expect of a good journalist. Since then, he has proven his value to the newspaper time and again by taking his job seriously and doing the work.”
The Pinnacles, given by the College Media Association, honor the best in media organizations and individual work during an academic year.
