Wartburg College’s student online site, The Circuit, has won its second national Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press.

The Circuit was one of five online newspaper sites to receive the ACP’s highest honor among colleges with an enrollment of less than 5,000. The award for the 2011-12 academic year was announced at the National College Media Convention, Saturday, Nov. 3, in Chicago.

The Circuit is a “converged” site with stories, videos and photo galleries contributed by student media on campus — the Trumpet newspaper, Wartburg Television and KWAR radio.

“Winning such a prestigious award is validation for our students and reflects the tremendous dedication they have for their craft,” said Dr. Penni Pier, communication arts department chair. “It is also very gratifying for our department as we continue to develop our curriculum to embrace the demands of 21^st century journalism.” 

Cliff Brockman is the faculty adviser for The Circuit, which won its first Pacemaker Award in 2009 during its initial year of operation. Brockman said The Circuit integrates traditional and social media to deliver information in a timely manner much like professional media sites. 

The student manager was Hannah Cox, now a senior from Epworth, who led an entirely first-time staff at The Circuit.

“We put a lot of work into the website last year to make it more user-friendly, and it’s good to see that work didn’t go unnoticed,” Cox said.

Other staff included current seniors Danielle Miller, from Aplington; Kelsey Scherven from Mound, Minn.; and Payton Huinker from Altoona, as well as Andrew Bridgewater, a 2012 graduate from Van Horne.

The Circuit was redesigned last May. Travis Bockenstedt has joined Brockman as a faculty adviser. Torie Jochims, a senior from Cedar Falls, is the current manager.